Class System
Righty: Until recently, class was society’s instrument for creating order and stability. Instead of jockeying for status and playing catch-up with our neighbors the way we do today, people lived according to their designated station. Everyone coexisted in harmony: the upper class patronized the tradesmen, and the tradesmen hired workers. The beauty of the old class system was that nobody had to feel inadequate about failing to achieve. The desperate status anxiety we see today is the direct result of lowered class boundaries. So is the decline of taste and manners. Eighty years ago men used to attend sporting events wearing jackets and ties. Today we dine out at fine restaurants in t-shirts and khakis. Everyone used to look to the upper class for pointers on the social graces. Now we have affluent suburban kids copying the style and lingo of ghetto “gangstas.” We can date the decline of Western Civilization to the overthrow of class distinctions sometime around the end of World War II. It’s been all downhill ever since.
Lefty: Good riddance to the rigid social hierarchy that kept talented people in their place for untold generations. Class was an evil that persisted only because it had persisted. Until the French Revolution, nobody challenged the injustice of a system that automatically favored the idle descendants of medieval knights over the hardworking peasantry and middle class. Today, thanks to the efforts of social progressives over the past two centuries, my family and I are able to send our older kids to private school and hire a full-time nanny to care for the baby. The disappearance of class has liberated all of society from bondage.
The New Moderate:
If both Righty and Lefty believe (as they seem to) that the class system is dead, they’re deluding themselves. Yes, manners have declined and class boundaries have blurred, but nobody with a sharp eye for distinctions can deny that we still sort people according to social rank. In fact, as economic pressures continue to split the middle class, like a great ice sheet, into upwardly mobile and downwardly mobile segments that drift inexorably northward and southward, we’ll be evolving into a two-tier society of haves and have-nots.
Our class distinctions, based solely on income, are already more pronounced than at any time since the Gilded Age, when millionaire robber barons presided over society and the average working chump labored for a dollar a day. But even the Gilded Age had its comfortable middle class with its clapboard houses and picket fences.
I grew up squarely in the middle of the mid-twentieth century middle class. We lived in a split-level house and survived modestly but securely on my father’s income. We attended the local public schools. My father drove a Pontiac and bought his clothes at Sears Roebuck even after he started earning a handsome salary. On special occasions we’d dine out at the local Howard Johnson’s. (Fondly do I remember those golden fried clams and peppermint ice cream cones.) Vacation meant the shore or the mountains, or occasionally an educational jaunt around New England or Virginia. No Caribbean island-hopping or African eco-tours for us. And we never knew what we were missing. This was the way most of America seemed to live at the time.
Whatever happened to that old middle class? As male yuppies mated with newly liberated female yuppies and both prospered in their careers, they departed for a favored land of nannies and prep schools. At the same time, the less fortunate middle class kids had to settle for McJobs at the local Blockbuster. Now that so many white-collar jobs are being outsourced to India or points beyond, it looks increasingly certain that these kids will never again enjoy the comforts of bourgeois life.
Our class divisions will grow even more distinct as high-achieving “haves” continue to merge their DNA with others of their ilk, producing a formidable superclass of genetically endowed achievers. The old upper class married for social respectability, which didn’t always translate into brains or talent. (Male preppies with formidable minds would often wed pretty but intellectually indifferent daughters of good families. And no doubt many a Bryn Mawr grad ended up with a hearty goofus on a trust fund.) By contrast, the new upper class marries to produce offspring with perfect SAT scores. Be very afraid.
If you want to see what America’s future superclass looks like, just scan the marriage announcements in the Sunday New York Times. These are the chosen ones — an amalgam of breeding, brains, education and achievement. Everyone else might as well move into trailers.
A large and stable middle class is essential to the well-being of any developed nation. Without it, our society will eventually consist of nobles and serfs — the surefire formula for a new Dark Age.
Summary: We’re kidding ourselves if we think the class system is dead in America. If anything, class distinctions will become even more pronounced as achievers marry achievers.
It is an (unfortunate?) nature of pack animals such as humans to establish a social hierarchy. On one hand, it provides order, but on the other, oppression. Not everyone is equal, nut that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat each other with the respect the earn for themsleves as people. That said, if you are an ass, you’ve earned no respect from me, get on the bottom. But in society, peasant classes, immigrants, and the poor always end up oppressed. The only way to reduce our natural smugness is to try for that utopian equality. I’m not saying socialism, redistribute all wealth, just make it fairer. As in, you shouldn’t be able to get a billion+ dollars manipulating other people’s money. The best way to do this is moderation,middle class, only the super-talented should be able to be super-rich. This requires string regulation of industry, string social welfare services, and above all else, an effective education system.
Without the middle-class, who will support the rich and the poor? Well…obviously the rich now feel they are secure enough without us and since they generally make most of the decisions for the rest of us they don’t feel they need the middle-class anymore….and they’ll let the poor go to grass. Wonder what would happen if the entire middle-class decided to withdraw all their money from banks.
Funny, never seen that from your fellow Americans on certain discussion fora. Rather it seems to be more:
Lefty: The class system is alive and well and the evil greedy rich are exploiting the 99% by rigging the system in favour of themselves, whilst the stupid redneck wingnuts support them. What happened to “all men are created equal?”
Righty: America was founded on the principle equality of opportunity not equality of outcome, libtard. The poor aren’t really poor, after all, 99% of them them have TVs and cellphones, right? The only reason they’re poor is they don’t work hard enough! Just because you can’t be bothered to get off your ass and work doesn’t mean you’re entitled to have our SOCIALIST government steal from my hard-earned wages and give it to you as a handout!
i like food
I feel that the middle class is what keeps America as sane as possible. The middle class people are the ones working everyday to pay for the expense of the poor people of America, they also pay for the lifestyle of the wealthy by working for the wealthy who take the middle class peoples money and give little in return. Without the middle class people there would be no structure in American economics and the poor people would become poorer and the wealthy would become less wealthy.
I disagree with this idea that genetics plays such an important role in one’s future (though there’s something to be said about political and business dynasties), but the goal of a larger middle class is one I can get on board with, as someone who believes income discrepancies to be the underlying cause of most forms of prejudice in society.
Another “nice guy” bites the dust. Kobach
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article221350970.html
Just another example of incomletents doing the only thing they can do and idiot vkters buying the incompetents koolaide. If I had a business, I would be very hesitant to employee one of these politicians, even in maintenance empting trash.
Leo Durocher
(only you will get this, Duck)
dd, am I nuts to think Florida needs to pass legislation that standardizes ballots statewide? Broward County, almost 75% democrat, with an elected democrat election supervisor, is now once again in the drosshairs. Her main job is election supervision and ballot development.
This morning I heard the democrats were challeging 25,000 ballots because they had a vote for governor and not one for senate. The senate was listed at the end of the ballot. They claim people wanted to vote but missed the senate .
This will go on for months and numerious court cases. I say if you are too dumb to not go throughthe complete ballot, then that is your problem and the person you failed to vote for. There should not be any mulligans when voting!
They did
The laws are being ignored
The number of uncounted ballots must be reported within 30 min of the end of the election
It has been 72 hours and we do not know
Damaged ballots can not be copied without witnesses
Thousands of damaged ballots have been copied without witnesses
This is absolutely critical
Because the copyin of damaged ballots and the absence of a count of unrecorded ballots provides a trivial means to stuff the ballot
Ballots have no names on them
Absent a count there is no method to determine if a ballot was filled out by a voter or someone else
If those doing the counting are corrupt and unsupervised there is no limit to what they can do
At midnight Tuesday the Scott campaign was 66000 votes ahead
They determined at that time that absent fraud the number of likely outstanding ballots could not possibly change the outcome
Or even trigger a recount
In the intervening day on fl race outcome has been flipped and two more are headed for a recount
We keep getting this garbage by the left that election fraud is impossible
Except by corrupt republicans
It is not
It is simple
Both in person fraud and institutional fraud are easy
One of project veritable videos from the election has a poll worker repeatedly telling a pv reporter that an illegal alien not a citizen can vote
The pv reporter repeated asks for clarification
Concerned that such a voter could get areested even deported and is told over and over that non citizens can vote
In ga fulton and dealbreaker counties pulled voting terminals because of fear they might be hacked the result was long lines with Abraham’s blaming kemp
I understand the hacking concern
Maybe the left will agree to get rid of voting computers
Now we ha e clearly dubious things going on in Florida
As well as suspicions in Arizona
The Scott/Nelson change is a larger number of votes but a smaller portion of the electorate
An over 1% shift in millions of votes days after the election is highly suspicious
Regardless we need laws that are enforceable regarding the handling of elections
The first requirement is a paper record of every vote
The next is that once votes are cast the handling of ballots must be publicly supervised
The counting must be supervised
Next there must be absolute deadlines for everything
Next to the greatest extent possible we need to keep courts out of elections
Everything associted with the processing of elections s nherently corrupting
We can structure our laws to avoid the courts
Recounts as an example are a band idea
Georgia as an example requires that the winner have 50%;of the vote or there s an automatic runoff not a recouNot
Run offs are a muchbeeter idea that recountsthere is no need for a recount when there I sufficient margin of victory
Recounts always been nvolve fight over what to count and mysteriously found votes
Recounts that change the result always leave the winner under a cloud of illegitimacy
Recounts always leave us questioning the decisions of tube courts
This is bad
I argued this regarding “gerrymandering”
There is. To an objectively correct way to create voting districts
Any scheme has winners and losers
Any scheme is inherent,y gerrymandered
The courts should involve themselves n questions that are political rather than legal or constitutional
It is bad for the courts
We punish political corruption by voting th bastards out
We also need all voting to be on a voting machine. There are ways to keep that off the internet and keep the count safe. But paper ballots have got to go!
Absolutely not
No matter what 5he problems with paper ballots
All machines are worse
Computers
Old mechanical machines
They are not transparent
Further you must have a paper original of the actual vote that third parties can count later
Absolutely every form of counting fraud becomes pointless if you are ultimately going to get caught
That leaves only forging ballots
“Absolutely not
No matter what the problems with paper ballots
All machines are worse
Computers
Old mechanical machines”
This is the archaic thinking that is creating problems in Florida. Any problem you come up with with computer entry can be corrected much easier than correcting problems with paper ballots. Florida has proven that over the past 18 years!!!!!
The problems in Florida are stupidity and failure to follow the law
As well as corruption
Technology does not prevent corruption
It just makes it harder to find
You can never correct the two fatal flaw of every form of voting machine in existence
That you can rig a machine with a small conspiracy
That you can not make a machine that people will trust
Machines are not transparent enough and can not be
Even if you could make a machine that could not be gamed
People would still doubt that
SO lets have the whole country doing a “Florida”
Or let’s just fix our elections
It is not that hard
Totally impoverished nations manage to have elections with paper ballots
And count the vote usually within hours
Maybe we need jimmy carter to monitor elections in broward and palm beach ?
I do not know if we ware watching fraud
I do know we are watching the law being completely disregarded
And the only explanations are total incompetence or fraud
No matter what the result is trust in elections in Florida is being destroyed
Do those on the left not grasp that when they create the appearance that they are cheating
That makes it easier for those on the right to rationalize doing the same ?
It is very very important that we trust that elections followed the rules
It is ok to be upset with the outcome
It is not ok to beleive the election was rigged
“It is not ok to beleive the election was rigged”
I think Florida has been able to accomplish the impossible. Both dems and reps believe their is something wrong with our election process. Voter surpression to voter fraud, all equal rigged election
The is universal agreement 5here is a problem
There is nothing even close to agreement regarding what needs done
In fact the desires of republicans and democrats are nearly opposite
HAV of 2001 if anything made things worse
The fundamental problems is not the error rate of different voting methods
The big issue is fraud
What methods make fraud easier
What ones are most difficult to find
All forms of machine are a bad idea
Computers are the worst because they require the most trust
And are the least transparent
Ultimately anything 5hat provides a voter verifiable permanent record
Precludes all counting frauds
As 5he ballots can be later verified and counted
No matter how easy a fraud is if you are going to get caught it is not worth it
What is occurring in az and fl is the next problem
“Found” votes
That is why reporting the ballot count 30 min after the election mattered
Whether all the votes are counted or not
So long as the number of uncounted ballots is known fraud is harder
I have serious problems with “copying” damaged ballots
We live in an era where digital cameras and scanners are ubiquitous
We should not have any hand transcription of ballots
Scan and preserve the original
And then work with theyscan
Again any fraud will be caught so long as the original is preserved
Finally I think recounts hand counts and challenges to ballots are dangerous inherently corrupting and stupid
If an election is too close
Have an automatic run off
That is what several states do
Dictate that the winner must have 50% of the vote and must win by a margin greater than the margin of error
That highly disincentivizes small frauds
Because to avoid a runoff you not only have to flip the election but generate a large enough margin of victory to avoid a runnof
“15 House Republicans with A NRA ratings lost on Tuesday.
All 15 were replaced by Democrats with F NRA ratings.”
Six in 10 who went to the polls this election favored stricter gun control measures, according to CBS News national exit polling. It was 66% for voters under 30 years of age
The fact that something is a right means it is not subject to a vote
Yes, but in most all cases when something is legislated to protect a minority of people (ie Obamacare) it infringes on the rights of the majority.
That would be correct and you may not infringe on a right merely to help someone else
Btw Obamacare does not protect anything
Protect means that it secures something that is yours
Papa a gives you something that is not a right and that you did not pay for
It appears we will fill this tread up in short time arguing about terminology.
“Btw Obamacare does not protect anything
Protect means that it secures something that is yours”
I stand corrected. I should have written “Yes, but in most all cases when something is legislated to provide for a minority of people (ie Obamacare) it infringes on the rights of the majority.”
Ron
Nearly all of us think in words
It is important that our use of words in matters involving government are accurate
Because we impose law by force
Everyone would be libertarian if we used words clearly when discussing government
Progressivism and even conservatism rely on ambiguity to elide the fact that force is being used
Don’t you think there is a difference between something that is yours by right and that places little or no burden on others and something govern has assigned to you that must be provided by others ?
For years the California murder rate had been in decline, but has steadily risen to match the rise in gun sales:
“The rise in gun-related homicides in California comes as gun sales reach new heights statewide and in the nation. California gun dealers processed 1.3 million gun sales last year, up by 450,000 from 2015.
Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article177540461.html#storylink=cpy
The immediate lessons to be learned from the Thousand Oaks California shooting:
1- gun laws have to be toughened, to weed out mentally unstable people like the ex Marine, who police had previously identified as likely suffering from PTSD.
2-the obscene, excessive number of deadly firearms in private hands has to be REDUCED.
I have no idea whether you claims are correct but
The laws did NOT get more lax
CA has had higher than average violent crime rates for a state for as long as it has had gun laws
The fact is that gun laws do nothing to reduce violent crime
No credible study has ever found gun laws effective
Many studies have found the opposite
Though that statistical support is weak
Regardless gun laws do not work
We know that
If you think otherwise you are willfully blind
Regardless if you advocate for policies that infringe on rights that all evidence demonstrates is ineffective you are obligated to explain why you are neither stupid nor immoral
Is there another choice ?
Regardless your feelings do not justify the use of force against others
Frankly the gun control argument is so over and so factually refuted
That the fact we are still having it reflects horribly on those still pushing it
Please explain what it takes to persuade you if facts are not enough ?
Why should you ever be allowed any power when it is so clear that you will use force without justification
Midterm Elections In Retrospect:
It wasn’t as much of a wave as I had hoped; but the Blue Undertow will be decisive going forward.
Dems flipped seven governorships, six state legislative chambers, and more than 300 state House and Senate seats on election night. The party is regaining control at the state level after suffering devastating losses throughout the Barack Obama years. And the demographic offuture voters over the next decade strongly favors the Dems.
Glad I only have maybe 15-20 years left on this earth. Let those coming behind put up with socialist crap.
I’m more of a Yogi Berra fan.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
I don’t know who said this: The Dems gaining the House was like the popular vote, while the Senate vote was like the Electoral vote. I agree.
I hope the Dems learned to pay attention to key states and stop listening to Hillary and her identity favoring tacticians.
dd, yes the house is like the popular vote and the senate the electoral college. But looking at the results, most of those losing in the house were more in swing districts and those that identify with more moderate positions. Many of those that were defeated were defeated by more identity supporting candidates. in the senate, looking at the candidates that lost, it was those in the moderate wing, replaced by more wing nuts..
For instance, Donnelly and Heidcamp and maybe Nelson were ones you could say were willing to work across party lines. McCain, Graham, Rubio were/are supporters of party politics, but they too are willing to work with the opposition. Donnelly and Heidcamp lost to GOP candidates much more far right than moderate. Graham and Rubio are a dying breed.
With the changes I see occurring in congress, I see it moving much further into identity politics than away. If you are moderate, you have a fatal disease and your prognosis for a cure is poor with a life expectancy of 2-4 years.
And with the identity politics, more legislation supporting the identity positions will be approved while infringing on the rights of the majority.
Mostly moderate republicans were replaced by mostly moderate democrats
Who will themselves be subsequently replaced if the democrats controlling the house are not moderate which is unlikely
Overall this favors republicans
Because conservatism is inherently more moderate than progressivism
But overall is not always
I hope dems retain the house in 2020
Because for them to do so requires moving right
Towards the center
I do not think they will
As much as each party needs moderates to win swing districts
Each parties base starts at its extremes and moves towards the center
Again giving republicans an edge because they start closer to center
Dave, once again you are wrong. I have said all along for months the GOP was going to lose the house because they were shifting too far right. And I was also saying that many of the democrats were shifting much more left. So far I have been right.
So if you think “Mostly moderate republicans were replaced by mostly moderate democrats” has happened, then think again. Number 1 issue will be the individual mandate. Number 2 issue will be a national living wage. Every damn one of the new democrats will vote for those socialist positions.
The rights of many are infringed when they are forced to purchase insurance they do not want or need.
If we have a national living wage, then lets make it a real living wage. In North Carolina, the group in Mass. that created the living wage, defines $11.08 as the living wage for this area for a single person, no kids. Married, two kids is about $14.82. In Arkansas, it is a little lower, in NYC way far higher.
So if the democrats really want a living wage, lets make it a living wage based on location and marital/child basis. So in NYC, they calculated one adult, no kids $16.14, two adult, two kid living wage is about $21.55 per hour.
They think fair is the way to go. make it fair. Why should some 21 year old male in Arkansas make the same living wage as a 40 year old mother with two kids in New York?
Don’t tell me force is bad. (PPACA), I know that. Don’t tell me a national living wage is bad. I know that also. Don’t tell me the free market is good. I know that also.
But don’t tell me what happened last Tuesday was good for the Republicans, because I know that was not! And they brought it all on themselves by electing Trump over a host of other better candidates and by running idiots that back his asinine behavior.
Look at the peo0le who won republican seats
They are mostly very moderate
They promised to work with trump and republicans
They are people like Connor lamb
The broad surveys you cite are not important
It does not matter what deep blue voters think is important
We know how they will vote
Just as it does not matter what deep red voters think is important
There are two things that matter
What motivated those who normally sit out mid terms
What motivated those whose votes are not a given
And we judge both by who wins
The rabid left wing of democrats was always going to win in deep blue districts
Just as the conservatives would always win in deep red districts
What matters is who won the pink and purple districts and why
Those were moderate dems
The next question is whether they have a future or whether pelosi will sacrifice the in the lefts war on everything
Was Tuesday a gop victory ?
No
Was it a huge defeat ?
No
It is going to take time for good deep analysis but the first clues suggest Trump will win in 2020
Can any Democrat running against him count on ny,ca, and a collection of other deep blue states
Absolutely
But it looks like trump is still likely to win the states that tipped the election
There are also other factors that have to be weighed
The gop would have done dramatically better a week earlier before the mad bomber and bower
Whether republicans should have or not
The got blamed
They took a 3-4 point hit from that
But that is life that is how things go
Republicans are not entitled to have everything break their way
Neither are democrats
Aside from the shenanigans in Florida and az the election is over
I am not unhappy with the results
Though I am very unhappy with the
Crap going on in Florida and as
This is not a third world country
If there are hundreds of thousands of votes in one precinct not counted with hours of the close of polls much less 3 days later the most likely explanation is fraud
One of our biggest problems with elections is the absence of national standards
That are enforceable
The rules are supposed to be the same in every congressional district and precinct in the nation
And they should be enforceable
Do we have to keep calling graham a moderate ?
Graham’s remarks at the Kavanaugh hearing were excellent
But graham is no moderate
He is one of the biggest war mongers in the senate
And he is far to the right of trump or any other 2016 gop candidate
I call graham a moderate in the same way I would have called Reagan a moderate. Anyone willing to moderate a position to get 60%+ of what they want like Reagan did many times is a moderate in my mind. I define a staunch conservative as someone aligned with the Freedom caucus, most always ready to road block anything and even harm the country to get their way. Same way Democrats can be defined as moderate a staunch liberals.
Yes Graham is a war hawk, but he has also crossed party lines for the good of the country. Unlike Trump and the Trumpsters.
Graham is not a moderate in the way Reagan was
http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Lindsey_Graham.htm
Identity politics is a creature of the left only
There are many republican flaws
Identity politics is not one of those
Identity politics is identical to actual white supremacy
Not the fake stuff the left fixates one
Identity politics values or devalues a person because of their immutable attributes
Because they are white or black
Gay or straight
Male or female
Identity politics is actual racism
Not the fake kind the l ft fixates on
I beleive the gop still has total control of the majority of states if not at least a large plurality
I would further note that an incredible number of elections were within 1%
And except fl and ga the gop lost those
Every one of those could trivially flip
The democrats did well in the house
Better than projected
But still less than the historical norms you think are important
The republicans did better in the senate than projected
This was not a wave
I am not sure what it was
I think voters were sending a message
I think that they want divided government
Regardless though these results might save the Democratic Party
They are not a threat to the gop
Much of what I have been reading suggests that they indicate trump will win in 2020
Because the gop losses were mostly not in the states trump won
I would further note democrats are now in the game
They will be held accountable
Both by the left
And by the rest of us
That is going to be very hard to deliver on
Trump has undermined our reliability among our allies.
“We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America.” -Macron
Europe now lumps the USA with dictators and unreliable tyrants: Trump’s “America First” attitude to foreign policy has destabilised longstanding alliances. World leaders, including Putin, snicker at him behind his back. Not only does the Pope think he’s a boob, the world at large is laughing at his blundering ineptitude. But on the bright side, he’s provided huge amounts of comedic inspiration to late night hosts and comedians and multitudes of political cartoonists.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-news-in-cartoons/ss-AAylz6W#image=4
Not to mention that CNN and Fox are getting richer.
Nothing like a classless class clown spreading sound bites like Johnny Appleseed and have them turn to dollars.
To my knowledge trump has no ownership int rest in either fox or cnn
I beleive I linked to an article elsewhere that noted that cnn surveyed viewers and the majority say they want less, trump news
But whenever cnn moves off trump ratings decline
This is one of the reasons we have to be careful about the weight we place on voting and polls
Not opinion viewpoint or vote is meaningful unless you have skin in the game
Placards is extremely unpopular if you tell people they will have to pay even a tiny amount of it
Do other world leaders like trump ?
Possibly not
Do they fear and respect him absolutely ?
We are done the idiotic Obama apology tour, thank god
I would separately ask you who of these other world leaders you honestly think are so much better .?
You keep comparing trump to Putin
And you do not like trump
So I can not see you liking Putin or caring what he thinks
All of Europe is starting to much more seriously work towards its own defense
That alone will likely shift Europe more conservative
When you have to ponder defending yourself
Your welfare state becomes a luxury as well as idiotic left wing political views
I am not honestly concerned that trump is an authoritarian tyrant
But I am concerned that increasingly failed leftist states are becoming more authoritarian
Only an idiot would think it’s good to have your allies fear you.
Only a moron would conjecture that fear equates to respect.
Only a boob would equate tRump’s behavior as dispositive to our long term interests.
Only a fool would make your comment
Nations do not respect other nations for their eloquence or generosity
But because it is in their self interest or because they fear the consequences
The relations between nations are pure anacho capitalism and always have been
There is no world government
International law to 5he extent it exists is voluntary and obeyed only because it is in a nations interests or from fear of they consequences
You can wish that nations were altruistic but they are not
That is reality and the true moron is the one who has deluded themselves otherwise
Are you ever capable of getting past your feelings to facts logic reason ?
Can you name a single country that does not place the interests of its citizens first
What is most disturbing about america first is that so many idiots think it is a problem
There is no world government
I would note that the leftish buy local is nothing more than america first at a micro economic level
Go re read Washington’s farewell address
It practically reads like trump wrote it
America first is just the norm of being a nation
American exceptionalism is the understanding that certain American values that anyone else could share provide the us with an advantage over the world
First and foremost our core respect for liberty
Absolutely fantastic!!!
We are not the policeman of the world
Frances interests are not ours and visa versa
It is this kind of crap that has many of us ecstatic about trumps court appointments
I actually support DACA as part of comprehensive immigration reform
But DACA is not the law
It is not regulation authorized by law
I do not support prosecutorial discretion and that is what Obama claims it was
That makes it less than policy
DACA is near certainly unconstitutional and probably also illegal
But even if it were both legal and constitutional
As it is not authorized by law
Trump is completely free to reverse it
The court then ludicrously gets into
Why trump reversed it
Sorry but that is outside the courts domain
An act is legal or not
If the act is legal
Then the guess of a third party as to why the act was done does not change anything
The law is the same regardless of the feelings of others regarding the reasons for our actions
These judges have violated their oath to uphold the law and constitution
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/daca-ruling-doubles-as-an-activist-press-release/amp/
At this point it is no longer possible to trust the results of the Florida election
There are similar problems in Arizona though not as blatant so far as Florida
And if republicans seek to do anything about this we will get more idiotic screeches of voter suppression
Get a clue
If nearly everyone does not trust the results of an election
Government has no legitimacy
It is not important overall who wins
It is critical that everyone and particularly the losers accept that the results accurately reflect the vote
Whatever government does
Particularly elections must have rules
And they must be followed
Always
It is nearly impossible to tell incompetence from fraud
But it is trivial to establish that rules are not followed
One of the problems here is there is no fix possible
At this time there is no way to know with confidence that only legitimately cast ballots are being counted
That is the reason that ballot counts must be reported shortly after the polls close and
Status every 45min
Because those make fraud by election officials harder
But the most important missing element is oversite
So long as the handling of ballots is subject to press and public oversite
Fraud is nearly impossible
https://thefederalist.com/2018/11/09/florida-vote-scandal-coverage-shows-media-democrat-complicity-again/
I would further note that even if fraud is proven beyond a doubt
There is no remedy
No court is going to risk throwing out legitimate votes along with suspect ones
We have seen this again and again
The process is broken
Fixing it is not hard
But any effort to do so will face vigorous opposition from the left
Maybe we need some Russian interference to fix Florida😈😈😈😈
Broward and palm beach have a very bad record going back decades
I am not a dObbs fan but the congressman was pretty good
I am strongly opposed to all forms of early voting
And any voting that is not in person except for those l8ke military who can not come to a poll thru no choice of their own
Voting is supposed to be HARD not easy
We want as few people whose interest and preferences are weak voting as possible
If you are unwilling to show up at 5he polls on Election Day
Then you should not vote
There are some issues th3 left complains about that should be addressed
Poor an minority districts generally have long lines and are ill prepared
I think that national election voting should be “federalized”
Meaning we should pass ferderal law setting uniform voting rules accross the country
We should vote in the same way using 5he same method in every precinct in the country
Then the federal government should provide a fixed amount of money to every single precinct in the country
Every congressional district has the same number of people
It should have the same budget
The same equipment
The same opportunity to vote as every other district
While az demonstrates all the problems with voting by mail
In my state even absentee ballots require in person verification of identity
You have to go to the voter registration office
Or possably a notary for military
Provide I’d
Fill out your ballot
Place it in a sealed envelope
Sign the envelope
Place that in anothe envelope that is sealed and sign by voter registration
Whenever you do not have to present yourself verify I’d and sign
There is opportunity for mischeif
Trump flubs it; A finger to our allies and the ghosts of our boys in WWI.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/trump-and-macron-meet-whats-left-to-talk-about/2018/11/10/680a014c-e1ec-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html?utm_term=.dacea8be8a1b
This peice is your idea of news ?
This is a bad opinion peice dressed up as fake straight news
It is chock full from end to end with the reporter personal guesses as to trumps mental state
Why do you left wing nuts continuously think you can read other people’s minds ?
So the story here is trump offended the what zero living with veterans ?
I guess we should piss on him for not showing up to remember Gettysburg too ?
Dave what the F is wrong with you? Men died in that war so he could be president 100 years later. If that had been Obama the left would be going ballistic like they did when he bowed to the Saudi mucky muck. Helo’s fly in rain all the time. Just need to be more careful on take off and landing if visibility is restricted somewhat. Those guys fought in hot, cold, rain, snow, dry and any other type of weather. What the “F” did Trump do? Gettysburg is totally different!
He is more of an asshole than I ever imagined and that was bad to start with. His hair can stand a few drops of rain now and then.
Ron I do not expect trump to visit every 100 year old battlefield
I did not expect it of Obama
There are more us battlefields that there are days in a presidential term
And at each one brave soldiers died defending our freedom
Thus far trump is not as good at respecting the military as bush
But better than Obama
This is more tds
Dave, there is difference in visiting every military cemetery and having planned for a 100 year aniversary visit and cancelling because of the rain. If you dont want to visit during the 100 year anniversary, then plan a visit at another date! Getting your hair wet is not a reason to cancel. We do have large umbrellas.
Please stop defending every assinine move this asshole does. Defend the good like the economics, the ACA moves, etc. Critcize the bad like you would criticize a child that demonstrates bad behavior.
The 100 year anniversary is today
Belleau Wood was in June
Trump dropped one event among many
I doubt any president ever gets to every scheduled event
Belleau Wood was significant
As were innumerable other WWI battles
This is skipping one event not the entire tour
This is just not 5hat big a deal
I am not defending trumps every asinine move
This is just not one of those
Even if everything is exactly as the left claims
This is still much ado about nothing
Trump has made serious mistakes with vets
This is not one of those
There are no Belleau Wood marine survivors that got snubbed
What I am addressing is the hysteria on the left
We have jay with a pictured snapped purportedly of world leaders lookin* at Putin
The pictures was taken at a moment trump was smiling but the rest were scowling
This purportedly means trump is Putin’s toady
One picture at one instant ?
Fine let’s go there
If we are going to make one instant stand for hours
Trump is purportedly depressed over the mid terms
He did not look depressed
I guess the press is lying again
See how that works ?
It is trivial to manufacture a lie if you want
Obama never had this problem ?
Oh really ?
There is a long list of examples of Obama dis respecting the military
We even debated some of them here
Brent may have broken the rules for a 501(C)3 he headed and also paid himself very, very well while doing it.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/whitaker-violate-tax-exempt-group-clinton-criticize
“Yet the group has engaged in one partisan pronouncement after another, mostly directed at Democrats. During the last presidential race, Whitaker argued in July 2016 newspaper opinion pieces that Clinton should be prosecuted for her handling of her private email server — a favorite talking point of Donald Trump. The opinion pieces identified Whitaker as FACT’s leader.
In September 2016, Whitaker argued that Clinton had acted shamelessly by appointing her charity’s donors to boards of the State Department when she was secretary of state.
“I don’t think anybody in the history of our country that served in the administration has been this bold in their private fundraising and their sort of giving favors,” he said in a radio interview posted on YouTube by his group.
Daniel Borochoff, president of CharityWatch, a Chicago-based group that monitors the nonprofit world, said that statement appears to violate the IRS ban on engagement for or against a particular political candidate.
In 2015 and 2016, Whitaker earned a total of $654,000 from FACT — 30 percent of its entire spending of $2.2 million over that two-year span. His 2016 salary was $402,000; the average CEO or executive director at 380 advocacy or education charities in that year made a salary of $173,099, according to Matthew J. Viola, a vice president at Charity Navigator.
materials.”
I have repeatedly told you these laws are unconstitutional
You do not seem to get it
You absolutely can not bar political speach
It has the highest level of constitutional protection there is
Besides we have debated this before
It was extensively addressed in irsgate
Yes actually 501c3s can engage in political speach
Finally you are citing top ?
You might as well be citing infowars
Oh wait no, oddly infowars is more credible
Btw there is another idiotic flaw in the tpm article
The open was by whitaker
Noting his participation if fact
Is what journalists call disclosure
It does not make his remarks those of the group
I would further note that an individual can not violate an Obama era irs mistake interpretation of an irs rule that the courts had rejected
Only a corporation can violate a law governing corporations
I have no idea whether Whitaker is going to be a good acting ag
Neither do you
Nor does TPM
But Andrew McCarthy seems to think so
As does Rod Rosenstein
What I would suggest is that Whitaker will shortly know whether mueller has anything of substance
If he does which seems highly unlikely
The is little chance Whitaker will shut mueller down
If mueller has anything it will ultimately become public
And Whitaker will look like shit
If there is nothing mueller will fade quietly
Which is appropriate
I would further note that we can expect 2 years of Adam schiff ranting about all of this
Which I really do not care about
Schiff is an embarrassment to democrats
And does more harm to democrats than trump
Repeated investigations of Hillary Clinton each found more and more
They also found Clinton had actually hidden the truth
That would be actual obstruction of justice
Repeated investigations of trump undermine the basis for any investigation
If you do not succeed in tying trump to Russia in an actual criminal way
No matter what else you come up with
You look bad
There is a lot about trump I do not like
There are even occasionally things he has done that are wrong
But the most egregious actions of trump
Are small compared to those of Obama or Clinton
For every stupid thing you say trump did it is always possible to list several near identical but more egregious actions of Clinton and Obama
Yet you and the left either said nothing or defended their conduct
Being honest about trump requires that you admit that however bad he is it is less than Obama
Less than Clinton
Until you do that you continue to drown in hypocracy
503c3 is a non-profit
While that includes charities
MOst 503c3s are not charities
So Whitaker got paid
Presuming you tpm data is correct
Cheryl mill and several other state department employees under Clinton received large salaries from the Clinton foundation
Would TPMs interpretation of what is permitted bar mill from working in the state department ?
Has he no shame: “President Donald Trump is set to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — to the wife of one of the Republican Party’s most prominent patrons, the White House announced Saturday.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/10/medal-of-freedom-trump-adelson-982928
Anyone with a moral compass knows this is a payback for donation money.
That leaves out the Trumpanzee hoard, who will rationalize or what-about it.
Or maybe it is further demonstration of your racism and antisemitism.
Miriam Adelson is a Jew
And an Israeli
Here’s additional evidence of my antisemitism, you ignoramus, where my family donated to plant 16 trees in morimum for relatives lost in the hollacaust
http://www.kkl-jnf.org/tourism-and-recreation/forests-and-parks/martyrs-forest.aspx
You make my point
I do not actually think you are anti Semitic or racist
But your opposition to Miriam Adelson is no different from that of trump and others to sorros
Actually it is worse
Sorros does appear to be funding actual lawlessness
Further sorros self identifies as anti Semitic despite Jewish ancestors
Adelson is outspokenly Jewish and her advocacy is inside the law
Regardless my point is that calling people racists and anti semites because of political disagreements is WRONG
Further that it is highly Divisive are just causes anger
How you feel and respond when called racist or anti Semitic
Is how those you call racist and anti Semitic respond
If you can not understand that those on the other side of political divides will justifiably respond negative to being called racist and anti semetic
You are the problem and worse there is no hope
Obama excepted the Nobel peace prize
For what ?
Killing people with drones ?
Bombing civilians ?
Did Obama end any war ?
Did he broker any reconciliation ?
The medal has been awarded to several hundred people
Adelson received it as a philanthopist
But let’s take a page out of the lefts playbook
I guess you are a racist and anti semite
Because Miriam Adelson is a committed jew
Maybe our intrepid leader knew this about Comey:
“Fired FBI chief James Comey used his private Gmail account hundreds of times to conduct government business — and at least seven of those messages were deemed so sensitive by the Justice Department that they declined to release them.”
https://nypost.com/2018/11/09/james-comey-discussed-sensitive-fbi-business-on-his-private-email/
The more relevant question is why Comey did not remove himself from the Clinton investigation ?
How can you investigate someone for a criminal act you are committing ?
Oh my, Florida really does suck: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-ballots-are-still-inside-opa-locka-post-office-10899192
I hope this is fake news, because it shows piles of ballots that are uncounted.
I beleive the article misrepresents Florida election law
I think the requirement is a postmark 4days before the election
Ballots received before the election can be rejected based on postmark
Ballots recieved after the election can be accepted based on postmark
Regardless there is law
Whatever it is it must be followed
By every precinct
The same for all
That is how law works
If you do not like the law
Change it
More evidence Trump is a Fuckhead:
While Californians are scrambling to stay out of harm’s way, when hundreds of homes and lives are being shattered, the moron tweets he’s going to withhold funds to address the tragedy based on a false premise.
He really is an incompetent asshole.
All those troops he assembled along the border for a political ploy are sitting there, doing nothing. If California was a Red State you can bet your ass he’d be sending them inland, to assist the firefighters.
I do not recall Obama sending the army to fight California fires
Obama didn’t have 5,000 troops sitting in close proximity during any California fire outbreaks, dummy.
I am going to assume you are correct
Though I actually doubt it
Because it does not matter
Fire fighting is not the role of the military
Defending our borders is
The fact that forest service mismanagement has increased the risk of large forest fires is a well known fact that predates trump by at least a decade
Even Obama was trying to improve the forest services incompetent management of us forests
Forests and all nature needs to be purged periodically or it degenerates
Forests in particular need culled and cleared or they become more prone to large fires
California has problems that significantl Y predate trump
I would further note that most California forest fire fighters are prisoners
Who are not permitted to fight fires after they get out of prison
Last i checked California was a deep blue state
Apparently numerous studies and commission say that Trump is Right about the fires in California.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/11/21/the_burning_issue_with_california_fires__138713.html
More evidence people calling Trump a Fuckhead are Fuckheads.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/16/misguided-environmentalism-blame-californias-wildfires/
The incompetent Asswipe In Paris:
Dishonors Dead US Marines.
(He had to keep his comb over and bone spurs dry).
Belleau woods is not mentioned in the marine Corp history on wikipedia
Though the marines did fight there
The battle was in June not November
This year is the 100th anniversary
But today is not
This is manufactured outrage
Astro turf
Apparently the decision not to fly was made by the marines who fly the presidents helicopter
And a huge presidential motorcade cutting through the heart of Paris and 55 miles of France was dreamed a logistical nightmare
Ever hear of travel by automobile?
How do you think Kelly got to the cemetery?
Trump & you: two peas in an ignoramus pod.
It was high overcast, not foggy, not rain, etc. The military is taking the bullet.
It is not what it was
It is what was predicticted
I would further note absolutely this could be a cover
It could be a cover for trump not wanting to go
It could be a cover for secret negotiations
It could be cover for some temporary crisis or threat we will never hear of
Please provide link to info you are quoting as I can find nothing that indicates the decision was the military. All the stories I see is the “White House” cancelled the visit.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/11/10/fury-as-trump-fails-to-make-one-hour-drive-to-wwi-cemetery-because-of-rain-8126006/
I found a link to an article in twitter
News on twitter is about as true as snow in hell.
Please re read
I found a LINK to a news article on twitter
No link appeared
Separately as also noted
A story in nyt or Wapo is no more credible without a named source
Can you tell me the actual source of the claim that trump decided not to go unilaterally ?
If you can not in today’s world of rumour journalism and fake news the entire story is stupid
Not to mention irrelevant
Its not irrelevant t vets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will find that out in 2020
But if I were to bet
Trump does incredibly well with the military
Can I ask why everyone thinks otherwise ?
The whitehouse does not have to provide a reason
And unless they actually do
Then anything you get is either an anonymous leak or speculation
One thing we should have learned from the past two years is absent a specific source anything in the press is dubious
Even Waco and nyt
I dont think otherwise. I believe the white house cancelled. I also believe it is a slap in the face of vets to say one thing and change due to a few rain drops. If the other country leaders got there, Kelly got there, then Trump could have been there. He did not want to go, so he did not.
Absent of documented reason for not going, I am free to make up my own mind as to why he did not. Pictures of Kelly walking in the cemetary without umbrella, pictures of the limo sitting at the location Trump was staying or meeting with a very high cloud cover making helo transfer very safe, both show me something very different than weather precluding him from attending.
There are no living Belleau Wood vets
Trump has done much to honor vets
Though bush was best at calling individual families of killed veterans
No one has done more to improve actual conditions for living vets than trump
Which do you care about as a vet
Not being forced to pay for private medical care or travel sometimes hundreds of miles to the va or some cemetary in France ?
You are fee to make up your own mind
But this is highly unlikely to change any votes
“But this is highly unlikely to change any votes”
Now this I can support 100%
Idiots vote for idiots.
That is how we ended up with Trump and Clinton
And we will end up with Trump and Idiot Democrat #2 in 2020.
No the fact that Kelly got there does not mean trump could
If he traveled by helicopter the military is far more likely to take small risks with Kelley
Kelly does not travel in a multi mile cavalcade that requires shutting streets for tens of miles in advance and surveying the route days in advance for 1000 yd either side
Can you read .
Have you ever seen a presidential motorcade ?
Obama cam to my city just as a candidate
And it shut everything down for half a day
A us president traveling by car would shut half of Paris down
Dave, stop drinking the Trump Kool-Aid. Look at these pictures.Kelly at the cemetery, no rain!. Clouds over the building where limo setting, high overcast, no rain. This total BS. We have doplar radar. We have technology that tells NASCAR that rain is X minutes from the track. Trump does what Trump wants to do! When did he ever listen to someone else when he decided to do something.
https://news.sky.com/story/trump-joins-world-leaders-in-france-for-wwi-armistice-day-commemorations-11549901
According to the reports I have read the marines and as made the decision
Weather is unpredictable
There are photos of macron same day with an umbrella
Further you and the left are wriggling out over one visit to one cemetery among many
Everyone including trump is at another WWI cemetrary today
That would be 11/11/2018 exactly 100 years after 11/11/1918
Yesterday was not special
Read “the guns of August” which is an excellent readable history of WWI
Belleau Wood is one of many horrific battles
It was one of many Americans were in
The marines were only a small part o& Belleau Wood
It was not equivalent to gettysburg
That would be the first battle of the marne
Since Viet Nam era vets have been screwed iver for years and Trump is a rich kid draft dodger that used foot problems tovstay out, I can wig out when this happens. He bought his way out with that sham since few others could use foot problems themselves.
Like I pisted awhile back, most were told ” the army doesnt walk much anymire, we get there by helo’s”.
OH YEAH, the same thing that operated during the monsoon season that could lift off in a little rain!
I get really ticked when trump pisses on the military service of others
Even those like Kerry who may have unearned medals or gore who rode a desk in Vietnam
Being there is more than not
But I have no clue if trump has a real problem with his feet
But the military gets to decide what gets you out
So I am not going to accuse him or anyone else of gaming the system
Absent evidence they did
Geez Dave, you do live in LALA land! Everyone knew during Viet Nam if where “connected” you received some form of deferment! Now tell me a 9 digit millionaire is not connected!
The draft ended a month before I had to register
I am very well aware of pretty much everything about the Vietnam era draft as it applied to me
No deferments were not that easy to get
Though not impossible
Deferments were quite hard unless you were connected.
Was your family connected?
I did not have to register
I thought a lot about what I would do if drafted
Or how to avoid being drafted
As I think I noted before I was unable to get into anapolis because my eye sight was just barely too bad
The navy was a way to serve
To get college paid for
And to avoid the jungles of Vietnam
How connected was I ?
I had letters of reference from both my state senators at that time
But for my vision that and my hs record are SATs would have got me into anapolis
Are good SATs and an excellent hs record “connected” ?
I did not know this at the time but I never would have been drafted
I was constantly getting sick in college
I was hospitalized just after graduation
They found that a congenital condition had destroyed my right lower lung and they removed 1/5 of my lung
This would have been caught by a chest X-ray years earlier
I have no idea if trump really has problems with his feet
But even connected people sometimes have real problems
And even unconnected people sometimes do too
Dave, he has bone spurs in his feet. Most bone spurs cause no problems. Some cause pain in th feet. None would dause anyone to not be able to serve their country in some way. Daddy bought him out of the draft by connections with elected officials. He could gave served!
The relevant question is in the 60s
Did the military disqualify people with bone spurs
I am near certain the answer is absolutely yes
It is not pain that is relevant
It is the ability to march
If trump had a medical issue that disqualified him
His daddies money did not matter
He was going to be disqualified
“THEY DID NOT! I have spurs on the top bones of my feet. I also have an extra bone in thevarch that allows for extremely flat feet. It allows my arch to collapse.I was told, ” thevarmy does not walk as far now as in the past. We get men where we need them by helo. ” So I served in the Navy! That asshole bought his way out! Stop defending him for shit like this!
Now is irrelevant
In fact Vietnam was the first helicopter war
And even there there was a great deal of humping
But even that does not matter
It does not matter if bone spurs are not an impediment now
It does not matter if they should not have been then
All that matters
Is would bone spurs have disqualified trump then
Dave, read what the hell I wrote! I was going to be drafted in 1968. Bone spurs would not get me a deferment. Read again what the doctors told me in a pre induction physical about walking and helos.
I was there! Not you. Trumps daddy bought him out of the military!
No more discussion on this subject.
You’re 100% right, Ron.
It was a bought medical exemption; I bet he didn’t have to take the required draft physical, and instead presented a diagnosis from a private doctor.
And the phony bone spurs didn’t prevent him from competing at competitive baseball at that time, as he has often bragged.
Obviously trump was wealthy enough to have bought his way out at the time
But just because something is possible does not make it so
Either he has bone spurs or he does not
If he got a deferment from the military for them the presumption you must start with is he has them
Not that he does not
Dislike of trump does not alter probability
Bone spurs.
At this point in history there is no way to confirm with certainty if Trump’s deferment was legitimate.
But we can make our own judgement about it by examining what we know of the circumstances of the deferment, and what we know about Trump’s background, situation and mind set about serving in the Vietnam war.
Like most men his age, he didn’t want to be drafted. He had received four school deferments, but after graduating college he was eligible to be drafted, and lo and behold, he was diagnosed with foot spurs.
During the Vietnam war to be exempt for ‘Heel spur syndrome and hammertoe’ the severity of those ailments determined acceptance or rejection for military service. That decision required referral to a medical evaluation board, it wasn’t made at the initial physical evaluation.
His bone spurs (if indeed he had any significant bone spur pain) was minor. How do we know that.He admits it himself during an interview for a bio about him by Michael D’Antonio
“After our interview, and just a few weeks before my book was published, then-candidate Trump revisited the topic and reverted to his old story, “I had a minor medical deferment for feet, for a bone spur of the foot, which was minor,” he said.”
https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/23/opinions/trump-vietnam-deferment-opinion-dantonio/index.html
Trump repeated the same description of the bone spurs in an interview with The New York Times in August 2016, saying the bone spurs had been “temporary” — and had not had a meaningful impact on him.
“He said he had visited a doctor who provided him a letter for draft officials, who granted him the medical exemption. He could not remember the doctor’s name.”
“I had a doctor that gave me a letter — a very strong letter on the heels,” Mr. Trump said in the interview.
Question: if the malady was minor (it hadn’t stopped him from competing at college level sports) why did the doctor write a strong letter claiming the bone spurs were medically debilitating?
Doesn’t that suggest Ron is right, and his family ‘convinced’ the doctor to help get the deferral?
You are always free to make your own judgement about anything
But that does not make it good judgement
Unless you beleive there is something to white supremecy
One should presume that defects like bone spurs do not become less prevalent because you are an affluent white male
I have no idea whether he had pain
That is not actually a criteria for a medical exemption
Regardless most foot problems do not preclude the ordinary physical activity and sports even though they preclude military service
The military does not care about your pain
They do care about whether under the stresses that might be present in combat you shift from being a resource to being a burden
You do not trust trump about anything else why do you suddenly take his word over his foot condition
I do not think the military has a minor medical deferment
Either you meet the criteria
Or you do not
While I would concede that a private well paid specialist not included to send Wharton grads to be cannon fodder can likely magnify the significance of a problem
They are unlikely to create it from whole cloth
Further I believe bone spur deferments require xrays
And the military doctors are going to have to agree with private specialists
And they do not have some bias in favor of Wharton grads
Just to be clear
I am not defending trump
His remarks regarding other people of his era who did serve has been abysmal
But the issue is whether we should presume he is lying about his deferment
That is possible
But the odds are he is not
“But the issue is whether we should presume he is lying about his deferment
That is possible
But the odds are he is not”
Well in my book, when one lies about 90% of everything else and one only tells the truth 10% of the time, my odds favor a lie.
Trump has a particular way of speaking
Just as bush does and Obama did
Trumps speach is laced with phrases like very strong
Very fine
Basically he uses a lot of amplifying adjectives
But he uses very simple ones
This turns off highly educated people
Particularly those who use language to impress
Something trump absolutely never does
He uses language forcefully not eloquently
This is at least a part of the frothing of the left at him
He does not speak like they do
His words are blunt and unsophisticated
That is a significant factor in why you constantly accuse trump of lying
If trump said
The doctor wrote a letter saying I had bone spurs
You would be more inclined to leave it alone or not call it lying
But when trump adds “very strong”
Suddenly you are sure he is lying
Conversely trump speaks much as his voters do
Or at least in a way that is incredibly accessible to them
He never talks above blue collar workers
As noted when he uses adjectives he uses ones accessible to them
He speaks bluntly and forcefully which appeals to them
Contra the left blue collar workers do not want the erudite prose of most on the left
Though even Obama dumbs his language down but not nearly to the extent trump does
Jay, thank you for this much better description. You can convince most people to do most anything if there is enough money involved. And with Trumps daddy’s connections, he could have built that doctor a brand new office building with all the needed equipment with what he considered pocket change in his trousers.
I have no problem with anyone who got out of serving at that time anyway they could legally. I respected Mohammad Ali for his stance as he gave up a lucrative career for a period of time. I had no problem with men going to Canada. And some went to prison.
But I have a huge problem with assholes that disc the vets. Not me, since I was stateside all of my tour in the Navy. But the ones that died and injured that are still getting screwed by the government are the ones that need support.
Talks cheap. When you say you are going to do something and it concerns vets you f’in do it, one way or the other. The almanac for Paris France on November 10th from 12pm to 6 pm shows weather of scattered showers, broken clouds, winds SSW 10 MPH. If his helo can not fly in French weather like that, then they need to stop showing him flying in that stuff from the white house to Andrews to catch his plane to Mar A Lago.
But he lies like always, thinks people will buy the lie and thinks he is above criticism when people call him out.
I hate to think what the democrats are going to offer in 2020 because domestically they will do more damage to the country than the GOP. But for the mental stability of the country, he need to go.
Ron
Could have is not the same as did
My wife had a friend at UofP
He was brilliant
He was near the top of the class
He was also black
And everyone assumed that he was at UofP
On affirmative. Action
It is error to presume that what is possible is probable
I would further note that the final decision on deferments is with military doctors
Sure a private expert might be able to persuade them that minor is significant
But it is unlikely they can convert nothing into significant
I do not know any more than you or jay
It is absolutely possible that trump got a deferral as a result of influence
But possible is still not the same as probable
Bias is when you allow your other views to adjust your judgement
It is a problem for everyone
When you assume that a black person got whatever they got from affirmative action
That is bias
When you assume that a rich person got whatever they got from influence
That is bias
If you think trump can do no wrong
You are biased
If you can not find anything trump does as good
You are biased
Dave “If you think trump can do no wrong
You are biased
If you can not find anything trump does as good
You are biased”
Have I not said I support Trumps economic policies? Have I not said I support Trumps trade policies?
I am not biased against anything Trump. I dislike him personally for the most part, but I support some of his policies.
But there is no way in hell I could vote for him given his holier than thou attitude or any Democrat that would expand health coverage at the cost of freedom of choice, reform our democracy through infringement of rights, restore upward mobility with well-paying jobs through higher taxes on the rich and national minimum wages without MSA adjustments, curb gun violence through infringement on gun ownership rights and a movement to repair our immigration system without a complete overhaul of the immigration laws just to increase minority voters.
I will sit out elections before deciding on those really crappy selections. Or once again, I will vote Libertarian and at some time in the future the Libertarian might just get enough support to make it into the presidential debates.
You continue to be a cement head.
Once you offer an opinion, you’ll continue to defend it, no matter how obtuse.
I didn’t dispute he had/has bone spurs.
But bone spurs didn’t exempt you from the draft; they had to bad enough to prevent you from physically functioning as a soldier. Like eyesight – you could be drafted if you wore eyeglasses, but severe near or farsightness was disqualifying.
Form Trump’s own quotes we know his bone spur condition was minor. But the medical board wouldn’t disregard a doctor’s diagnosis.
Are you so stubbornly cement-headed you won’t concede it’s likely his family found a ‘sympathetic’ physician to exaggerate the bone spur severity? Just as Trump found a doctor to exaggerate his weight?
I am not obtuse.
Obtuse does not mean what you think it does.
It is not a synonym for wrong.
It is merely an insult.
If I am wrong about something – demonstrate that – facts, logic, reason.
Not fallacy and insults.
The criteria for disqualify is NOT pain. Nor is it an inability to play sports.
It is the judgement of military doctors that it will reduce your performance as a soldier.
My nearsightedness did not preclude me from military service.
It did preclude me from anapolis.
Trump’s doctor’s might have had influence.
But the final choice was of military doctors.
Given the facts, the burden of proof rests with those claiming favoritism.
Not the other way arround.
As I have said – maybe it was.
But it is not logical to assume that.
Given a rich person and a poor person both receiving deferment for bone spurs,
we can not logically assume the rich person avoided service as a consequence of influence and the poor person as a result of an actual problem.
That is called bias. It is pretty much like racism and anti-semitism.
All other things being equal you can not presume some unrelated attribute is causal when outcomes are the same.
Why won’t I concede ?
Because there is nothing to concede.
Absolutely influence is a possibility.
But you can not presume it.
You have to provide evidence.
Are doctors influential – probably.
But doctors saying the same thing about a poor candidate would also be influential.
Trump’s own statement on the issue are not relevant much less dispositive.
Whether the bone spur was major or minor, whether it was painful or not, whether it interfered with sports or not are irrelevant.
Whether it interfered with military service is all that is relevant.
The military will not accept people with IQ’s under 80 either.
Law enforcement will not accept people with IQ’s over 120.
The criteria of the military are not the same as those for baseball.
And feet are – or atleast have been a huge deal for the military.
A soldier with foot issues is not merely a lost asset. They are a liability.
The military is not a social program.
It has a job – WAR.
If in its judgement you are likely a liability, you do not get to join or be drafted.
That is true if you want in. It is true if you do not.
A close friend of my son wants to join the airforce today.
He can not get in. He has Reynaud’s that has other effects, but one is on his feet.
He can play sports and engage in all kinds of physical actiuvities. He has never had a debilitating problem with his feet.
But he can not join voluntarily.
Ron I will defend him when he is right
Whether I like him or not
I have defended the right of nazis and the kkk to march through my town
That does not mean they ar not shits
Trumps attacks on the military service of those who did serve is reprehensible
Trumps medical deferment does not seem improbable to me
In fact despite the fact that the military has changed I suspect he would get it today
But what matters is at 5hat time
Just to be clear
If you do not serve
Particularly if you avoid service
Even legitimately
You do not get to opine on the service of those who did
Trumps political attacks on McCain Kerry … are fair game
His attacks on their military service are reprehensible
Trump should not even criticize gore who rode a desk in Vietnam
And I really do not like gore
But just going to Vietnam
Gets you more respect than those who did not
Marine one is different
Absolutely they are prepared to get the president out of anywhere during a hurricane with misses being fired at them
At the same time they and the SS are going to take near zero risks
I have no idea why trump missed one cemetary and I do not think any one else does for certain
But I am not going to full outrage mode over a visit to a Belleau Wood cemetary in a much larger trip
I would suspect that there are many thing going on
Publicly and privately
I mostly do not care about the ceremonial aspects
And we may not find out about what is not public
Nor overall do I care much about the trump is not respected by the rest of the world
Real respect is measured by you powerin negotiating
And what you accomplish
Trump is not a foreign policy genius
But he is accomplishing more than Obama
Or bush or Clinton
Frankly trump is very right when he notes that in two years he has accomplished far more than any president in decades
We may not always like those accomplishments
But they are real
And many are likely enduring
“I mostly do not care about the ceremonial aspects”
Then why are we wasting space on this thread debating this?
I did not raise the issue
The tds crowd did
Ron this is manufactured outrage
Today is “the big day”
Belleau Wood is one of many many important WWI battles
Everything I can check says the marines and SS made the decision not to fly
And the decision not to drive was to keep from pissing off the people of Paris
Further presidential motorcades usually require months of prep
The area 1/2 mile either side of the entire route has to be checked for snipers
It is not impossible for 5he president to travel by car on a moments notice but it is difficult and disruptive
A presidential motorcade can not be stopped for traffic
The secret service will not allow the president to sit immobile essentially in the open for long
I am not looking to defend or attack this law just to point out how complicated this is
And to reinforce that all laws are imposed by for e sometimes deadly force
Had this law been in place a few weeks ago and police confiscated mosleys gun two people would be alive
At the same time the law has only been in place for a few days and already there is on person dead from enforcement
Maybe that is good
Maybe Willis really would have killed someone else had police not tried to confiscate his gun
Or maybe not
It is likely that this law will result in confiscations from people who would have done something bad and that some people will be alive who would not otherwise
It is certain that enforcing this law will result in conflicts arrests shootings and deaths
That would not have occured without this law
It will increase the risk to police and in addition to those refusing to surrender guns
Some police will get shot and die
That nearly happened here
The world was not perfect before this law
It is not after
We might be better off
Or we might not
It is important to always remember that laws are not magic
Passing a law does not mark something happen
That to be effective laws must be enforced and enforcement sometimes means killing people
Even over tiny laws
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2018/11/md-police-kill-armed-man-in-his-own-home-during-red-flag-law-gun-confiscation/?utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=alt&utm_source=goa
This article is from thinkprogress about the “protest” at tucker Carlson’s home
It purports to challenge the story in the press but mostly confirms it
The author is incredibly unselfaware
According to the author it is ok for them to dox Carlson but not ok for others to dox him
They claim the Protest was 10 minutes all taped but provide only 1 min of video
The protestors chant no borders, no walls, no Usa, no laws
And yet claim to be law abiding
Remember this is the protestors putting their best foot forward
https://thinkprogress.org/i-was-at-the-protest-outside-tucker-carlsons-house-heres-what-actually-happened-665c2dc0cb67/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
The protestor who graffitied the driveway should be prosecuted.
The others should be applauded.
Everyone was trespassing
The think progress article claims that is false but Carlson’s wife claims they broke her lock
That is at least vandalism
And would be charged as breaking and entering in my community
There purportedly was a bomb threat
But that is not on the video
Though the video is only 2m out of about 15
Regardless the reference to pipe bombs on the video word have resulted in terroristic threats prosecutions in my community
This was at night and an admitted effort to disturb the peace
So that would be charged
I would not support personally all those charges
The first amendment allows ambiguous remarks that can be deemed threatening
I have problems with disturbing the peace charges
But I have no problems with vandalism and trespassing charges
But the trespassing would likely only be a summary offense – unless the return in which case it would be a misdemeanor or felony
There is a huge difference between trespassing on private property and
Trespassing after you have explicitly been told you are not welcome
This is happening constantly
It is mostly getting little or no coverage by the media
I have no problem with vigorous public protests in actual public forums
But outside a persons home is not a public forum
It is private property
In a restaurant is not a public forum
It is private property where there is a presumption of permission to be present until it has been revoked
Btw this is not a new tacti+ or specific to trump
Acorn was doing this to bank managers in the 90’s
Harrasing them at their homes
Harassing their children on the way to school
The thing that is bothersome to the handful of people like me ( never trumpers/never left wing progressives) is the lack of consistent reporting. When freedom of the press was gaurenteed, I suspect the founding fathers accepted positions to be commented on from one perspective or another. But I also suspect they also believed if personal attacks on one group was covered ad nauseam, then those same attacks committed by people with press friendly positions would also be covered.
I searched MSNBC and CNN. Could not find anything about TC. Did find a nonconsequencial tweet from CNN, but is that media coverage?
Most on the left and right dont care. Other support agenda driven reporting. But what happens without pushback happens again.vEach time the great d ivide gets greated. Just like the grand canyon, the erosion happens little by little.
I am not bothered by 5he reporting
I wAnt a broad dynamic diverse press
I think our current available news and information is better than ever in history
But bad comes with good and we must learn to discriminate
Btw just because I like the structure of media today does not mean I do not think most of it is highly biased nor that I can not point out its failures
So long as others here continue to hysterically overplay the significance of their latest outrage I may choose to tear it apart
The most significant driver of our dived is the left calling every political difference hate and racism
I just finished a week in Alabama looking at civil rights history and the new lynching museum
Seeing real racism makes it clear how fake what we are freaking out over today is
I am more supportive of trumps verbal jousting with the press
Though his punch back twice as hard approach is not my style
The press deserves it
Btw the approval of the press is at an all time low
Significantly below trump
I am happy to see them get their comeuppance
Do I think trumps language is precise ?
Not even close
He asserted that a couple of questions he was asked recently were racist
I think that was reaching
But it was no more a reach than the constant claims that his remarks are racist
I just accused jay of racism and anti semitism regarding Miriam Adelson
Jay responded rightfully outraged at the accusataion
Jay is not Any more racist or anti semetic than trump
And that is the point
Identity politics is evil and destructive
It is an attempt to silence
Further it enrages
And ultimately it will result in violence from one side or the other
I wish we could have milo yanopolis back
I do not agree with him
But I loved watching a flaming queen attack the left over identity politics
But he came to close to peodophilia and pissed off the right
Regardless he was smart and fun
I would not he was ultimately brought down by the right not the left
The left was defenseless against him
I have criticized trump on economics
But that is more difficult because
His words methods and results are completely different
I oppose his words and methods
But his results are very close to what I would do
I would also note from the video that these protestors chanted
no borders
No nations
No laws
We should take their word for what they beleive
Whatever you beleive about the right of these people to protest
You should not pretend that what they want is acceptable
You constantly accuse me falsely of anarchism
These people are real anarchists
Or the are idiots chanting stupid things they do not actually beleive
Disagree Jay, those “protesters” should all be called out as disturbers and to the extent the broke any laws be held responsible. No applause for those that make assholes off themselves, whether on the left or the right.
Antifa is a thug organization as bad or worse than the groups opposing them.
The press, and I say TC and FOX stink, should not be attacked by anyone including the WH.
Mostly agree
The conduct is not acceptable from right or left
Mostly agree on media
But I like tucker
He is a bit more to the right than I
But one of the sharpest talking heads today
And MOSTLY not hypocritical
He has criticized trump in the past
Though he is becoming more of a cheerleader
But 5hat could be because if the constant attacks from the left
I also like gutfield
Jest as I like Jon Stewart or Colbert
But I do not pretend he is news
Apparently several of the Carlson protestors
Work for the dnc
The Lying Liar Keeps Lying.
Trump, Nov 9, 2018: “I don’t know Matt Whitaker.”
Trump, October 11, 2018: “I know Matt Whitaker. I can tell you, he’s a great guy.”
You keep getting bent out of shape over these meaningless remarks
Trump has said Kim up is evil
And he has said he is a wonderful person
What matters is not what trump says about Kim un
But what he does
Numerous people left and right have said Whitaker is a good choice
Including Rosenstein and McCarthy
I would be happy to accept the claim Whitaker is conflicted and must recuse
If you apply the same standard to Rosenstein strzok and ranking fbi and doj as well as mueller and his team
Regardless it is time for mueller to put up or shut up
Either he has much stronger evidence than anyone has seen of trump/Russia collusion
Or he should turn over existing cases to doj and wind down
Though I would suggest there is a more important issue with Whitaker’s appointment
Sessions was resisting investigating the misconduct of the Obama doj/fbi/cia
Whitaker is unlikely to
McCabe Comey Simpson mills and a few others should have been indicted and prosecuted for actual self evident crimes such as lying under oath
Several others in doj state cia fbi wh should have been investigated and prosecuted
Rosenstein should be fired over his role in the Steele dossier and fisa courts
It now appears there was a fisa warrant on George papadoulis
There is less basis for that than carter page
Those are things that should get done
I also suspect Whitaker is leverage to get a new ag confirmed
Whitaker can be ag for 210 days but he can be replaced quickly if someone else is confirmed
You think a president lying about matters of national import is meaningless?
And you wonder why everything you say is tainted with contemptuous disdain…
National import ?
How so ?
Very little of what p9liticians say is of any consequence
My contempt is for hypocracy
My disdain is for the incosenquential
We have spent two years drowning in th3 hypocracy of the left
And debating the latest inconsequential outrage of the day
Putin Gives Trump A Thumbs-Up.
(Of course!)
Those smiles speak a thousand words.
King Rat and New Rat.
Still buying this Manchuria candidate nonsense
Do we need to talk about Obama and Farrakhan ?
Or the fact that the Obama Medved open mike slip sure sound like collusion with Russia to win an election
#DufusDonald Slights Allied Unity Once Again
Better cooperation between ICE and local law should be a paramount goal; this guy and confirmed law breakers need to be held by someone so their disposition to their original country can be thrashed out.
Bending over backwards to protect all illegals with violent convictions ANYWHERE in this country should not be tolerated. A dangerous criminal is a dangerous criminal, illegal immigrants should not get preferential treatment.
Protect your citizens idiot politicians.
I am not sure who you are talking about
Regardless I mostly agree with your sentiments
Though I would note that each circumstance has to be looked at stand alone
My wife deals with immigration issues tangentially all the time,
She has an Iraq war v t with a Purple Heart who was busted for pot possession and was going to be deported if the conviction stood
Sorry if you actually fight fo the us you get to stay here I. My book
Quite often her legal representation of clients is focused on tangents such as minimizing the prospect of deportation or fines and costs or avoiding sex offender registration or being classed as a svp sexually violent predator
If you are 18 and have consensual sexual contact with someone who is 16 and 11 months
You coul end up with lifetime sex offender registration
Other acts that most of us would not call sexual or would call consensual could lead to an svp classification which might as well be the end of your life
Whoops: https://www.foxnews.com/us/undocumented-immigrant-released-from-jail-charged-in-triple-murder
Did I have noted repeatedly before that government frequently
F’s Up
It does so even more so with politically charged issues su Ch as immigration
But even if the left and righ were in absolute harmony government is going to f’up
Bad news, good news.
Heidi Heitkamp lost in ND.
A Native American won a House seat:
https://www.alternet.org/election-03918/north-dakota-native-american-turnout-ruth-buffalo
“Floyd Abrams, a constitutional law expert who has appeared frequently before the Supreme Court, told CNN’s Brian Stelter on “Reliable Sources” Sunday that CNN has a case.
“I think it’s a really strong lawsuit,” Abrams said. “I can understand CNN being reluctant to sue because the president keeps saying CNN is the enemy of me, and CNN might have reluctance to have a lawsuit titled ‘CNN vs. Donald Trump.’ That said, yes, I think they should sue.” Abrams said.”
YES, CNN, go for it.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/media/cnn-white-house-acosta/
I only read a few paragraphs but the claims made there were false
Entire news organizations have been barred from the whitehouse in the past
I believe as recently as obama
Specific reporters have been barred before
Though I think the wh can come up with a reason
No they do not need a reason
They do not have to do press conferences at all
Even if thy do there is not right of any specific media organization. To be present
There is neither the room nor the time for every reporter who wishes to uestion the wh to do so
I have zero doubt that cnn can get some left wing nut judge to rule in their favor
We still have federal courts ruling in conflict with recent scotus decisions
Anything trump does is immediat rly challenged by the left before a favorable court
Thus far Trumps scotus defeats are uncommon and typically on minor issues
The only one I can recall is Jon an Obama case that trump elected to continue
Regardless scotus is never going to create a right for a specific reporter or even agency to cover the whitehouse
It is an I practically stupid idea
The “because trump” argument has won frequently at lower courts but thus far scotus has nearly completely ignored it and most people actually ar guinrg beefore scotus have not pressed van though they won at lower courts on it because it is a looser
Our laws are not as clear as they ought to be on this point but usually when it is obvious scotus is sufficiently smart to grasp that it is acts that matter, not words
That an action that is otherwise permissible does not become impermissible because of words that have been said
Get on twitter and you can find myriads of prominent left legal scholars arguing otherwise
You can find lower courts deciding otherwise
But these arguments rarely survive en banc appellate courts even the 9th circuit
All they do is buy time
And I do not think anyone has recently argued that before scotus
Because it is a long ago decided issue
And because you can not run government where president b is not allowed to do what president a was because of assertions about his reasons
Fundamentally the courts do not have the power to determine the validity of the reasons for any government action
That is the prerogative of the executive and legislative branches
The courts decide the legality and constitutionality of acts
Judging why is a violation of separation of powers
“I only read a few paragraphs but the claims made there were false”
That you claim he made false claims in the first few paragraphs is A FALSE CLAIM.
Name the false claims.
Read the first few paragraphs
But the I would not expect you to be able to distinguish between fact, law and opinion
The most obvious issue which I noted
Is that were Whitaker actually required to recuse
The Rosenstein would have had to long ago
Everything is not an opinion and all opinions are not of equal merit
There are rules of professional conduct
For lawyers
Prosecutors
Judges
The standards are not the same
Further there is the people I want to recuse must and those I do not must not standard
They claims are obviously false because if applied as offered
Half of doj/fbi and muellers team would have to recuse
Not to mention most of those investigating Clinton
The claims are false because they are not being applied consistently and that always means that in one way or another they are false
Dear Dumb Dumb: even Fox News disagrees with you…
“Fox News President Jay Wallace announces network will file court brief in support of CNN suit agst Trump”
Jay, really? Are you going to say CNN has a constitutional right to have this specific reporter on the White House grounds?
Is that not stretching the Bill of Rights like you say we gun rights advocates stretch the rights for gun ownership?
You say guns when the BofR’s was written were muscats. Was there a white house press corp when the BofR’s was written.
And I care because ?
There is no right here. That should be absolutely obvious.
Anything that is a right belongs to EVERYONE.
I have no right to Whitehouse press pass. Do you ?
I have no right to question the president at press conferences. Do you ?
If you and I have no right to, then NO ONE has a right.
The only issue here is given that the whitehouse is OBVIOUSLY entitled to exclude, are there constraints on that right to exclude.
I have not heard such an argument. I keep hearing first amendment arguments – they do not apply.
Of course I expect the press to disagree.
BTW this is not unusal. Obama excluded Fox from AF1.
Further whatever is at issue, there is obviously not a right unique to Acosta or CNN.
We have a variation of this nonsense with Rosenstein.
Essentially by opposing Trump you are endowed with a manufactured right to continue to do so.
Trump can fire Comey – so long as he likes Comey and agrees with him.
But the moment you think he has bad reasons for firing Comey – now it is obstruction.
Trump can ask Sessions to resign. Sessions can offer to resign and be turned down.
that is OK. But once they are at odds, with each other in a way that favors the left, taking Sessions up on his offer is somehow the same as firing him.
Rosenstein has all kinds of problems and conflicts. But he can remain so long as the relationship with Trump is hostile. Conflicts are OK if you are interfering with Trump.
But Whitaker’s lessor conflicts are not – because he might support Trump.
Every view on every issue is informed by your ideology, or what Trump wishes.
If Trump became Pro-Choice tomorrow, you would become pro-life to spite yourself.
When you can remove Trump and your own ideology from issues, and decide them on the merits applying the same whether to democrats or republicans – then you will have integrity and credibility.
Avanetti is being accused of spousal abuse.
Do we now “beleive all women” ? or can we wait for the facts ?
“Get ready for Hillary Clinton 4.0. More than 30 years in the making, this new version of Mrs. Clinton, when she runs for president in 2020, will come full circle—back to the universal-health-care-promoting progressive firebrand of 1994. True to her name, Mrs. Clinton will fight this out until the last dog dies. She won’t let a little thing like two stunning defeats stand in the way of her claim to the White House.”
What did the poor Democrats do to deserve this albatross around their necks; bad enough they have to fight Trump.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-will-run-again-1541963599
Nothing is more certain to make 2020 a great year for the gop than Clinton in the race
https://www.azfamily.com/news/new-numbers-sinema-lead-grows-over-mcsally-in-az-senate/article_c2446de6-e47b-11e8-8909-1ba81138d85e.html
“NEW NUMBERS: Sinema up by 32,000+ votes over McSally in AZ Senate race”
Hmmm.
Sienna is likely to win this
But in conjunction with the mess in Florida
The win will be expensive for democrats
Whether there are shenanigans going on or not
The fact that major democratic precincts could not accurately report their voting until days after the election is very bad for democrats
Remember every congressional district in the nation has very nearly the same number of people
There is absolutely no reason that broward or Pima should take longer that podunk Kansas
In fact the opposite should be true
Further democrats have stupidly announced that a major area of investigation will be “voter suppression”
I would challenge anyone to explain “voter suppression” in a way that is not synonymous with fraud prevention
I would remind people that voter fraud is historically the nearly unchallenged domain of democrats
Whether it is democrats in the south
Our city democratic machines
Or infamous even thru to today cook county
Or lbj who is practically synonymous with ballot stuffing
In the past several decades broward county appears to be the epicenter of fraud
Many of us are hoping at the moment what is occurring is just monumental incompetence.
To those saying there is no evidence of fraud
That is mostly true – we have found many votes by non citizens
But not enough to flip the election
But we have absolute proof of law breaking. And what is occurring can only be explained by incompetence or fraud
There are probably 50 races that were decided by less than 1%
That is inside the margin of error for any system of counting votes
That means rather than a win under reasonable statistical measures the results are inconclusive
This is one of the reasons I greatly favor runoff’s over recounts
If you can not get over 50% of the vote then you should not win regardless of party
Anyway I welcome democrats shooting themselves in the foot and investigating “Voter suppression”
Oh the other stupid thing they want to investigate is why the citizenship question returned to the census
Why is it that democrats think investigations into things that only a small portion of even democrats think is real is a good idea
Dave “The fact that major democratic precincts could not accurately report their voting until days after the election is very bad for democrats”
Sorry to disagree, but there are 20% of the democrats that are probably upset right now, about 10% of the GOP are upset right now and 70% of the voters have moved on and could care less. The vote took place 7 days age, an eternity in this day and age.
There are only a small number like Jay that stays upset. The rest get energized about a month before the election and the switch it turned off the minute they pull they walk out of the precinct.
Are republicans outraged ?
No voter fraud is expected of the left
But it will effect future republican votes
More importantly the hypocracy of democrats investigating voting
Without looking at themselves is self destructive
A significant portion of the far left has remained both highly outraged and highly engaged since nov 2016
That is not sustainable
The gop reversed things 2019-2016 mostly more quietly
The predominant long term driver of gop success was the failure of the left
Not the games in congress
Even there the gop got away with investigations of Obama and Clinton
Because there was substance and because Clinton was hiding it
And being protected and lots of people saw that
We have 2 years of investigations of trump and still have no identifiable crime
Most voters can say exactly what Clinton did wrong even if they can not cite criminal code
And they can cite the evidence
To this day the left continues to hope for evidence against trump
We are told as we have been for nearly two years
That mueller has the evidence
We here rumors
But no substance
And all this despite the fact that the press which has far more resources than miller has been digging night and day
If there was substance it would have been uncovered
There are 2years before 2020
I do not think sessions resignation is about mueller nearly as much as about using doj/fbi to investigate the already known criminal acts of democrats
Democrats in the house want to investigate the Kavanaugh confirmation
Doj/fbi can investigate Feinstein and fords lawyers
And her shadowy friend
And Avenatti
And the false accusations
Hillary running again is a gift to trump
It makes investigating and indicting comes and McCabe and Simpson and mill and …
All plausible to voters
Without Clinton in the fray too many would just say leave it alone
Trump is so unpopular in Europe
https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/11/italian-ruling-party-member-backs-trump-and-says-italy-shouldnt-sign-un-migration-pact/#.W-dgWjnQCFw.twitter
Ha ha ha.
You got to be kidding.
The Italian you link to is a far right populist.
The Italian populists are a minority party.
But even among those Italians, a majority of them “have no confidence in Trump.”
Read this, dumb dumb, to get an accurate picture of European disregard for Dubious Detrimental Donnie:
http://www.pewglobal.org/2018/10/01/trumps-international-ratings-remain-low-especially-among-key-allies/
So the Italian prime minister is just some right wing populist with no power ?
Last I check prime ministers actually have some power
I coul care less whether he is left
Right
Populist
Or dickhead
Your claim is that trump has no support or respect in Europe
That is patently FALSE
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/08/new-italian-leader-backs-trump-on-russia-rejoining-g7-633712
Now you are arguing that the world is a democracy ?
These fallacious arguments of yours are stupid and tedious
Absolutely if you get to change the criteria of a debate enough times you will find some measure that makes you at least less obviously wrong
I have never argued and do not care what trump’s popularity amoung Europeans is
In fact I do not care if European leaders think he is an ass
I care that trump is able to accomplish what is in the us best interests
In that he is doing far better than Obama
Europe is taking on more and more of the responsibility for their own defense
I think it is a good thing that macrob and the French are not sure we have their back
Because the French have been a shitty alie
And because when there is no cost to you own defense you are prone to make bad choices
Btw according to RCP
Trump remains the most popular major American politician
Pelosi as an example has about half trumps favor ability
We may hate trump but we hate all other politicians and the media even more
Why do I care about polls of European people ?
These are countries that consistently produce polls pushing for unilateral nuclear disarmament
The European people are just about the most clueless
Btw I do not care who leads the world in 20 years
I care about the people of the us and the extent to which the rest of the world is a threat to us
I fully expect the us to lead the world in 20 years
Because no other nation has the power to do so
I do not expect Europeans to think that
They shouldn’t
They should be concerned about their interests
Though frankly the EU will not be around in 20 years
So how in the world is it thay info wars end up being more credible than nearly every mainstream media outlet ?
The video below is from infowars
We should all be laughing it out of the ballpark because … well it is infowars
Except for one thing
Infowars is correct and nearly everyone else is wrong
Mostly this story has died
Why ?
Because further reporting would require the media to admit failure
Breaking: New satellite photos show #NorthKorea is expanding, not shrinking, ballistic missile bases via @CSIS
But but but… Trump luvs Kim
Maybe they are
Maybe they aren’t
Are you saying trump should have just nuked them ?
Get a clue
Many nations in the world are not trust worthy
Even those that are act in THEIR interests
Just as trump does regarding the us
If true this will matter if and only if trump does nothing
I expect we will have further conflicts with several nations in the short run
China for certain and likely North Korea have been waiting for election results in the hope they weaken trump
Jay beat me to it: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/us/politics/north-korea-missile-bases.html
We have to be patient says Trump.
And what do you say ?
Should we nuke them now ?
If you are going to get outraged
You should at least be able to tell us what the alternative would have been ?
Should we just have done as Obama and bush.and Clinton did and wait for North Korea to drop an h bomb on San Francisco ?
What is it that you expected trump to do with North Korea that he has not done ?
It takes a good guy with a gun to get a bad guy, or whatever that idiot said:
https://wgntv.com/2018/11/11/multiple-wounded-in-robbins-bar-shooting-police-say/
Everyone is so fast to blame the gun. No one ever blames the reason. The village in Illinois has a huge police department of 28 officers. Does anyone think these officers are really trained properly when responding to a shooting? Do they go through the hours of training like medium and large city forces to insure when they encounter a situation like this they know how to handle it? Bet they dont as a village of kess than 15,000 doesnt have those funds. We probably wont see anyone post the findings of the investigation because it will not fit the anti gun narrative. I would bet money the findings will be trigger happy cop, black man with a gun, shoot and ask questions later.
Just this padt weekend we had a 28 year old cop killed in a traffic accident. Responding tobrobbery report. Witness estimated he was traveling.in excess of 80 miles per hour entering a 4 way stop, fail to slowbdown, plowed into another police car thatbfail to slow down at the 4 way, one killed, one hospitalized. Both officers failing to follow department.policy in responding to calls.
The security guard neutralized the original threat, might have saved lives inside nightclub. The police officer responded inappropriately.
Thank you for a perfect example of everything wrong with the left
According to your article the stupidest thing done here was to call in the police – government
Yes a good guy with a gun dealt with a bad guy with a gun
Until an idiot from government with a gun came in and killed him ?
And let’s say they good guy did not have a gun
The bad guy might have killed others
And certainly would have escaped prior to the arrival of the police
One of the most fundamental problems with gun control is perfectly demonstrated here
Police response takes minutes often much longer
During that time a lot of bad things can happen and they bad guys can get away
Nearly every mass shooter knows what the police response time is and seeks to kill as many people as possible before p9lice arrive
One person with a gun throws of the timing completely
Even the fear that a mass killers victims might be armed slows the killer down
I believe something like 83% of mass killings have occurred in gun free zones
do you think that is an accident ?
Please don’t blame the schools in Queens for Trump’s stupidity, he probably just doesn’t listen to his wife (from former Yugoslavia). Does he know where N. Korea is? LMAO
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-confused-baltics-balkans-and-accused-confused-leaders-starting-yugoslav-1210939
Both parties parties play this game all the time
The Aleppo stupidity hurt Gary Johnson’s campaign
Our schools could do a much better job
I would be surprised if 10% of current graduates could name one Baltic country and one Balkan country
But it is inarguably that trump
Obama
Johnson
Clinton
And most successful p9iticians know much more than most of us and far less than experts
No president is going to be expert in everything
The next more important question is “who cares ?”
Or why does it matter ?
We have minor interests in either the balkans or the Baltics
How does this stack up for stupid?
https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/article_2c1ecb72-1c58-5ac8-897a-48c6882b7cfb.html
Thank the lord I am not a true republican. I cant pass their idiot test.
A public hanging is not a lynching
If you are going to parse that broadly on the right
You must do so on the left too
I just left the Alabama lynching museum a few days ago
Sad am Hussein was publicly hanged
I absolutely agree that to the extent possible transcripts of house and senate hearing on all of this should be made public
I am highly dubious of schiff claim this will assist mueller
I beleive it will undermine mueller
Further the argument it would help mueller is nonsense
Mueller has already reviewed much from the house and senate and can not be barred from acces to anything they have he wants
Schiffs claim is a red herring
The beneficiaries of release will be the public
What I am most concerned about is selective release
Rather than full release
I am also surprised as it has been house and senate dems that have thwarted making information public
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/416186-incoming-intelligence-chairman-wants-to-help-mueller-investigation?amp
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/11/12/rules-are-clear-whitaker-cant-supervise-muellers-investigation/?utm_term=.0a8d5ee076a2
I like Neal Katyal
But he is wrong and many many people have asserted
In fact this is not a close call
A prosecutor is not a judge
The rules are different
Judges must avoid the appearance of impropriety
Sessions applied that standard to himself despite the fact that the doj ethics office found properly that he did not have to recuse
Regardless sessions conflict is smaller than rosensteins but larger than Whitaker’s
Session acted within the trump campaign and had minimal though inconsequential contact with Russians
Note it’s is sessions involvement in what is being investigated not his opinions that matter
The same with Rosenstein
He was involved with trumps removal of comedy
At the least he is a witness
A rule of legal ethics bars a lawyer from being a witness in a case in which he is involved
Rosenstein must recuse
At most Whitaker has expressed opinions
Those would be dispositive if he was a judge AND those opinions were prejudicial to a defendant
Even a judge can opine negatively on the prosecution
There is no duty of appearance of impartiality to the state
Dershowitz has noted this is not even close
Dershowitz also noted that in all likelihood this is all a tempest in a teapot
Mueller is likely winding down
Whitaker is not going to preemptively end something that is dying
It is likely Whitaker will even leave Rosenstein in place
Whitaker probably will not act at all
At most he will require mueller to provide a credible basis for any expansion he seeks which is unlikely
We are all speculating
I think that the above which is l8kely is wrong
I think that Whitaker should remove Rosenstein and demand mueller put up or shut up
Frankly I think there should be an investigation of mueller
What he has done to papadopolis and Flynn is unforgivable
Many others share the blame for what has been done to carter page but mueller too
I think mueller overstepped with manafort and Cohen
Using comedy standards he never would have investigated either
But mana forte and Cohen are big boys and political players and understand how the game is played
Today I think it is more important to go after others who have done the same or more
Where Whitaker is more likely to matter is in continuing what nunes was doing in the house
Only with teeth
By re entering the political fray Clinton makes herself and her cronies legitimate targets
Comey
McCabe
Mills
Simpson
Perkins coi
Mark Elias
The ohrs
Strzok page
The pedestas
Blumenthal
Avenatti
…..
These are all legitimate targets
Unlike trump these are all people who there is actual evidence against
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/11/10/the_myth_of_muellers_cooperating_russiagate_witnesses.html
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/06/macron-calls-real-european-army-protect-eu-us/
Well I bet I am alone in this but “ITS ABOUT TIME THEY PROTECT THEIR OWN ASS!
Accrding to 2015 census data, the government processes about 50 million low income benefit support payments. If that is possible, why is it a few 100,000 have such are hard time geting vet benefits? I suspect it is vets are nit a large enough special interest group.
And PLEASE dont blame Trump!!! Vets have had some form of problems getting benefits in some form for years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/veterans-haven-t-receive-gi-bill-benefits-months-due-ongoing-n934696
The va is the perfect example of what government provided healthcare would look like
It is not trumps fault, or Obama’s or ….
It is the very nature of government provided services
Trump has done better than Obama running the va and oddly PPACA
But better is not good
As Obama said
You can put lipstick on a pig ….
The one significant positive change trump has made with 5he va is given vets access to private healthcare
That too has problems
But it is unlikely to be as bad as the va
https://theconversation.com/what-mass-shootings-do-to-those-not-shot-social-consequences-of-mass-gun-violence-106677
“What mass shootings do to those not shot: Social consequences of mass gun violence”
Being the victim of a violent crime is horrific
I suspect I know much more of that than you
More importantly I also know how much I do not fully know
Those consequences are a significant part of why violence is nearly always a crime and nearly always a justification for the use of force
But the horror of crime does not make bad but heartfelt. Laws work
The horror of victims is not a justification for a grant of power and an infringement on liberty that demonstrably will accomplish nothing
Consequences are not “social”
They are individual
We are not the borg
We have no hive mind
We empathize and sympathize but in doing so we do not ourselves become victims
The effects on those who sypurvive a crime are the result of what actually occured to them
They are not social consequences
Though they have patterns
All response are individual
Because we are all unique individuals
We are not the same
We are not equal In anything but our rights and liberty
Wow, a humanitarian move by the WH:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-ends-saudi-jet-refueling-missions-in-yemen-conflict-1541841024
“The U.S. is stopping aerial refueling of warplanes bombing Yemen, dialing back support for a Saudi-led military coalition as criticism of the kingdom grows in Washington over the conflict’s civilian impact.”
DD
Is there a good guy in the Mideast ?
What is happening in Yemen is horrible
If Saudi Arabia got out of the conflict tonight
What would happen would be equally bad
Possibly the least bad outcome in Yemen is a Saudi puppet state
Another middle finger for Trump:
I am personally surprised my sally lost
She is an incredible candidate
And while seinima is no longer as far left as attack adds painted her
This just did not look like something that should be close
So why mcsally lost is important
There will likely be a lot of analysis of that
I do not claim to be expert on arizona
But several right wing experts note that mcsally did not embrace trump
Ducey did and received 200k more votes than mcsally
I am sure there are counter arguments
But trump actually did well in this election
And Obama did poorly
Test or was very nearly defeated
Republican senators that trump campaigned for nearly all won
Those Obama campaigned for nearly all lost
Skipping Arlington? Is he kidding? What a drip.
The Birther claim in this article is false
The Birther story originated with Clinton aparatak Sydney blumenthal
You can dislike Corsica
But he is right
Mueller is a thug
He has always been
He has a long history of railroading people
I have no idea if he is indicting Corsica or stone
But both have fully cooperated
Their problem as Corsica stated
Is that cooperation is not good enough if the truth is not what mueller wants to hear
I would further note that mueller has had one potentially enormous problem from the start
Once you grasp that there was no trump Russia collusion
Then you have to accept that there is also no evidence of such collusion
Flynn, papdolis, gates, manafort, Cohen have all cut deals
But they gave mueller nothing
Do you honestly beleive they are holding out ?
There is a problem with using traditional prosecutorial tactics where the alleged crime never happened
The people you roll can not give you what you want
If Corsica and likely stone are indicted
It is not for refusing to cooperate
It is because they can not tell mueller what he wants
Because it did not happen
It is not even possible to lie to give mueller what he wants
Because they can not manufacture the evidence to support the lie
Those on the left are going to beleive something happened that did not
Because they can not except that they lost
But evidence of something that did not happen can not be manufactured
Mueller is not investigating
He is destroying people because they are not telling him what he wishes to hear
It is well past time for mueller to put up or step down
Indicting a few more people for unrelated status offenses
Is not going to cut it
It has been two years
Either mueller has evidence
Or he is a thug there really is not two choices
I do not care a lot about Cohen gates manafort or Corsi
They are p9litical operatives their hands are not clean even if they did nothing here
But Flynn, papadolis and carter page are essentially innocents
Read what corsi is describing
Is it ok in your world to take honest people and put them through the wringer
And the charge them with lying to the fbi because in myriads of hours of questions they provide an answer you do not like
?
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/special-counsel-witness-expects-charged-mueller-probe/story?id=59148352
The fundimental problem is scal media censorship
Almost nothin printed by nyt would get past the “headline ”
Standard snopes is using
But I have no problem with snopes
They can set their own standards
I need not agree
Most of the leading fact check orgs are biased
They do not apply their standards uniformly
The prefect example being that the ordinary nyt story would not be reveiwed the same as the ordinary dailywire story
The real problem is their use by Facebook
The left is getting angry because of purported illegal in kind campaign contributions
How is facebooks efforts to censor political messaging on Facebook not an illegal in kind campaign contribution
Facebook has made a big deal about “Russian interferance”
But the fact is the purported Russian government operation in 2016 was quite small
And the Russian company involved is fighting back and mueller is refusing to provide discovery which will ult8mately cost him the case if he continues
Regardless the internet is international
As is facebook
Why is anyone entitled to decide who can express an opinion there
More recently social media has gone after “voter supression”
What is that ?
Under an objective standard that would be all of jays “argh trump”
Comments
It would be any posted that appeared to dishearten the voters of on candidate or another
Is it beyond your comprehension why that type of censorship is bad ?
Is it beyond your comprehension why that type of censorship will be abused ?
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/11/13/was_facebooks_suppression_of_news_story_fair_play_138631.html
The future is libertarian
You can not stop it
How to lose gracefully
Democrats should try it
Abrams
Gilliam
Nelson ?
This is a podcast
But it makes several points
1) polling that asks about benefits without considering costs and other effects is highly deceptive
That would implicate most of the media and fact checkers in deception
2) ACA support is highly conditional
3) pre-existing condition coverage is already negative,y impacting coverage
4) Ron can rant about evil insurance companies all he wants but the fact is every single regulation is going to cause insurance companies to make up losses elsewhere
What you call bad conduct by insurance companies is merely a response to regulations
When a regulat ion drives costs up insurance companies will always either raise prices or work to limit or deny coverage
5) finally people actually get it government does not work
Markets do
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/new-polling-pre-existing-conditions-coverage-costs-benefits
Dave ” Ron can rant about evil insurance companies all he wants but the fact is every single regulation is going to cause insurance companies to make up losses elsewhere”
I fully understand that regulations cause increases in rates! If the insurance companies wants to make $4 billion clear profit after taxes and that represents a 20% return, fine, that is their prerogative. If there is one that only wants to make $1 billion and that is a return of 5%, that is fine also. They can defend their actions.
BUT READ WHAT I SAY! I have gone off on insurance companies for two things. And I will try to keep this as basic as possible so there is no misunderstanding this time.
1. When the government creates a requirement that people buy a product they do not want nor need and that requirement increases insurance profits by 2-4 times what they made before that requirement went into effect, that is not making up losses. It is increasing profits unnaturally. Adding millions of subscribers that do not create claims and allowing those to cover health costs at 80%, while allowing 20% to flow for covering administrative cost increases insurance profits by adding revenue without costs. The 2016 Medicare Trustee report to congress, public and other interested parties showed that the administrative cost for healthcare claims to be 1.4%. And Medicare is no different than any other insurance, meaning most administrative cost will be in that range. So every individual added that does not use the service increases the insurance companies bottom line by 18.6%. And I suspect there is some additional profit from the manipulation of the 80% and could figure out what if I wanted to take the time. Why the left wing liberals have not raised holy hell about this can only be described as “insurance sellout by Pelosi congress”.
2. A person buys insurance from company A. They have that insurance for 20 years and use it nominally for routine care. Then cancer hits. They get treatment, they do not come close to their lifetime benefit coverage limits, they are cured or in remission, after they get letter from insurance informing them they will no longer be covered by the insurance due to the health issues they have encountered. Then when looking for new insurance no insurance would cover them due to a condition that was considered a high cost preexisting condition. You can tell me that is fine, it is the insurance companies prerogative to choose which person to cover, blah blah blah, but when they sell a product, then they should back that product based on what was sold. Remember they did not reach lifetime limits. Oh yeah, that person could sue, but remember, they just had cancer, they have reduced resources and they are going up against a billion dollar company with resources coming out of their ass to defend their business practice. I worked in healthcare for 40 years. Don’t tell me this did not happen! I have heard about it many times.
And remember, the preexisting condition and the individual mandate is included in the latest insurance company figures. Even without the mandate, insurance companies will do fine on the bottom line with the preexisting condition mandate without the individual mandate.
Regulation is not so much the cause of higher rates as the cause of much of the misconduct you complain about
The market forces competitors to deliver greater value
More for les to profit
Regulation fixes some element of exchange and incentivizes profiting through bad conduct
The more rigid that regulation makes the market the less likely participants seek to profit by delivering value
PPACA as originally conceived was an insurance companies dream
Larger mandatory markets
Consumers ha e no choice but to buy
And the makeup of products is determined by negation between insurance companies and bureaucrats
Insurance companies will nearly always win that
Absent the freedom of both sides in an exchange to walk away one side is going to get screwed and long term that will never be business
Business is ALWAYS going to profit
Regulation pushes them away from increasing value and reducing cost and towards
Reducing value and increasing the cost to others
Insurance company ROC is 1-2%
Not 20%
1-2% WRONG. Do some research on health insurance, not all insurance.
And the numbers I wrote were only for demonstration purposes. The real numbers is the total $ profits that have doubled to quadrupole.
Average us corp profits are 5-9%
Roc rates directly correspond to risk throughout the entire market
Insurance is very low risk
No profits do not double to quadruple
At least not for long in anything even remotely close to a fremarket
To have sustained high profits and low risk
You must have a captive market
I.e. PPACA with individual mandate
And enormous barriers to entry
If profits were 10% at typical insurance risks either investors would be creating new insurance companies right and left
Or the rich would be lobbying congress for permission to form an insurance company
The fundimentals of the market are just not flexible enough to support sustained high profits at low risk
There are no magic beans
To. Companies do not magically make the profits they want to make
No company in a low risk industry will make 20% or even 10 or 5% for very long
If I told you you could make 20% at no risk you would mortgage you house to invest in insurance
This does not happen
Profits are subject to the laws of supply and demand just like everything else
First speculating on precisely what happens when government imposes a stupid regulation is near impossible
We can absolutely know the results will be bad
But they are many ways to arrive at bad
Minimum wage increases are always bad
But the effect is not always the same
“Trump demand would eliminate active service members’ votes in Florida midterms” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-trump-military-votes-florida-midterms-20181112-story.html
This crap is tiring
65 of 67 precincts in Florida
Each with very nearly the same number of people
Manage to count all the ballots (not votes) within 45 min of the polls closing as required by law
This is very important because once the total number of ballots are known many forms of fraud become impossible
Historically there has been massive voter fraud in the us from “found” ballots
The good wife did an episode on it
Illinois and Texas are particularly well known for it
LBJ near certainly stole several elections
And nixon likely won the 1960 election but for ballot fraud
The claim that there is no evidence is both false and a red herring
The law has not been followed
That is not in despite
There is no compelling reason it could not have been followed
Every gop precinct in the country managed to
In every instance where the results were not known on election night it is because democratic strongholds took a day to a week to count all their ballots
And because large numbers of ballots kept showing up
That is both lawless
And prima fascia evidence of fraud
Remember voting is by congressional district
And every congressional district in the country has.
Nearly the same number of people
This happens with nearly every election
And it always happens in democratic districts
You are not going to end it until there is a consequence for failure
Either people are fired or even go to jail or votes found after the election are not counted
There is absolute no reason for this
Florida laws require that an absentee ballot is postmarked 4 days before the election
And received by 4pm Election Day
There is no reason that BEFORE the polls close the total number of absentee ballots can not be known
Broward produced more than 200000 votes one or more says After the election
And yes trump is loosely right
all ballots is In the hands of election officials at the close of polls should be counted
No others
Because there is no legitimate reason there should be others
Your author confuses evidence
Of which there is plenty
With proof which is the result of an investigation based on actual evidence
We know that broward and palm beach refused to comply with the law
Even defying a court order for 24 hours
That is called evidence
We know that 200000 ballots that broward did not report as existing at the close of the election appeared in the next several days
We know that broward opens absentee ballots without observers present as required by law
This is particularly concerning as absentee ballots are notoriously easy to falsify
Oneself an absentee ballot has been opened and the signature verified
The ballot is added to the uncounted pool
And any error or fraud in the receiving and verification can no longer be corrected
Remember poll workers do not ordinarily handle ballots uniting after they have been counted (not tallied) so when the actual votes are recorded it is hard to make significant changes because the total number of ballots is known
The other major issue with broward was that damaged votes were copied without supervision
This is illegal
Hopefully the reasons are obvious
It is another means of voter fraud that can not be caught after the factq
If votes of veterans end up uncounted that would be because of the failure of broward and palm beach to follow the law
The problem is not trump
It is those who failed
Third world countries can count millions of votes on bad paper ballots in a few hours
Why can’t democrats
There is a reason for the accusations of fraud
Because this stinks
Ultimately every election must have a hard end
There is no keep voting and counting until you get 5he results you want
As to actual fraud we already know that once observers were allowed in that broward tried to count the votes of non citizens
“Fox News judicial correspondent Andrew Napolitano predicted on Tuesday that CNN would likely prevail in a case against the White House after it banned CNN reporter Jim Acosta.
Napolitano explained to Fox Business host Stuart Varney that the White House does not have the right to revoke Acosta’s press pass simply because his questions irritated President Donald Trump.”
Oh my. Now Trump will have to have Napolitano fired as a Fox contributor.
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/11/cnn-good-case-fox-news-analyst-says-white-house-will-quickly-go-flames-jim-acosta/
That is not the reason for yanking Acosta’s pass
And actually the wh probably does have that right
It has been done before
Obama threatened
So let’s parse actual reality
There is no requirement for trump to have press conferences at all
Trump can not prevent the press from covering him
But he actually can control whether and who gets to ask him questions
The white household does have the power to control
How long a press conference lasts
What topics will be allowed
How many questions are asked
How Many are asked by each reporter
Which reporters are allowed in the whitehouse press pool
How much time each reporter has
And many other facets of a press conference
With the advent of the internet each of us is credibly a journalist
I have exactly the same rights to ask trump questions at a whitehouse press conference as Acosta
None
Because there is no such right
Acosta’s actual rights have not been infringed on
I expect that cnn will prevail in lower courts
The pattern of political lawsuits over the past decade has been conservative failure at 5he lower courts with completely insane decisions
With conservative victory in scotus often unanimously
Because these lawsuits are stupid
Acosta physically refused to yeild when his turn ended
This is not the first time
That is all that is required
If even that
“What is required is the signature of the voter and any additional information needed for the county election official to verify the identity of the voter,” Crittenden wrote. “Therefore, an election official does not violate [state law] when they accept an absentee ballot despite the omission of a day and month of birth … if the election official can verify the identity of the voter.”
Screw yo Kemp.
https://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/georgia-secretary-state-tells-election-officials-count-more-absentee-ballots/Fy8nEgctLnhZatRCs4WhBO/
Any additional information necessary to validate the identity of the voter
Means the signature alone is not enough
Get a. Clue
Georgia has a voter Id law
If you vote at a poll
You must sign AND provide valid government issued photo Id
You idiotic claim is that for an absentee ballot not even the I’d that used to be required before voter I’d laws is necessary
I am asked for my dob every time I vote
All of these requirements are to prevent fraud
How is it that you cam know that an absent ballot is from a registered voter and is that persons actual ballot ?
The us has a king his
This claim that there is no fraud in the us is nonsense
The us has a long history of massive voter fraud
Well documented instances involving lbj as well as the 1960 presidential election exist
You are asking to use the same flawed processes that resulted in those frauds
There are billions at stake in an election
Do you honestly have think with that amount that th incentives to fraud are not enormous
I am violently opposed to computer voting
Even though computer voting fraud is actually quite hard
The problem is that it can be completely undetectabl
We had numerous reports Belfore the election of computers changing votes
I do not think those are plausible
But they are absolutely possible and they are completely undetectable
Many forms of Ballot fraud is much easier
But there are procedures that make them much easier to catch and prevent
Voter I’d is one of those
Conducting the entire ballot hanldling process under public and press scrutiny is another
No ballot should ever be handled by anyone without multiple independent observers present
The ballots fhemselves are and must be completely anonymoius otherwise you have multiple other forms of fraud thart are possible
But anonymous ballots require verifying identity prior to adding a vote to those to be couNoted
Once a ballot enters th stack. To be counted it is no longer possible to determine which ballots are bogus even if f you can prove voter fraud.
If the uncounted ballots can be accessed without a ballot having its id fully verified first you have an easy vector for large scale fraud
If you doubt all of this
Then think about how difficult it is to prevent black hats from hacking far more secure computer systems
Ass____ from the left are as bad as those from the right.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/kat-timpf-chased-out-of-brooklyn-bar/
dduck, just life in America today. Started back in the 43 years, got worse with social media growth during Obama and created the Trump support base that now has germinated the far left terror tactics.
I thinknthe real problem are those that stand by and least laugh and worse, help promote it like those in the bar.
Might just say bully society.
dduck, just life in America today. Started back in the 43 years, got worse with social media growth during Obama and created the Trump support base that now has germinated the far left terror tactics.
I think the real problem are those that stand by and least laugh and worse, help promote it like those in the bar.
Might just say bully society.
This has been going on since the start of the 2916 election
The targets are always conservatives the perpetrators always progressives
The actual supression of dissent is bulging to progressivism
Lehman and most of the IDW is on the left not th right
They are the lose equivalent of never trumpets
Attacking the IllIberal left f on the left
I keep trying to tell all of you the modern progressive left is by far our greatest threat
Not the left as a whole
But the progressives have so dominated the left that people like the Weinstein’s
Pinker Peterson Haidt Harris Rubin are painted as right wing nuts
Rather than classical liberals or left libertarians that they actually are
Right wing despots are rare and rarely do a tiny fraction of the damage of those on the left
The collectivist idea is always more dangerous
It is far easier t shed blood for the purported good of all
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/11/intellectual-dark-web-quillette-claire-lehmann-221917
Can’t stand line jumpers: “Birth tourism is real. Foreign women come to America to give birth to U.S. citizens. When I worked as a consular officer at U.S. embassies overseas, I frequently interviewed mothers-to-be for their visa applications. And I was often compelled to renew U.S. passports for children who had been born in America but never lived there. I complied with the law but felt as if I was complicit in a scam.
When applying for visas, few prospective birth tourists admitted their intentions, even though it isn’t illegal for foreign visitors to give birth in the U.S. Women wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer to conceal their bulging bellies would swear they couldn’t wait to visit a long-lost cousin they hadn’t seen in 20 years. When they’d return a little later to renew their tourist visas—new children with U.S. passports in tow—I’d ask for evidence they’d paid their medical bills. I’d frequently hear “I never got a bill” or “No one ever asked us to pay.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/constitutional-ways-to-curb-birth-tourism-1541968463
Tack this on to the BT article: “Even diplomats, whose children born in the U.S. aren’t supposed to be eligible for citizenship since they aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction, get in on the act. An African ambassador I got to know obtained American passports for his three children born in the U.S. “No one ever asked me where I worked,” he told me.”
The young Blue Wave and the upcoming Ex-Felon Blue Wave on top of the Women’s Blue wave, and Trump could be finished in 2020.
http://themoderatevoice.com/the-other-2018-midterm-wave-a-historic-10-point-jump-in-turnout-among-young-people/
“Voter turnout among 18 to 29-year-olds in the 2018 midterm elections was 31 percent, according to a preliminary estimate by The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
That’s the highest youth turnout my colleagues and I have observed since we started collecting data in 1994. It’s also a major increase from turnout in the 2014 midterms, which was 21 percent.”
So you had multiple waves
Barely managed to take the house
Had lower than historic gains
Lost ground in the senate
And nearly every candidate trump personally campaigned for won
And you think this bodes well for 2020 .
There was historically high turnout
But democratic turnout was higher than republican
If that repeats in 2020
Which is unlikely
Trump will probably win
About a 1% shift in the generic ballot and trump wins big
A 2% shift and there is a landslide
While demographics matter
Direct comparisons between elections particularly mid terms to presidential elections is difficult if not impossible
If as an example more democratic women voted then one would expect it to appear as if white women abandoned trump when all that might be true is different women voted
John Yoo fer christsake…
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/whitaker-cant-take-officeand-that-helps-mueller/575770/
I would be happy to agree with woo
And I would hope the courts rule that the appointments clause has teeth
In fact I hav argued here that the appointments clause applies to mueller
Which I believe it inarguably does
Mueller has the authority to issue subpoenas to convene grand juries
He has more power than any us attorney
He has very nearly the power of the us ag
And us attorneys have to be confirmed
I would love to see scotus reject Whitaker On strong appointments clause grounds
I believe that the appointments clause should apply to every single federal employee who can set policy or act independently
But as woo notes that is not the state of the law today
And if the courts reject Whitaker using strong appointments clause grounds
That sets up a new legal challenge to mueller
I would agree with you that conservatives should not act in ways that are at odds with their own constitutional positions
But I have tried to tell you repeatedly
Trump is not a conservative
I would further note that the appointments clause is the only legitimate grounds for barring Whitaker and Obama judges are highly unlikely to agree
Conversely the Supreme Court might well determine that since Whitaker is acting ag and must be confirmed or replaced in 210 days the matter is diminimus
further the issue regarding Whitaker is pretty much moot
Trump has other means to accomplish reigning In mueller
Acosta (different one) was confirmed by the senate and could trivially be substituted for Whitaker
And Acosta is likely more offensive to trump
Or trump could ask Rosenstein to resign
Which would but another trump supporter in control of mueller
The left has a fundamental problem
And that is that Whitaker controlling the mueller investigation is indistinguishable for holder acting as Obama’s wingman
Those on the left objecting to Whitaker to protect mueller are hypocrites
But personally I care about one thing
It is time NOW it is past time for mueller to put up or shut up
House democrats can investigate to their hearts content
And they will pay for that politically
But we are about to enter year 3 of trump Russia
And we still have no idea what crime purportedly initiated the investigation
This is the US we investigate crimes
Not people
I can list the crimes triggering the Clinton investigation
I am going. To disagree with yoo on a couple of things
Mueller does not have standing to challenge Whitaker’s appointment for precisely t even reasons that yoo claims Whitaker’s appointment is unconstitutional
Because mueller is not a senate confirmed principle officer
He may not initiate anything
If he does on appointments clause grounds he could very well win AND take himself down in exactly the same decision
It is arguable that only the senate has standing to challenge Whitaker
Scotus could trivially dispose of any challenge to Whitaker on standings grounds without ever addressing the substance
Which btw is likely what they will do
I beleive that manafort challenged mueller on appointments clause grounds and was told he did not have standing
I would further note by yoo argument
The moment that the congress goes into recess at the end of 2018
Which is unavoidable
Trump can merely re appoint Whitaker
And the issue dies
so basically there is a 45 day window where Whitaker’s appointment is under a cloud
We shall see
But I do not expect a challenge
The left would be harmed by winning
Jay when i say democrats and damage they will do, this is an example/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-joins-protest-in-nancy-pelosis-office-during-her-freshman-orientation?yptr=yahoo
They say nothing about forcing China and India to cut pollution, only we get the shaft in higher cost, piss poor cars and higher taxes to support changes to make this happen.
If she wants us to cut x% now, then China cuts x% now, not beginning in 2035 and getting back to their current levels sometime after 2050.
that is how you protect the environment, by making the larges polluter cut the most now.
Democrats gaining control of the house is a curse for them.
Now they will be held accountable for idiocy like this.
This is stupid on so many levels.
First infighting among democrats destroys their credibility with regard to complaints about Trump and republicans. Without any help they are shifting the narative from Trump is the problem to everyone is the problem.
Ocassio-Cortez has proven to be one of the stupidest people ever elected, not even smart enough to keep quiet rather than expose her foolishness.
“Climate Change” is a dead bang loser for the left.
Little could do more to destroy the image of those who buy it as intellectual elites.
My auto mechanic may not be able to debate the nuances of the IPCC report. But he is smart enough to know that the sky is not falling.
Something far too large a portion of people with college degrees fail to grasp.
As Nassim Taleeb retorts – IYI – Intellectual Yet Idiot.
I agree. AOC is a dummy. An unimportant dummy in relation to any actual power or influence, except to the Right, as a convenient Bozo Bop Bag punching doll.
OC speaks for an enormous number of people on the left.
She is their hero. Which reflects badly on them.
The right will happily use OC as the poster child for the left.
But it is not what the right does with her that matters.
It is her own words and actions that alienate the american electorate, and scare them with respect to democrats.
We are talking about somebody who still thinks that Venezeula is a good idea.
We are talking about someone who can not do what thousands of congressmen have figured out how to do since 1787. Find an apartment in Washington on a representatives salary.
If OC can not get a mortgage or rent no one can – unless her credit is really really bad.
In which case how did she get elected ?
Jay OC is certain to make a public fool of herself constantly.
While republicans will capitolize on it. They won;t have to work hard.
Again I agree, she will be on ongoing public embarrassment for Dems, just as Sarah Palin was/is for the GOP.
Even Jake Tapper interviewed her and noted that what she proposes is impossible.
The big program is M4A – medicare for all. It is generally agreed that the base cost will be $40T/decade above what we currently spend.
Ceding to the left every single argument they make about reducing costs elsewhere and actually getting more revenue from higher taxes – most of which is total garbage and will not happen. M4A is still 36T SHORT!!!. and this in an era when we are likely running 8-10T.decade short before hand.
This should be DOA.
And yet not only OC, but sanders and myriads of prominent people on the left are behind this.
One of the things that you and many others even here do not grasp is that the left has run out of things to do.
While I think that Social Security, Medicare, and our safetynet are disasters and net harmful.
and bankrupting us. There is nothing beyond those that is plausible.
The left can not find some new giveaway of sufficient consequence to attract voters.
PPACA was frankly disasterous. While there is the standard resistance to change now that it is in place. I would guess that you could get a super majority of voters to agree that we never should have done it. But that is not the same as we should get rid of it now that it is an albatross arround our necks.
We might be able to get similar concessions regarding SS and medicare.
At the same time large portions of the people are wise enough to grasp that most of the things the left is trying to sell are costly and stupid.
In otherwords the left has nothing to sell.
That is why we are seeing stupidity like M4A or free college tuition.
There is little the left has to offer.
We are not far from the next step really is some form of socializm and I do not think the US electorate is that stupid.
“In otherwords the left has nothing to sell.”
Come on. The younger generation is so ignorant of politics and what government can do, the democrats could sell ice to an Eskimo.
“Just tax the rich”. Say it long enough and many times enough and it becomes true to them.
Definitely a good idea to RE-TAX the rich at the rates they were taxed before.
Those rates through the Obama admin fueled the recovery, as did Reagan’s re-taxing of corporations after he lowered them repair the economy he had fucked up.
Or do you think it’s better in the long run to reduce taxes as Trump has done,and dangerously inflate the national debt?
The first thing they need to do is put the government on a zero based budget. Every program, every dollar, every job, every department needs to defend the expenditures based on a predetermined set of criteria, just like most businesses.
Once that has been completed, there can be no more ” I wasted $100 last year, inflation is 3%, I can waste $103 this year, $106 next year, $109.50 in two years, etc.
Then a balanced budget amendment that requires a balanced budget in 10 years.
After that, then tax reform to meet those needs. If more is needed, then adjust rates.
Why do you think it is OK to tax the rich and waste money like they do? I dont care if it is Reagan, Obama, Trump or Governor Brown.
Trumps nickle program is a small start, but a joke. Pelosi’s house will never cut spending just like Ryans house never cut spending.
I grew up where one did not waste their money and you sure as hell did not waste others money. How about you?
“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.”
― Milton Friedman,
“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.”
― Milton Friedman,
Bzzt, wrong.
There is substantial evidence that Bush’s “middle class tax cut” was not economically neutral.
The economic evidence that corporate tax cuts and upper margin tax cust pay for themselves is DAMNING to the left.
This is not even disputable. It is in fact self evident fromt he fact that as rates have gone down the portion of tax revenue coming from the rich has risen dramatically.
The Obama tax increase did not help, the harmed the economy.
As did the reagan one.
But Reagan atleast had a strong economy at the time.
I would further refer you to Christine Romer’s work – I have not had to cite that here in a long time.
The revenue optimizing maximim upper margin tax rate is approximately 33% – anything higher reduces revenue.
BTW the actual optimum – where your goal is economic grown not government revenue is substantially BELOW that.
The economy does not give a damn about your feelings or your personal conceptions of equity of fairness or how green with envy you are.
Where Trump’s economy will sustain itself is still in question. For all Trump does right there are other things he does wrong economically and we will have to wait and see if the net is positive of negative
BTW US federal revenue is increasing despite tax cuts. It is increasing faster than under Obama.
Unfortunately spending is increasing faster than revenue.
The US government has a spending problem, not a tax problem
Our tax rates are very close to the revenue optimizing maximum.
Increasing them will NOT get you any more money.
Those selling increasing taxes from current rates are selling snake oil.
If the upper margin tax rate were 5% – maybe there would be something to talk about.
But as our current situation stands our problem is spending not taxes.
Maybe OC does not know this, but most on the left do.
This is not some economic secret.
When you see left wing nuts raise taxes they do so for political reasons not economic ones.
The left makes alot of Kansas – where small cuts to state taxes that are a small portion of total taxation for those in Kansas did not have some incredible positive effect.
And were unable to compell the required cuts in spending.
And yet Kansas still worked better than expected. Revenues did not go down, and they did go down when the tax rates were increased.
Conversely Conneticutt is teetering on bankruptcy.
It has been religiously increasing taxes to address shortfalls, and revenues have dropped and businesses are feeling.
Get a clue – look at what the europeans do.
Sweden taxes the wealthy at 50% – high but not all that much higher than the US – that is total tax rate, state federal ….
They tax the middle class at 61% – because that is the only way to support their revenue.
Voters inherently move away fro the left as they get older.
If that holds true in the future the current makeup of young voters will produce the most libertarian electorate ever as they grow older.
Absolutely there is far too much acceptance of socialism among the young today.
But studying their attitudes broadly – there is a much larger portion of that cohort that is more libertarian than any prior generation.
libertarian in only social issues, not fiscal issues.
Libertarian in ” Dont tell me what tobdo, but I can tell you what your money needs to be used for”!
Wow, when you go against Mayor DeBlasio, you are really off the charts.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ocasio-cortez-claims-yorkers-outraged-135522664.html
The solution is to prohibit all government from giving tax breaks to anyone.
But so long as it is possible for government to give a tax break, it will, and it would be incredibly stupid to prevent it.
Amazon need not locate there. They can go elsewhere, and I am sure other places would be happy to have them.
For someone who purportedly has a degree in economics, OC is a complete economic idiot.
“For someone who purportedly has a degree in economics, OC is a complete economic idiot.”
HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!
Best joke of the year. Thinking education in this country makes one educated and informed.
Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!
I watched the teen tournament on Jeopardy last night because there was a young man on that was from this area. Two categories, classic TV and actors, they answered all questions correctly and all were trying to click in. One category one contestant did well in, science, because she wanted to be a molecular scientist. But other categories that had to do with things one would learn in school, mostly wrong answers even if they tried clicking in. That included government and history. The final jeopardy question had to do with Betsy Ross. Two had no clue (blanks on the board) and one guessed correctly and was totally surprised that she was right..
When they can get every question right on classic TV and actors (gave movie titles and clue to actor and they had to give the actors name), but they had no clue as to government and little info on other “education things”, expecting kids to be informed and educated by our education system through even college is a total joke!
But I bet all are fully current on greeivance studies.
Sinema wins Arizona with Trumps help.
“In Jeff Flake’s case it’s me, pure and simple. I retired him. I’m very proud of it, I did the country a great service,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House a day after the midterm elections. “He is retired. I’d like to call it another word, but we’re going to treat him with great respect.”
Way to go asshole!
I do not know what occurred in AZ.
I am very surprised that Senima won. Particularly against McSally.
While Senima is not the progressive loon she was painted as. She has stuck her foot in her mouth repeatedly and pissed on AZ and is too far to the left.
While McSally is a solid centrist republican with an incredible record.
It is easy to blame Trump.
At the same time McSally studiously avoided associating with Trump,
and though there is alot of bad news for republicans in this election, with few exceptions those candidates – particularly senators who hitched their wagon to Trump either won, or significantly outperformed expectations.
Arizona.
Governors race
Ducey R 1,241,000
Garcia D 914,000
Difference 227,000
Senate Race
Sinema D 1,097,000
McSally R 1,059,000
Difference 38,000
That is over a 250,000 party vote switch. And the governors race is what I would expect from Arizona.
Only one house seat flipped in the state in 2018.
Tucson
2016 it went Trump +14
2018 it went democrat +9
a flip of 23 for the democrats
Older than average voter
More college educated voter than the state wide.
Average income earner for Arizona income
Not sure how anyone could argue that this was not a Trump issue when Sinema is a bisexual female that has every negative issues going for her in a right leaning state. How can a district that was +14 for Trump flip to +9 for the democrats? Unless someone shows me documented proof of something else, I will stand by my anti-Trump position
Agree with your assessment.
Dummy Dave doesn’t get it. Never will.
The Voting Tides, they are a’changing….
Jay we all agree on what happened in AZ.
The question is why did Ducey do well and McSally not ?
Clearly AZ has not turned blue.
Trump endorsed Ducey. Campaigned for him, and Ducey embraced Trump – and Ducy won easily.
McSally distanced herself from Trump and lost narrowly.
That is unlikely the only way to look at AZ.
At the same time across the country candidates that embraced Trump and that Trump campaigned for did exceptionally well. Trump had a near perfect record on those.
While nearly every candidate backed by Obama lost.
Does that mean anything ?
I do not know. It is not dispositive, but it is highly suggestive.
There are lots of factors in every election, most of which have nothing to do with who is the president.
I doubt Trump can make a bad candidate paletable.
And good candidates can win despite Trump.
None of this is simple.
But if we are going to toss out these Trump is toxic memes – those would be more plausible if the candidates close to Trump had lost. and if those who distanced themself from Trump had won, If democrats who promised to go to war with Trump have won in pink districts and those that promised to work with him had lost.
Instead outside of deep blue turf, democrats won with good moderate candidates when they won.
Of course there are exceptions. Scott Narrowly beat Nelson.
Both candidates behaved as if Trump was the third rail and mentioning him would get them electrocuted.
There is some strong evidence that voting against Kavanaugh in a pink state was the kiss of death in the senate.
But probably the biggest factor is that Republicans gained nearly 4000 seats in the federal and state governments over the past decade. It was inevitable they could not continue that degree of domination.
Then how did Ducey who embraced Trump and was embraced by Trump win so handliy ?
“Conservative lawyers are not doing enough to protect constitutional principles that are being undermined by the statements and actions of this president,” said John B. Bellinger III, a top State Department and White House lawyer under President George W. Bush.
.”We believe in the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights and the necessity of civil discourse,” the group, Check and Balances, said in a mission statement. “We believe these principles apply regardless of the party or persons in power.”
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/416586-george-conway-forms-group-to-encourage-conservative-lawyers-to
Jay, I can not see the GOP not having some well known politician(s) challenging Trump for the nomination. When almost 25% of the GOP registered voters that voted (right at 200,000) voted for Simena in a very traditional red state, this indicates to me that Trump could be another Johnson when it comes to a second term. The same trend occurred in NC where strong GOP districts with large differences in GOP/Democrat registrations voted democrat for the first time in years, all the way down to sheriff where the GOP had won for 30+ years. (My county included)
Unlike Johnson that was disliked for political reasons (mostly Viet Nam), Trump is disliked by both the traditional GOP, Democrats and independents for personal reasons. If someone can show strong in Iowa and New Hampshire, his meat will be rotting on the stump.
I would give another more moderate GOP member a good chance of defeating Trump and then a better chance of defeating a far left democrat in 2020.
But that is just my wishful thinking looking out through rose colored glasses!
My guess is that the final outcome depends on whether or not the Dems nominate a reasonable candidate or a dope.
Jay, it they nominated someone like #7 or #14 on this list, then they would have a great chance against Trump and a good chance against someone like Kasich or even a Rubio.
The others are age restricted or agenda restricted for moderates.
And no one knows what short attention span will be front and center in the summer and fall 2020.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/311436-top-15-democratic-presidential-candidates-in-2020
Sienema was more moderate in the present than painted – though more progressive in the past and said many stupid things that I thought would have done her in.
But then I thought Trump insulting McCain early on would do him in, and it did not.
McSally was a moderate republican. She distanced herself from Trump and lost.
The resuls surprise me. I would not have thought this was even going to be close.
Remember Ducy won handily and he embraced Trump.
AZ’s pro-Trump governor got 200K more votes that McSally.
I honestly do not know what is going on in AZ.
But there is a strong argument that for republicans failure to embrace trump is toxic with voters.
The results of this election are messy. Trying to decipher exactly what it means is complex.
Almost any claim has counterfactuals.
I do not know what this election means – except that what others claim it means is probably not true.
With few exceptions I agree with the specific principles these lawyers are espousing.
Railing that the press is biased is not an unconstitutional attack on free press.
When Trump actually tries to censor the press I will oppose.
There is no right involved in the Acosta fiasco.
There is a pattern of bad conduct by Acosta.
Public criticism should absolutely be encouraged.
Criticism of the president.
Criticism of the press.
No one is immune from criticism.
Trump can not violate the rights of a free press in his words only his actions.
I am sure CNN can find a replacement for Acosta.
I am sure CNN can find a platform for Accosta to continue to criticise the president.
Find an actual example of Trump abridging actual constitutional rights.
Not this manufactured outrage.
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/media-bias-left-study/
A recent poll found 5:1 that the public beleives the press is unfair to Trump.
I am prepared to listen to arguments regarding whitakers conflicts.
So long as you are prepared to apply the same standards to others.
I am prepared to listen to arguments regarding the constitutionality of Whitakers appointment.
So long as you are prepared to listen to those involving others.
Anyone in government that can decide policy, or issue subpeonas or convene a grand jury, is a principle officer and must be appointed by the president and confirmed by congress or comply with the recess appointments provisions of the constitution.
That would cover whitacker. That would also cover Mueller.
Mueller arguably has more power than any US attorney.
But there is no argument that A US Attorney is a principle officer and must be appointed by the president and confirmed by congress.
BTW the ONLY alternative is must be appointed by the president.
There is no constitutional provision for principle officers appointed by other principle officers.
We have been playing games with investigating the president for decades.
It is the responsibility of CONGRESS.
Democrats control the house.
Trump can not prevent their investigation even if he wants to.
That is the only legitimate means to investigate the president.
Add this: “Mr. Ridge said he was concerned about attacks on the independence of judiciary. “Regardless of whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative,” he said, “you embrace the rule of law.”
Professor Kerr summed up the new group’s basic point. “The rule of law has to come first,” he said. “Politics comes second.”
More nonsensical word games.
Anyone is free to use words against anyone else.
If those words are actually false, we have defamation laws that the target can avail themselves of.
That is the only remedy against words you do not like.
Acosta is free to say whatever he wishes about Trump.
The press is free to say what they wish about Trump.
Trump is free to say what he wishes about them.
What Trump may not do is use FORCE against the press, the judiciary, ….
Words are not force. The judiciary and the press have no right to protection from unkind words. Just as Trump is has no right to protection from unkind words.
There is no FORCE invovled, there is no constitutional issue, there are no rights being implicated.
We err significantly when we confuse words with acts – particularly acts of force.
We inflate the significance of words and we deflate the importance of actions.
The rule of law includes the right to free speach.
It precludes the use of FORCE without justification.
Demonstrate where either of those are being breached and I will be happy to indict Trump for violating the rule of law.
Thus far it is entirely the left that is afoul of the rule of law.
I respect Tom Ridge but he has conflated words and actions in error.
Trump’s words are often offensive. As are those of the press and myriads of others.
Civility has been destroyed – and not by Trump.
And it is unlikely coming back soon.
But civility and manners do not implicate the rule of law.
We can throw verbal stones at each other without breaching the rule of law.
But we can not throw actual stones.
Good news for climate quibblers (I ain’t one): “Researchers with UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Princeton University recently walked back scientific findings published last month that showed oceans have been heating up dramatically faster than previously thought as a result of climate change.”
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-climate-study-error-20181113-story.html
dduck, I ain’t a climate denier either. But I am a questioner of how its happening when looking a historical trends for millions of years. That is easy to find on the internet and it shows where the earth temps rises and then long periods of volcanic eruptions cause cooling, then the earth warms and another period of eruptions, etc, etc.
And back then there was no man caused climate change, just natural changes that are following historical trends now.
The claim was stupid.
The warming of the oceans is of absolutely critical importance.
The energy flows of the planet do not balance for warming absent the existence of a large sink for massive amounts of energy that we can not measure as temperature change.
There are really only two choices – that energy is stored in the oceans or that energy is radiated back to space as Stephan-Botzman and Plank Dictate.
The debate over store energy in the oceans is trivially resolveable and obviously false.
Ocena energy storage is in the form of heat, and heat causes water to expand.
This is the driving force behind IPCC predications of rising sea levels.
Hence many many problems.
The IPCC projections of SLR are insufficient to account for the energy required to reach the 4C (or 2C) by 2100 claims of the IPCC. Put simply either the IPCC grossly underestimates SLR or overestimates Warming.
The actual SLR is substantially below the IPCC projections.
There just plain is not enough heat being captured by the oceans to account for CAGW claims.
You can chase the heat in the deep ocean, mid, or shallow. It does not matter where it is, it will still cause water to expand, absenbt that expansion there can not be heat.
We can know nearly exactly what the heat gain in the ocean is even if we have no idea where it is by measuing SLR
When asked on Wednesday about the U.S. leader’s Twitter posts, French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux was critical.
“Yesterday was November 13, we were marking the murder of 130 of our people,” Griveaux said. “So I’ll reply in English: ‘common decency’ would have been appropriate.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-usa/france-says-trump-should-have-shown-decency-on-paris-attacks-anniversary-idUSKCN1NJ1SP
Yes, that’s what a DECENT person would have done; the U.S. does not have one.
Every day is the aniversary of a tragedy somewhere.
In the past being insulted by the french was taken by all as a compliment.
I guess the left is so anti-trump that no longer holds.
Aparently the enemy of my enemy is my friend even if they are France
Wonder if people really care. (You can skip medicare ad if it comes up)
Thanks, Ron, it’s good to know these “invaders” appear somewhat human.
“When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again. Nobody takes anything. It’s really a disgrace what’s going on.”
Trump gives new meaning to “cereal killer”.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-daily-caller-cereal-voter-id_us_5bec7b57e4b0598443d3c944
The daily Wire got trashed by Snope and Facebook blocked posting their article because of a headline that was out of sync with the article.
Their is no such thing as “voter-ID”, There are voter-ID laws.
There is ID that is acceptable to vote.
But will he flake out again?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/politics/mueller-protection-bill-flake-coons/
(CNN)Retiring Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Wednesday that he will not vote to confirm the Trump administration’s judicial nominees on the Senate floor or advance them in the Senate Judiciary Committee if legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller does not receive a Senate floor vote.
Flake made the new judicial threat after he and Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, unsuccessfully attempted to force a Senate vote on the special counsel legislation Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell objected to the request for a vote from Flake.”
The odds of such a vote are near zero. It would not pass the house.
It would not survive a veto. This is stupid politics.
Flake is being stupid.
Another sleaze gets nailed: http://www.tmz.com/2018/11/14/michael-avenatti-arrested-domestic-violence-stormy-daniels-attorney/
Wow, that Trump did another good thing; he must be slipping:
https://www.axios.com/trump-criminal-justice-reform-bill-senate-jared-kushner-ce377e7e-7b3b-46b7-b37d-05a1a35fa40d.html
I guess Jared’s father told him how bad prison is. (Not that Trump’s worried about going to one himself.)
You see everything as one dimensional
Kushner has been pushing Criminal justice reform for a long long time.
Trump was arguing for it as a minor point in his campaign.
Just as he argued returning Marijuana to the states.
These things did not happen because Sessions was AG.
There were very serious conflicts between Sessions and Kushner over criminal justice reform.
Sessions resignation aides those efforts.
This is a very very tricky subject.
We absolutely need alot of criminal justice reform.
But there are a small number of prominent republicans opposed.
And Trump can not afford a strong attack from the right on this issue.
If you are in a war, you sometimes need to go to scorched earth as the Russians did in WWII. (BTW, they lost more people than any other country in that war.) In order to have the greatest chance of defeating the enemy is to divide his forces. And for 2020, if Trump is still around, that cannot be done by running any of the Dem candidates head to head against Trump.
What’s needed is a group of patriots that peel off and destroy part of the Rep/Trump machine. I say patriots, because they will lose by running against Trump and the Dem machine. Yes, I am talking about a Third Party (no name yet, maybe the “Patriots Party”)
Let’s say Kasich and perhaps others willing to burn Trump’s path to a second term.
Surely there are some politicians willing to sacrifice themselves to stop Trump. I’m hoping Kasich is one, and along with other former Reps and a few Dem, say Biden, as an example, I thing a lot of people would vote for them (Perot got 20% and he was not a polished politician) stealing votes from the Reps, and BYE, BYE TRUMP, who I think is far worse for the country than any Dem combo. (I’m sure some here disagree :-))
Yes, I know it could lead to a disastrous “socialist” state, I accept that.
I just wish, that the Clinton’s stay out of it and that “identity politics” is minimized, so there is a reasonably sane Dem slate, and they don’t blow it like they did in 2016.
My check book would be open to the Patriots Party.
Wow, I just woke up, who wrote that fantasy above.
dduck…Ross Perot, the 90’s predecessor of Trump 2016. He got 20% just because of the “sucking sound of jobs going to Mexico”. NAFTA, what a crappy deal then and a worse one since it helped propel Trump.
I doubt any of the politicians would form another party. But the Koch brothers are really Libertarians. Maybe a well placed name politician would sacrifice himself with the brothers money.
Yep, what a dream. But not one I want to see. I don’t want a Democrat in the whiote house. I want a “true GOP”, not an impostor like Trump.
Ron, I’m assuming Trump would win without scorched earth. Would you prefer him again, cause you ain’t gonna get a “true GOP”: they died with McCain. Of course Kasich could primary with Trump, but the result MIGHT be Kasich or be the same- Trump.
I am looking for a certainty, not maybe or might win. So if you want Trump…….
dduck, you are asking someone that question that is 100% against what the democrats believe in today.
I do not believe in forcing people to buy private company products they do not want nor need (PPACA) that only increaees insurance co. profits.
i do not believe in infringing on gun rights.
I do not believe in a ” national” living wage. There is no such thing. If there is a minimum wage it needs to be MSA adjusted like Medicare reimbursement for hospitals. Higher in NYC, lower in Bumfuck New Mexico. based on cost of luving.
I do not believe in the NLRB involvement in union activities and closed shop states.
I do not believe in forcing vendors to use artistic talents during sales to LGBT individuals. If your a baker, then yes you should sell to a gay. But that law should not dictate how you have to decorate it.
I dont agree with mileage requirements for cars. That is why everyone now buys a truck/SUV. Government forced small cars that did not meet family heeds.
And finally, I dont agree with unfair climate agreements forcing us to decrease now, but allowing the biggest polluters to continue to increase output until mid 2030’s and then get back to current levels in the 2050’s
And now the other choice is Trump, third party or leaving the top of the ballot blank.
Given that, I will do what I did last time. Try to get the Libertarians to 15%-20%.
Patriot Party sounds good.
But the obvious alliteration could be problematic from critics: the Pee-Pee Party would become a running joke meme.
Not sure Patriot Party is wise.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States
Go way down to inactive parties and see what they believed in.
Ron: Patriots United P.U. Nah. I’ll work on another name but for now, the point is this party of disaffected Rep and Dems, would pull more votes then your Libertarians.
BTW, since the PP party is a pipe dream, I support your Libs IF, IF, they can pull enough votes from Trump. But you realize that also yields a Dem president.
I just have my doubts, but go for it; Trump is the worst America has ever seen.
dduck, ok here is my thinking. All you have to do is shift 80,000 votes from Trump in 2020 from 3 states. And that is also right at 1/2% in Wisc, Penn and Mich.
Yep, that would end up a democrat president, not what I would want to see, but at least I can gleefully say “I did not vote for X” when crappy things start happening. “Dont blame me”. Both suck.
By the way, add up the 2016 votes fro GOP plus Libs and compare that to Dems plus Grenees. The right won in total votes. Just found that myself.
You can play number games all over.
What people forget because the vote was so close in those states is that Trump picked up 1.2M votes over Romney/Obama in those states.
As an incumbent with a successfully economy, and having kapt most of his campaign promeises to these people I would expect trump to do BETTER in those states in 2020.
Regardless, name a democrat who is a plausible candidate who is going to best Trump in those states ?
hypothetically much is possible. Lookj at what will happen with the most plausible candidates.
The only democrat that I think stands much chance of upending Trump in the rust belt is Biden. And I do not think he can win, nor does he have the fire in the belly needed to actually run.
Democrats like warren would get obliterated in the rust belt.
I agree with much of what you say.
But it is not happening.
My read of the tea leaves is that Democrats are going left again. And they are going to continue with identity politics.
And house democrats are as they have already started to, going to make fools of themselves.
Pelosi and the democratic party need OC like they need root canal.
They are going to fight among themselves,
They are going to pick stupid fights with Trump.
They are going to pick candidates too far to the left
and they are going to repeat 2016 only worse in 2020
That is my crystal ball.
What you Say is true.
“It’s now virtually certain that Orange County, CA will be represented by zero Republicans in Congress in 2019”
For all the 30 years I’ve lived in CA, 12 of them behind the ‘Orange Curtain’, Republicans have dominated Orange County politics. They can thank Trump and Russiagate for the loss.
Jay, look at the OC demographics since 1990. In 1990 the GOP had a 22% gap in registered voters. Today they are now less than 40% of the registered voters. The democrats have remained constant around 35%. The difference is the growth in unaffiliated and third party registrations. The change has been driven by a significant drop from a basic white demographic to a white population of just above 64%. Asian and Hispanic growth has been a significant change.
So as hard as you try to blame Trump for everything, that is not always the case. Not too long ago whites were the major race in California. I believe they are less than 50% now days and those people have never been Republicans. Remember, when I grew up in California it was a purple state that leaned red. Ronald Reagan was governor and the office flipped right left for many years after that until moonbeam got elected.
I agree the demographics have changed in OC.
But in regard to my ‘thanks to Trump’ keep in mind these demographics for this election:
Asians in OC (I think that’s 15%) Generally vote Republican.
And as older people actually vote, the percentage of whites who in the past voted Republican was likely higher than 50%.
In other words, a significient number of white OC Republicans didn’t vote Republican.
https://statisticalatlas.com/county/California/Orange-County/Race-and-Ethnicity
Would also be nice to see data like 1; voted for Trump, voted dem in 18 and 2; voted for trump, did not vote.in 18.
We had 3-4 GOP sheriffs go down to defeat in counties that have not had Dem sheriffs in over 30 years. Most due to swing voters going.left and GOP staying home.
I do not know about OC but nationwide Asians historically vote democratic.
But they are slowly shifting to the GOP/
Today’s smile of approval 😃
And this would be funny to everyone if there was not an underlying identity politics theme. While white straight America will have rights infringed upon, women, gays, muslims, and people of color will get legislation that provides additonal benefits for their special interest. Only the native American will continue to get squat.
Only the white leftest will be laughing.
I bet those white swing voters you mentioned who went left get a kick out of it too.
And if the Dems keep pushing PC nuttiness and racial double-standardness, I’ll be as loud as you in complaint.
But for now, Republicans have to PAY for their Trumpian complicity, for their deceitful double talk, for their abandonment of long accepted conservative philosophies. Yes, both parties suck, but in this time cycles Republican politicians are the worst of the worst.
Jay, you say republicans haven to pay. I say republicans are not the Trump supporters. Please read from March 2016.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/who-are-donald-trumps-supporters-really/471714/
Please note the typical primary voter was white, non college male. That IS NOT the typical rich college educated, higher income or christian conservative individual that was the “typical” republican.
I have said for months that Trump brought into the primaries a group of voters that hardly ever voted. And when they did, they voted the union label, Democrat.
Maybe Trump can continue to stoke enough flames to keep his uneducated, white, reactionary male voters energized along with those that will wear gas mask in the precinct that will vote for him, but please dont blame all republicans.
Ronald Reagan created the Reagan democrats, those moderate democrats. Trump created the Trump democrats. The pissed off white male voter along with the less educated white female voter. Those are not republicans!
I pretty much don’t agree with anyone
But I am not calling trumps voters white uneducated reactionaries
It is precisely this rhetoric that cost the left the election
Dismiss the fact that these are essentially unrepresented voters a
Who have been shat upon and blamed for everything
and are pissed about it at your peril whether you are left or right
These are the reflection of the failure of pc identity intersectional politics
When you convert victimization into a value everyone will claim the mantle of victim hood
Several Republican women won – against men.
Several republican women lost.
There was no shortage of female republican candidates.
Nor of blacks, nor of other minorities.
“Following Democrat Jared Golden’s victory over Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd district on Thursday, Republicans now hold zero House seats in New England and only one Senate seat — Maine’s Susan Collins, who’s up for re-election in 2020.
The big picture: Republicans lost big in moderate suburban districts in the 2018 midterms, and even ceded ground in deep-red rural districts that voted for Trump in 2016. The flip in Maine’s 2nd blue-collar district “filled with forests, lobsters, and blueberries,” could be an indicator that the GOP’s shift to the right has alienated moderate Republicans in the northeast, the Boston Globe writes.”
And if Collins runs again (I doubt it) she will be BURNT toast.
Good news bad news
Mixed results
The gains in the senate were as significant as the losses in the house possibly more so
Mccaskill is gone
Nelson is gone
Heitcamp I s gone
Testor had a very close call
Had mcsally won the senate would have been disastrous for dems
The gop lost many many races by 1% or less
And many democrats that should have had easy races didn’t
Though there was turnover trumps rust belt seems secure for 2020
Regardless it is going to be very tough for any democrat in 2020
The house loses were under the historical norms
I do not weigh those heavily
And I think they were higher than they should have been
Regardless pelosi has a tough jobs
The d’s that beat republicans are not OC clones
They promised bipartisanship
They claim to be moderate
If they have a spine and expect to win again in 2020
2 years af TSD will not cut it
We are already starting to signs of the stresses inside the Democratic Party
Regardless democrats have the house
They own it
They own its successes and failures
I got it: The F.T. Party.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/defunct-patent-firm-that-matthew-whitaker-advised-posted-video-featuring-trump-1542139220
Defunct Patent Firm That Matthew Whitaker Advised Posted Video Featuring Trump
“The video, titled “Donald Trump—What World Patent Marketing Customer’s [sic] Can Learn,” was posted in August 2015. The video, which remains online, is about three minutes long and includes still photos of Mr. Trump along with general business-advice quotes attributed to him. ”
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation—which Mr. Whitaker now oversees— is conducting a criminal investigation of World Patent Marketing, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.”
“Acting attorney general Matt Whitaker has said he is not aware of any fraudulent activity,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said last week. “Any stories suggesting otherwise are false.” The Justice Department declined to comment on the video of Mr. Trump.”
This gives new meaning to the “Fox guarding the chicken coup” Sorry Hannity.
There is an FBI criminal allegation into Gilliam. Does that make him guilty ?
If there was “fraud” – where are the outraged victims ?
I know where Maddoffs are.
Enron had outraged victims even though the courts ultimately found incompetence not fraud.
The FBI had an undercover operation targeting CGI
I am not a big fan of patent brokers. But that does not make working for them criminal.
Lana Marks, a South Africa native, does not have previous diplomatic experience. The South Africa ambassador post has been vacant since December 2016.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-nominate-handbag-designer-as-ambassador-to-south-africa-1542241230
So Trump sends a South African to south africa and you are upset ?
As noted the post has been vacant for 2 years.
And still south africa did not self destruct.
If you are not happy we can leave the post vacant for another 2 years.
The state department is very near useless. So why do I care ?
Part of what I liked about Tillerson is he was taking an axe to it.
Pompeo is NOT my idea of Sec. State.
Another of your “look how stupidity argumentive I am” comments.
Or are you really in favor of filling that post with an incompetent inexperienced woman but still have to pay her and all the related expenses of the office, rather than send a competent ambassador?
Expand government with a ceremonial clown.
Thanks for the suggestion.
When the entirety of your argument is spittle and insult – you have lost.
“Or are you really in favor of filling that post with an incompetent inexperienced woman but still have to pay her and all the related expenses of the office, rather than send a competent ambassador?”
My preference would be to shrink government – greatly.
The vast majority of what the state department does is meaningless and unnecescary.
In many many countries we would be best served having very little or no state department staff, and what little we have doing next to nothing.
I would strongly suggest reading “The Ugly American”. It is fiction, but for those of us who remember Vietnam, it is really more of a “docudrama”.
Historically our foreign service has been the ENEMY of the US relations to the world.
Most of us are aware of the disasterous involvement of the US CIA in foreign governments.
Our state department is little better.
We are throwing spittle over Putin, and the Ukraine.
Well the US state department under Clinton – the purported pros entirely F’d up in the Ukraine. We involved ourselves in a coup that opened the door for russian aggression.
So Am I worried that someone with no experience will botch South Africa ?
NOPE.
Though frankly I would prefer that we shrink the foreign service as much as possible.
I think the so called pro’s are idiots. IYI.
Do I think someone who has successfully run a fashion business and purportedly has no experience in foreign service will do better ? Absolutely.
Outside of government success is measured by the market, and it is brutal and relentless.
It is not swayed by emotions, and success nearly always requires skills in multiple domains as well as luck. Running even a small business requires more skill than nearly any government job.
The entire structure of the market works heavily to punish most of the conduct that most of you fear from business.
At the same time the structure of govenrment rewards precisely the same behavior that markets punish.
So yes, I think success in the fashion industry (or any other) is a qualification for most any government job, while a carreer in government should be a disqualification.
What I liked alot about Tillerson is that he was taking a scythe to the state department.
What I do not like about Pompeo is that he is a typical government crony and seeks power rather than competence and has started filling positions that Tillerson deliberately left fallow.
Today’s Song: Am I Blue?
Another finger for you Mr. Rule of Law believer. LMAO
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/media/cnn-trump-lawsuit-hearing/
Here comes the Judge that Trump appointed. Good:
“But he also said that he was not making a judgment on the First Amendment claims that CNN and Acosta have made.
Despite that, Sanders said in her statement, “Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House.”
The judge did not make that clear.”
The “enemy of the people” is united against Trump on this; that’s very good.
The decision is stupid and is precisely what is NOT the rule of law.
There is no first amendment issue.
Rights are individual not collective.
Acosta has no rights that you or I do not have.
If you and I do not have a right to attend whitehouse press conferences,
Then no one does.
There is no employment relationship.
And there is no contractual relationship.
There just is no right for Acosta or anyone else.
We do not get to manufacture rights from thin air.
If there is a right involved here – what is it ?
If not, the cases is done.
I have no idea what the judge made clear.
But if the judge tried to assert there was a first amendment right to participate in WhiteHouse press conferences, then he will be appealed and he will lose.
You you can not manufacture a right that is impossible..
Why the hell this white house has to make a huge deal out of every little speck of dust is beyond my imagination. Just ignore that ass in any press conference or daily press updates. Its that simple. If he interrupts, keep going to someone else. If he continues to interrupt, shut down the meeting.
Because fighting with the press is very good for Trump, and because he actually enjoys it.
As noted a recent poll indictate that 5:1 people beleive the Press treats Trump unfairly.
I find that hard to beleive.
But I do not find it hard to accept that the press is losing its war on Trump.
I would note that this like pretty much everything the left does is self destructive.
Obama ruled lawlessly without the consent of congress and without constitutional authority.
He was rebuked by SCOTUS more than any president ever – with innumberable 9-0 rulings against. Regardless he paved the way for Trump. First he made it trivial for Trump to vaporize nearly everything he did. But further Obama legitimized unilateral rule making it harder to confront Trump.
You think winning this case is a good thing – because you hate Trump.
But any decision will be forever – atleast if you actually beleive in the rule of law not man.
The Trump whitehouse will make a plethora of rules for reporters.
They will inevitably be draconian and make reporters jobs harder.
Then you will end up in court with stupid fights over the rules.
If you lose – you as stuck with a stupid rule forever.
If you win – you are stuck with press conference chaos.
I would expect that all the press would likely be on the same side.
Fox was Obama’s victim, but was not stupid enough to make a federal case of it.
I do not care all that much of this.
Acosta and CNN get a phyric victory – maybe,
and end up with press confernces where they are ensnared in rules.
Acosta will spend the next 6 years walking around in a mine field with all eyes watching to see when he steps on a bouncing betty and in the meantime he makes life more difficult for the rest of the press.
And we reinforce this stupid idea that everything can be governed by rigid rules.
Get a clue. It can not.
You have actual rights. Those can not be infringed on without justification.
Everything else is in the air.
It must be, because the absence of freedom is the absence of progress.
A pretty good RCI article on both the Acosta assault and the response of the media and the left.
This never was a first amendment issue. There is no right to a whitehouse press pass.
Absent a criminal allegation against Acosta – there is no right to “due process”.
As any parent of a toddler knows – there is no “fair” there is no right to an impartial review of every action.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/11/14/acosta_and_the_intern_a_media_double_standard_138657.html
So Trump may throw a Haley mary pass: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/us/politics/mike-pence-trump-administration.html
Haley would be a really smart move; it could win him many more women than prissy Pence would..
Dduck, if Nikki Haley were to do that, I would have to change my thoughts about her completely. I think she is a smart, well positioned politician that could have a bright future in the GOP. However, if she were to tag her political future on being Trumps running mate with the excellent opportunity to go down in defeat, I think my impression of her intelligence would change to one of missing a few buns for the South Carolina Bar-B-Q.
I also do not see her being one that may challenge him for the nomination which I really hope happens by someone.
This stuff is tiring.
Maybe it is true.
But usually if trump has actual problems with someone – we do not hear about it in rumours.
We hear about it in Trump’s tweets.
There has been turn over. There will be more turn over.
I would mostly prefer if their had been less.
I think Trump’s initially apointments were mostly a dream team.
The fact that they did not agree was GOOD.
I loath Bannon. But he was by far the strongest voice to get us the H#II out of afghanistan and the mideast. That is a campaign Promise Trump should have kept.
I think Tillerson was great at State. He was choking the shit out of the state department.
I think Haley was a good choice.
But people come and go.
I doubt Trump has a real issue with Pence’s loyalty.
I think the primary issue is that Pence is no longer politically critical.
Pence bought Trump credibility with the religious right.
He no longer needs that.
His SCOTUS appointments have the religious right in Trump’s pocket.
Pence brings Trump nothing in 2020.
But it would be better for Trump if Pence quietly bowed out.
Which I do not think is happening.
My, my, Melania, you sure learned a lot from Donald: “How Trump and her staff ran up nearly $200,000 in hotel bills for a 12-hour trip is unclear (the total was nearly double the $95,050 bill for a hotel in Cairo, Egypt, where she stopped for a day last month during a trip to Africa). All six charges for the first lady’s Toronto hotel bills were paid to “miscellaneous foreign awardees” rather than a specific hotel. These links will take you to the documents for each amount, rounded here to the nearest thousand:” At the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, standard rooms start at $679 CAD. The most expensive suite, the 2,415 square-foot Ritz-Carlton Suite, goes for $8,000 CAD per night, plus $1,401.60 CAD in taxes”
https://qz.com/1465202/melania-trump-racked-up-a-174000-hotel-bill-during-a-one-day-trip-to-toronto/
As I recall it cost $1.2M for two weeks of Michelle in Africa.
I’m sure she was joking- ahem
“And then they remind me that there’s a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who maybe we don’t want to vote. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think that’s a great idea,” Hyde-Smith says in the video.
“Obviously Sen. Hyde-Smith was making a joke and clearly the video was selectively edited,” said Hyde-Smith campaign spokeswoman Melissa Scallan.
Hyde-Smith faces Democratic former Rep. Mike Espy in a runoff for Mississippi’s Senate seat on November 27.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/15/politics/cindy-hyde-smith-mississippi-universities-voter-suppression/
I have no idea what Hyde-Smith said
or what she meant but:
1). Voting should be hard. That is a good thing. Only those who are committed and hopefully have seriously looked into things should vote.
2). Are you saying that democrats do not try to win ?
AS best as I can tell your argument is that Repiblicans are not allowed to want to win elections ? But democrats are ?
As best as I can tell this purportedly was a reference to students at universities voting.
This is actually a major issue.
You can not (and should not) vote in the elections in the state you go to school in, if it is different from the one you reside in.
You are free to vogte in the state you reside in.
For many many reasons having nothing to do with elections and everything to do with things like tuition most states make it difficult for you to become a resident while in college if you did not live in the state before.
So long as you are not a resident you may not vote in that state.
The 2016 New Hamshire Senate election was near certainly decided by about 6400 out of state voters – most of which were College students.
It is possible – even likely that many of them voted in more than one state.
This is another reason for voter ID. Being a college student is one of several quite common ways in which people can get to vote in more than one state during an election.
There is strong evidence that somewhere between 200K and 1M people in a could of southern states voted in 2 different states in 2016.
So yes absolutely we should make voting harder.
Come on dduck.
“Among the big-ticket trips (for the Obama’s on one weekend) were two family vacations during the weekend of February 14, 2014, that cost the Secret Service $272,192. That weekend, former first lady Michelle Obama went on an annual trip to Aspen with her daughters and shut down its airport; the total cost was $88,663.29. The same weekend, President Obama took a golfing trip to Palm Springs and met with King Abdullah II of Jordan, which rang in at $183,529.62.”
They all do it!
Fix the problem by making them pay for their own vacations including the protection from the secret service except for two vacations a year inside the USA. (Just like most Americans)
Come on Ron.
The Trumps do it, BUT BETTER.
I am sure they do. And unlike the Obama’s they actually can afford to pay for their own vacation.
My guess is that Melania on her own outside her share of Trump’s estate is worth more than the Obama’s combined.
Sorry ron.
While everyone in the country should have to pay for their own vacation, they should be free to chose where they go.
Further they should NOT have to pay for things like secret service protection that is mandated by law.
If we yank from Melania and Michelles travels costs for their security detail and costs related specifically to their roll as first lady.
Everything ELSE they should pay for themselves, and what it costs is none of our business.
Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green…whatever, can someone please explain what gives others the right to determine my intent if I leave a contest on the ballot blank. If I vote for every other race and leave th senate race blank, can they decide to give the party I voted for for governor another vote? See article a few paragraphs in.
If so, then we DO NOT live in a democracy. We live in a fake democracy in many ways no better than a dictaorship when it comes to voting. And if not why try to determine intent?
…
Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green…whatever, can someone please explain what gives others the right to determine my intent if I leave a contest on the ballot blank. If I vote for every other race and leave th senate race blank, can they decide to give the party I voted for for governor another vote? See article a few paragraphs in.
If so, then we DO NOT live in a democracy. We live in a fake democracy in many ways no better than a dictaorship when it comes to voting. And if not why try to determine intent?
The issue of “intent” permeates our political debate today.
In the context of our personal lives – we are free to explore the intentions of others.
In the public context of making our choices regarding voting we are free to explore the intentions of others.
I would separately note that ALL OF US are horrible at judging the intentions of others.
In the context of the legitimate legal powers of government intentions are completely irrelevant.
If government is permitted to do something – it may do it regardless of our guesses as to intentions. This is one of many arguments for limiting what government is free to do.
The only relevance of intentions to constitutional debate is that if you beleive that someone with bad intentions should be barred from doing something. Then you must bar doing that thing regardless of intentions.
With respect to voting. We should be restructuring the process to avoid to the extent possible places humans in the position of trying to discern the “intentions” of voters.
We have several major problems with our elections systems.
One of the first is a disasterous lack of standards.
Voting for county commissioner or governor can be performed in whatever way any given state decides.
But every aspect of voting for a federal office should be the same accross the country.
Ballot formats should be the same, ballot processing should be the same.
Counting standards should be the same. Absentee ballots, early voting, voter ID, management of the voting roles, times to vote … all should be the same.
Every congressional district has very nearly the same number of voters, they should have the same resources, There should be no difference in the lines in an affluent district and a poor one.
Processes such as recounts should be the same.
After accepting that the process should be the same for federal elections everywhere.
we must then decide what the process is.
Though Hyde-Smith’s remarks appear to display some overt political bias, she is otherwise correct. Voting should NOT be easy. Government itself is not supposed to be easy.
Empowering govenrment to act should be HARD.
Further to the largest extent possible the voting process should avoid the judgement of humans outside of voters.
I am personally a big fan of paper ballots and optical scanners to record the vote
Those apply rigid rules that are determined beforehand and do not involve humans arguing over whether a mark means a vote is intended.
It is important to remember that getting things perfect is NOT the goal. We can not truly know the intent of every voter, Further the intent on the moment of filling out the ballot and the next day may be different.
I am highly in favor of processes that avoid the judgement of courts, canvas boards, etc.
I also do not beleive the results of elections should be determined by very small percentages of the vote.
If a Candidate can not win a clear majority of the vote – have a runoff.
This nonsense of recounts and election results hinging on several hundred votes out of several million is dangerous and stupid.
The important thing in an election is NOT precisely who wins or loses.
It is not even getting that right – that is not possible. Peoples choices change over time.
It is coming to a clear result that people trust even if they do not disagree with.
“With respect to voting. We should be restructuring the process to avoid to the extent possible places humans in the position of trying to discern the “intentions” of voters.
But every aspect of voting for a federal office should be the same across the country.”
If it should be the same across the country, then change the constitution. And it HAS TO BE AN AMENDMENT to insure some party does not take control and pass legislation in the future to change the law and give favor to their party! The constitution was written to give the states the right to determine how voting for all offices would be performed within their jurisdiction. In fact, in some elections voting for president was not even permitted. In 1800 several states changed the process of selecting electors to ensure the desired result. In Georgia, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, legislators replaced the popular vote with the selection by the state legislature. Virginia switched from electoral districts to winner-take-all for statewide.
Yes, standardizing the process would be better, but there would need to be someone in each region, state, county, etc to oversee the process. And when a government official is placed in that position, what can go wrong will go wrong. Only if all parties agree to the process and all parties oversee the process nationally would there be confidence that someone has not screwed with the system in close elections like Florida.
However, there are over 3,140 independent counties or county equivalent districts that have their own oversight for elections. How are we going to get 6,280 party organizations to buy into a standardized federal ballot. It would take years for that to happen, if it did and then years more for the states to ratify the amendment.
Remember, their is one critical qualification required to be a government official/employee. You have to pass the NST (National Stupid Test).
The constitution delegates authority for voting to the state legislatures and to congress.
There is no problem with legislating congressional rules for voting.
You are correct that it is more difficult to change the constitution.
Though frankly it should be harder to make law of any kind.
Yes, States can make their own rules.
But congress can constitutionally override them.
Generally federalism is an excellent idea – a laboratory for politics and democracy.
But in some things such as voting for federal offices there must be national standards.
Lets states run their own elections for state offices as they please.
There will always be the need for oversite.
But oversite is NOT involvement.
It is NOT changing the rules.
The role of courts is not to determine why they think the legislature has done something.
It is not ot determine what the legislature should have done.
It is not to determine whether what the legislature did was fair.
It is to determine whether it was legal and constitutional.
That is all. Judging intent, judging fairness, are the role of the electorate not the courts.
There is no need to get buy in.
If congress passes laws standardizing elections and they are enforced this is over.
It is BTW not especially important whether those rules for the moment advantage one party over the other. Whatever the rules all parties will adapt to them. Any temporary advantage is purely temporary.
The prince, MSB, did it. Trump will have to tap dance faster, and kiss SA and Turkey’s a—.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/politics/cia-assessment-khashoggi-assassination-saudi-arabia/
NYT: C.I.A. Concludes That Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Khashoggi Killed
If Canada killed a Canadian reporter in the Canadian embassy in the USA and that reporter was stationed in Turkey, would we expect Turkey to take action against Canada? No we would not.
So let Turkey handle their own damn issue!
Naw.
Our government shouldn’t ignore egregious murders by supposed allies no matter where they happen.
Are you in favor as well of us ignoring the recent spy poisonings by Russian because that’s The UKs problem?
Was the US right to ignore the early round-ups and executions of the Jews because it was a German problem?
There is in fact a World Community, and dont you think nations are morally obligated to speak out at times? What’s wrong with chastising Saudi Arabia for this ultimate human rights violation?
We can speak out. But thats it. Action s are the responsibility of the two parties involved.Now if the issue is one like the jews and millions slaughtered, that is totally different. One Saudi does not equal thousands of jews. And invasion of countries like Ukraine is different than one Ssudi life.
TDA is generating most comments concerning the murder of one man. Maybe we need to give that same amount of coverage dail y to every murder in America.
What is it that you plan on doing about any of this ?
There is zero distinction between what you claim is proper and “being the world’s policemen”.
If that is what you want – be open about it.
No one said there is nothing to be done.
But there is little or nothing to be done by government.
I noted above that hundreds of billions in investment rushed out of Russia just after the crimean war started most fo that remains gone. That is enormous. It has a tremendous negative impact on the country.
Look at the extent that counties in the US are fawning over Amazon to get Amazon HQ2
They do so because it is very important. Investment has a huge effect.
Everything else that government can do is near pointless – unless you are prepared to go to war.
There are times for that.
Is this one of those ?
I would further note that we are often quite wrong about that.
I beleive the killing in the UK actually was the Russians – but the evidence is much poorer than you think. The fundimental reason that I beleive is that it is consistent with more than 100 years of russian conduct.
I mostly beleive that SA killed Khasogi – but I am suspicious as the evidence all comes from turkey. It is NEVER a good idea to trust a single source with an agenda of their own.
Trump bombed Assad recently over the purported use of chemical weapons. I am near certain that was FAKE. The evidence is crap. Yet we essentially went to war over it.
There were no early roundups and executions of Jews.
The US was wrong regarding its early actions – because early on Hitler was happy to round up jews and deport them The US and other nations mostly refused to take them.
There was significant early persecution of the jews. Actual executions of consequence did not start until the germans invaded Russia that was well after the war had started and something like 7 years after Hitler had come to power.
The appropriate opposition to Hitler would have been to oppose his annexation of Alsace, of Sudatenland,
Fundimentally morality is personal, not political. Further only some portions of morality justify the use of force. Those that do not are outside the domain of government.
No, there is no international community as you assert.
The entire scheme of international law is purely voluntary – there is little means of enforcing it. The entire relations of nations with each other is pure anarcho-capitasm and has been for all history.
Regardless, if you wish to pass moral judgement on other nations – you are free to associate with others of like mind and do so. There is no bar to greenpeace or other voluntary NGO’s expressing their views or mobilitizing private actors to act privately.
We see many accomplish things I think are stupid such as drive the reduction of child labor or push nations into minimum wages for coffee pickers.
There is little doubt that we do not need government to effectively moderate the behavior of other countries.
SA has been repeatedly chastized.
The truth which you are unwilling to confront is that SA is not about SA for you.
There are myriads of journalists and others killed in the world all the time.
This is abotu Trump – not Khashogi, not about SA and not about chastizing SA.
As noted that has already been done. You want Trump to do it repeatedly.
You want to pick at houw he does it.
You want to deny that he has done so.
If this is about chastizing SA – that has been done. And there will be serious long term consequences already.
Move on.
This was a murder. Can you call things by their names ?
Censoring someone speach is a human rights violation – and a significant one.
But it is pale compared to murder.
Here’s an interesting slant on the story…
https://www.lawfareblog.com/latest-khashoggi-leak-violates-important-norms
so Trump has 26 months left. What impact does this leak have on intellegence for 60-120 months?
I don’t know.
Time will tell.
Likely just another brick in the wall of Trump incompetence
So other peopke having TDS severe enough to destroy years of intellegence work is Trumps fault?
Sorry, I cant buy that. These individuals who leaked this should be tried for treason
Or maybe we should accept that the US IC is relatively incompetent and useless ?
Why do I care if they leak if I do not beleive most of what they say and they have a historic track record of being wrong ?
“Likely just another brick in the wall of Trump incompetence”
So the CIA leaks something harmful to Trump and you conclude that is a sign of Trump’s incompetence ?
Get a clue – Trump is engaged in a war against much of entrenched govenrment.
He may be president, but they are the enemy.
CIA incompetence reflects on the CIA not Trump.
Honestly we greatly exaggerate the importance of classified information as well as the capacity of our intelligence (or other) government agencies to make assessments.
We now know that the ported 17 IC agency report – which was really 2-3 agencies and done outside normal processes, was deeply flawed and quietly not accepted by more of the IC.
I trust VPS far more than the IC regarding the DNC email hacking.
Our IC has botched assessments for as long as they have existed.
I would further note that we have had myriads of purportedly leaked stories from government sources over the past 2 years and the overwhelming majority have either been false or atleast substantially wrong.
Whatever you think of Trump’s credibility according to polls that of the media is less than half Trump’s
You seem to think that I have much confidence in the CIA or NYT ?
In this instance it does not matter much.
You are trying to make this a problem for Trump, and you are not likely to succeed.
So SA is stupid and often evil.
Are you going to sell Turkey or Iran as good ?
To the extent Trump needs to do anything he needs to return to his campaign promise to get the US out of things that do not involve our interests.
As much as I might dislike him on many things – we need Bannon back in the whitehouse.
We need less of the generals and other politicians selling us on aiding this purported ally or F’ing that enemy and more people who are prepared to say – this is not our business.
So you want sanctions ?
Are we the policeman to the world ?
Think about that. Decide the answer.
We have been fighting about Putin and Russia for a long time.
What do you want sanctions on sanctions on sanctions ?
Eventually either you give up and accept that you are dealing with a tyrant that you have limited control over, or you go to war.
When Russia invaded the Ukraine within a few days hundreds of Billions of dollars in investment was pulled out of russia.
That totally completely dwarfed any US sanctions and the government had nothing to do with it.
Whether you like it or not the real free market is far more effective in punishing despots than our government ever can be.
BTW none of that investment has returned to Russia.
So what is it that you want to do about Saudi Arabia ?
Or better – why do we need to do anything ?
On pretty much every single question in existance you seem to think that not only is government the answer, but specifically our government.
And for good measure that whatever Trump does – that is wrong.
This is a small deal, but not only was Khassogi not a US citizen, he was not a US Green Card holder, He was here on an O-Visa, those are temporary.
LOCK HIM UP!
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-an-emoluments-suit-against-trump-is-moving-ahead-we-spoke-to-a-plaintiff-about-whats-next
Thanks, Jay, nice story on emoluments. Although this case may be a little weak legally, it goes along with sleazy goings on ala the Clinton Foundation, and other feathering ones own nest antics of past and present politicians. The line is often grey, so I say they are all crooks, and only some get caught as Trump should be, especially since there is no blind trust and his kids benefit from SA and other bribers for favored treatment and blind eyes for stuff like the Khashogi affair.
The fundimental problem with the Clinton Foundation is that donations were openly being used to gain access.
Demonstrate that as the case with Trump and I will be interested.
At the same time I will have to ask YOU why you care that Trump is doing so and not when Clinton was ?
Of course Trump benefits from his business dealings world wide.
And of course there are parallels between is personal long term investments and his political acts.
All other things being equal – you go with those you know.
All other things being not so equal – you go with those you know.
Blind Trusts solve problems that mostly do not exist.
If you are dishonest, you are dishonest period.
If you are honest they do not matter.
The chain in which CF donations resulted in access and influence in the State Department has been conclusively demonstrated.
The evidence is NOT circumstantial.
CF employees litterally called and emailed their comadres in state and asked for favors for donors.
Find that regarding Trump and I am interested.
Like it or not Khasoghi does nto fit that.
The importancce of SA is too great for Trump to do more than he has.
If we are going to ponder what the founding fathers intended – then we should actually look at what the founding fathers intended.
Most of these emoluments suits have been whittled away or dismissed by the courts for a variety of reasons. They are all a stupid waste of time and energy.
This is another of those fantasies of the left.
Trump’s issues are minor compared to those of …. George Washington.
Wow, give Trump a bump for this: “America’s overt payback for China’s covert espionage.”
https://www.dailyindependent.com/opinion/payback-for-china-s-covert-espionage/article_382d44a0-e9be-11e8-9739-6335ff80cc14.html
I honestly think this is stupid.
Purported IP theft is usually badly reported.
Further stealing the IP of others does not get you ahead.
The USSR was adept at stealing US technology during the cold war – it remained far behind.
The US stole Stealth from the Russians 40 years ago, yet the russians still do not have a stealth craft.
Real hands on learning is the most fundimental aspect of technological growth.
But if you wish to celebrate the efforts to thwart the chinese – if that floats your boat.
Go ahead.
But it is mostly meaningless.
Hummm…
Just coincidence, right Dave.
Thats what you call a “good start”. Looks like only another 400 or so to go.
At the state and federal level republicans picked up almost 4000 offices over the Obama years.
Everyone is looking for patterns to confirm what they believe.
And politics is sufficiently complex that you can nearly always find some patter to confirm what you believe.
I would note that the defeat of specific congressmen does not have to be a coincidence.
AND it does not have to have anything to do with one picture or one vote.
Maybe it does. But maybe not.
Ducy did dramatically better than McSally. Ducey embraced Trump McSally did not.
Coincidence ? Possibily.
I beleive every one of Obama’s candidates lost.
I think nearly every candidate Trump campaigned for won
Coincidence ?
Maybe.
We are all going to look for patterns, particularly those that confirm what we already beleive.
Though there will be much analysis of 2018 and attempts to find those patterns.
Most the results are inconclusive.
There was a slightly weaker than traditional mid-term first term loss.
I do not place much importance in that pattern, but others do.
Republicans so totally dominated the federal and state political landscape that losses were inevitable.
There are lots of patterns in the election results.
There is no clear evidence of some significant shift.
Jay, you keep saying that America needs to act on the Saudi muder in Turkey. That was one man. This is 40. How should we respond?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/over-40-killed-attack-refugee-central-african-republic-150901118.html
This all about two autocratic countries jockeying for leverage with the U.S., some would say plying us really.
Little counts for little when it comes to small countries with no juice, resources, etc.
Sad, but true, many get screwed and the world still spins.
I just hope we don’t become more like Duerte/Erdogan/Putin/Orban/Sisi/MSB in our “nationalistic” pursuit.
I do not understand.
Are you saying that we should not pay attention when a powerless country kills 40, but when a powerful country kills one we should be outraged ?
As to leveraging the US, how does murdering someone give leverage with the US ?
Particularly if we decide that it is not our business ?
“Trump suggests venerated Navy SEAL commander should have found bin Laden faster”
Yeah, if you were running things back then we would have strangled bin Laden in his crib.
And, he “knows more about ISS than the generals and more about Kim’s heart than anyone else. Other than that, he wants a Mulligan on the missed Arlington ceremony. LMAO, but given a soft ball approach by Wallace, he did a good con job interview.
Question, does Kellyanne Conway reside in the hideaway hutch in the presidential desk. Just asking.
I read to the point where Wapo said McRaven defended John Brennan as a man of unparalelled integrity and that was it.
I do not know what is going on here, but I am not interested. If McRaven actually said that – then yes I seriously question McRaven’s judgement.
I do not know in great detail McRaven’s role in finding bin laden, but I think all of us would agree that it took far longer than it should have.
Some of the blame goes to Obama, some to Bush.
But alot goes to our intelligence community.
Again and again I keep getting told – even by posters here that I should trust the IC intelligence community – WHY ?
Do I have to provide a long list of their F’ups ?
Regardless, if you want me to get outraged because Trump is criticiszing our intelligence community – you are going to need more than this.
I am also confused, because the role of seals overal in intelligence is minimal.
Regardless there is a differences between McRaven’s capability as a seal commander and and with regard to intelligence.
I would further note that maybe McRaven is legendary.
But I have not heard of him before,
and I do a reasonable job of following those things.
Again we are having this problem with adjectives.
Adding adjectives does nto change the facts.
Regardless of what Trump says and regardless of what McRaven says, and any other military leaders.
Much of Trump’s conflicts with them are about politics not military strategy.
I do not presume our “generals” are better than Trump at that.
Trump promised that our foreign and military policy would shift from policing the world to addressing our self interests.
Trump has failed at that promise. But he has atlest inched in that direction.
His opposition has been from “the generals”.
So is whether we should remain in Afghanistan a military or politicial question ?
It is my understanding that Trump gave the military a year to turn afghanistan arround before shifting to his own policy. The military failed, Trump moved toward a different solution but reluctantly and angrily backed down.
I do not think that Trump should have backed down.
I think McMasters and Kelley were wrong and it is well past time to leave the quagmire than is afghanistan.
Or do you think we should continue to sacrifice the lives of american soldiers ?
And what are they being sacrificed fo ?
I think it is self evident that “the generals” are wrong.
What I am bothered by is not trumps disregard for them.
But his willingness to capitulate to them.
You are an irredeemable idiot.
Really.
One promoting a dangerous agenda; defending the Dingbat president as faithfully as a Russian bot.
Trump is a disgusting mean spirited lying sonofabitch.
Nothing will change him short of a cerebral hemorrhage.
But even following that you will rationalize his brain dead silence as confident muteness, to own the left.
In McRaven’s Op Ed he said “undermine the people’s right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the Constitution and all for which it stands.”
That’s what Trump is doing, and what you keep defending. He’s an enemy of righteousness. And you’re the defender of that enemy.
Let’s hope fate treats you justly.
You are all over the place and spray ad hominem like bullets
We had bin laden shortly after the start of the afghan war and lost him do to political/military mismanagement
I would suggest some military history before lauding anyone with stars
Durin* wwii the us went through generals like candy until we got ones who knew what they were doing
Lincoln has the same issue during the civil war
The Peter principle still holds
One of the most important things one needs to know how to do is fire those at th3 top when they do not deliver
Trump is better at that than average but not as good as promised
I do not know mcraven but I do know trump is correct
We took far too long to get bin laden
As to free press and free speech
I have seen no threat by trump
Acosta is a prima dona and an ass
One of Clinton’s and one of Bush’s press secretaries have supported trump removing him
And said he will not last with any kind of rules
The huge threat to free speech today is exclusively from the left
Neither trump nor republicans have passed laws silencing anyone
Neither trump nor republicans are chasing p9litcal enemies to 5heir homes bashing on their doors and demanding they shut up or go away
No one on the right is demanding that social media silence views they do not like
Take the board from your own eye before you try to remove th3 mote from others
Please show me where trump has used his powers to silence opposition
I am not defending trump
I am asking you to actually make your argument
If you lob accusations and can not back them up
You have no credibilty
It does not matter who you accuse of what
If you accuse either you prove or you are accusing yourself
So make your case
Facts logic reason
I was shocked 5:1 people think the press is unfair to trump
I do not think stopping a reporter who grandstands bully’s thinks he owns the press room and physically resists returningthe mike is a threat to the 1st amendment
Trumps response to speach he does not like is speach of his own
That is what us mill recommended and what justice Brandeis perscribed
It is the left who wants censorship
You are chasing fictitious Russians and willing to shutdown everyone else to accomplish that
Get a clue
Honoring the first amendment means not shutting down others
I am not defending trump
If he has used force aka government to silence others
Show me
I oppose that
If he has censored others
Show me I oppose that
But if you can not show me the evidence of what you claim
Clear irrefutable facts
Not your emotional garbage and mor ad hominem
Then you accuse yourself not trump
So what exactly do you mean by righteousness ?
You keep lobbing these meaningless rhetorical grenades
Show me actual immoral acts
I asked a man for food
He said certainly and walked away
I asked another he said no and brought me bread
Which is righteous ?
I am interested in acts
Both good and bad
Not words
“Finland’s president rakes memory for source of Trump remark
today”
https://www.apnews.com/3179a22c09714899aace1c8b6265e9c5
I know more about forest management than California and Finland combined- From future SNL skit.
Trump: asshole in perpetuity
Whatever trump knows those doing the job in the us clearly do not
Why do I care what the finish president says about us forest fires ?
The failures of forest management in the past century have been known since long before trump
I posted here about it with links before trump was a candidate
We continue to do the same stupid things because we are unable to accept politically the the environmentalism of over a century is actually harmful to the environment
That often the very things we need to do to have a robust environment are exactly what environmentalists oppose
Lots of small forest fires are good
Alternatively humans cutting swaths of forests and thinning others are good
Nature did this before humans
Massive fires were rare in nature
But small fires were common
Somkey the bear was wrong
We do not want to prevent forest fires
We want lots of small ones so we do not have gargantuan ones
Regardless if we have massive fires in populated areas it means that forest managers FAILED whether you accept my arguments or not
There are many reasons for this disaster and others.
1. People moving into areas that are not meant to be developed. Paradise was not developed until the late 60’s. Until then, some homes were spread out over the mountains, but not right on top of each other like they were. This same situation exist now that did not exist years ago.
2. Farms and ranches being sold off to developers and left unattended. Fields kept mowed or grazed by livestock have grown up, tender dry and ready to explode.
3. Drought. Northern California has received 3%-5% of normal rainfall this year, following many years of drought leaving alot of area ripe for fires.
4. Yes, forest mismanagement. Native Americans still use controlled burns to maintain forests on reservations. A few years back, there was a big fire in Colorado/New Mexico and burned for many days. Once it reached native land, it became controllable and was extinguished within a short time period.
Growing up in California, I can remember the reports of “ring of fire” in the paper. We could look out on the San Gabriel Mt and from as far one could see from the west to the east there was fire. But few people lived there, so other than sage brush and scrub pines, nothing was damaged. I suspect 100’s of homes would be destroyed today with people moving into dangerious areas.
There have been droughts in the past.
1841
1863-64
1917–21
1922–26
1928–37
Presnt dought.
The most significant drought ever was 28-37. Much worse than present. But since California was still rural, peple were not concerned. Fires occurred and burned themselves out. Nature took care of itself. Thats how Sequoia trees lived for 100’s of years.
An ongoing humanitarian disaster: “UN says none of Yemen’s warring parties protect civilians”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3495203/UN-says-none-Yemens-warring-parties-protect-civilians.html
UN also warns of mass starvation.
And your plan is ?
thus far trump has done pretty well getting what he wants
Apparently there is discussion of a us uk free trade deal to go in place as soon as May is ousted and before brexit
This is for Jay.
Jay before you run off spouting off incorrect information, why not check data. The price of soybeans is around $9.00 oer unit. In 2017 it was not much higher. In 2016 it was around $9.00. In 2015 it was around $9.00
https://www.focus-economics.com/commodities/agricultural/soybeans
So when China switches to another supplier, they take that supply that is provided by another country. So the countries buying that supply now have to look elsewhere for a supplier. That becomes the USA market.
Stop buying all this political crap before checking it out! You seemed to be someone smarter than an internet troll that just looked for anti trump crap, but now I wonder.
Games with trade are dangerous
But your observation is noteworthy
James Gilmore once said the internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it
As the world becomes more interconnected governments become less powerful and markets become more powerful
The shifting of soybean sales and the resulting near zero effect of Chinese tariffs is part of a bigger theme. Increasingly regulation and government efforts have at control of the economy will be meaningless or impossible
The market works around government if it can
As with soybeans
But that can also happen with products and regulations
“The FBI now classifies the far-right Proud Boys as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism”, according to a document produced by Washington state law enforcement.
The FBI’s 2018 designation of the self-confessed “western chauvinist group” as extremist has not been previously made public.
Who are the Proud Boys, ‘western chauvinists’ involved in political violence?
The Proud Boys was founded by the Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes. McInnes has insisted that his group is not white nationalist or “alt-right” but the Proud Boys have a history of misogyny and glorifying violence. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists them as a hate group.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/19/proud-boys-fbi-classification-extremist-group-white-nationalism-report
Ken White did a better job of responding to this than I can
Quite simply this is not the business of the FBI.
Once upon a time the SPLC performed a valueable function.
Today the SPLC IS a hate group.
Kamala Harris classifies ICE and the KKK as the same.
Maybe the Proud Boys should be “proud” to be grouped in with ICE.
“Trump’s Lies Are a Virus, and News Organizations Are the Host
Journalists have become complicit in spreading the president’s falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Here’s how they can do better.
7:00 AM ET”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/should-media-repeat-trumps-lies/576148/
While I might differ in some of the characterizations – trumps style is different from that of Obama, but the veracity of his content is the same.
But absolutely Trump’s remarks are a virus infecting the left and the media.
That pretty much is the definition of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” fixating on every sylable from Trump while ignoring everything else that is actually going on.
Who says Trump is always wrong or lies? Here’s one he can use about “terrorists” in the invasion scare scenario:
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2018/11/19/six-bangladeshis-apprehended-in-12-hours-at-texas-border/
“During FY2018, which ended on September 30, Laredo Sector agents apprehended 668 Bangladeshi migrants — up nearly 270 percent over the previous year’s total. The sector led the nation in the apprehension of these migrants who paid up to $27,000 each to be moved into the U.S. by cartel-connected human smugglers.”
Yes, as Reagan said, sometimes there is a pony buried in a mountain of s____.
Or maybe Trump is actually much better informed than you give him credit.
BTW this is pretty much the norm. Trump tweets something, the left goes “outrageous lie” and eventually we find out Trumps remarks are accurate – the the extent one can describe something in a tweet.
What is abnormal is that you bothered to go to brietbart to find out about it.
Soros is an enemy of Trump. The evil genius VS the truly good guy. You are known, or defined, by your friends but also by your enemies.
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/274870/the-truth-about-george-soros
Anti-Semitic, you be the judge about Trump, I think not, he hates a lot of people of all stripes, until they kiss his ring.
My god citing tablet and brietbart on the same day ?
Have you gone over to the dark side or something ?
Neither Trump nor Sorros are angels or evil geniuses.
Sorros is free to do with his money as he pleases and the rest of use are free to support or protest that.
The claim that Trump – whose daughter converted to judiasm and whose son-in-law is deeply jewish is anti-semetic because he does not like Sorros who has self described himself as an anti-semetic jew is lunacy.
Just as describing Trump or anyone else as racist because they do not favor open boarders or as mysoginist because they do not beleive all women all the time, or as transphobic because one thinks that there should be some rules for who can use what bathroom, or homphobic because they do not beleive that people should be forced to violate their religious beleifs even if those beleifs seem stupid.
Is it possible that we agree that calling everyone a hateful hating hater, a mysoginist, a racist a homophobe is politically stupid, a bad idea, and itself hate speach ?
Aparently social media is preparing to implode.
I have been under the impression that FaceBook Twitter etc could not survive a mass exodus of conservaitives if the continue their stupid censorship – and we may yet find that to be true.
But aparently there is a mass exodus of left wing nuts – particularly millenials – partly because FB etc are not censoring enough, but partly because FB and Twitter are for old foogies.
Regardless, I am content to watch private censorship issues work themselves out, outside of government.
My concern is the ever growing demand of the left to criminalize speech they do not like.
Does anyone doubt that the pressure of the left on colleges and social media is because they can not get what they want from government – not because they accept the free market as a means of expressing values ?
Whatever the meaning of the midterms, it is NOT the truimph of political correctness.
Almost every democratic senator up for election that voted against Kavanaugh lost.
The trumph of the democrats in the house is a triumph of more moderate democrats.
Who are aparently now being excluded from any power as Pelosi brokered a deal with progressives that secures her position as speaker in return for more progressives in positions of power.
Is the democratic party actually looking to self destruct ?
While there are many factors associated with democrats retaking the house.
Is there anyone that disagrees that one of those is the large number of young new moderate democrats in swing districts who ran promising bipartisanship, who ran away from Pelosi and the progressives and who even promised to work with Trump.
So house democrats have two years to prove that the deserve to retain control of the house.
Do you think it is a good idea to start by disenfranchising all the moderates in swing districts ?
“Is there anyone that disagrees that one of those is the large number of young new moderate democrats in swing districts who ran promising bipartisanship, who ran away from Pelosi and the progressives and who even promised to work with Trump.”
Yes, I disagree. Pelosi will call in the kids to her classroom and give them the rules of her school. If you fail to follow her dictates, you will be ostracized. Not a dunce cap in the corner, but close. Anything you want, forget it. Committees, best you get is some environmental sub committee charged in overseeing septic tank waste disposal methods.
“Vote the way I tell you to vote or I will make your next 24 months hell”
I asked what they promised not what is likely to happen.
For innumerable reasons, it is time for Pelosi to go.
House democrats have to find and define themselves, and they need to do so with as little baggage from the past as possible.
2020 will be coming up fast. What occurs in the house will be a major factor in whether the democrats continue to hold the house.
If Pelosi is the speaker, if antique house progressives from districts that will never turn red determine what the house does over the next two years the odds of democrats holding the house are very low.
Most of the new democrat house members – particularly those from Pink districts are moderates. That is how they won. If Democrats wish to retain power, then the moderates need to dictate the house agenda.
If they do not it is likely that Trump and Republicans will sweep 2020.
“The 5,800 troops who were rushed to the southwest border amid President Donald Trump’s pre-election warnings about a refugee caravan will start coming home as early as this week — just as some of those migrants are beginning to arrive.
Democrats and Republicans have criticized the deployment as a ploy by the president to use active-duty military forces as a prop to try to stem Republican losses in this month’s midterm elections.”
Hmmm, I guess the invasion “evolved” now that the election is over.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/19/troops-us-mexico-border-come-home-1005510
Why is it so hard for people to check facts before regurgitating crap that is only political manipulation of facts.
https://www.stripes.com/news/border-troops-in-texas-finish-laying-razor-wire-pentagon-expects-to-send-most-home-by-dec-15-1.557257p
They were sent there to perform a job. We could have contracted this out after months of bids and analysis, But the need existed.now.
And with f’ing asshole judges that rule the country can not have ports of entry to ask for asylum, but anyone crossing anywhere and getting one foot across the line can request asylum, we have no borders.(Ruling yesterday)
Amen.
To some extent the hundreds of miles of concertina wire that the military deployed is wasted.
This is not a permanent solution. It will degrade over a few years.
But it was something that Trump could do without permission from congress or the courts.
It was an expensive way to mitigate an immediate problem.
I would add to the long list of your complaints, those in the military active and retired that have entered the political fray.
That is not their job and it is harmful to the military.
Trump is right that Bin Laden should have been captured sooner – even Glenn Greenwald is at odds with McRaven – that would be the same journalist who brought Snowden to the world.
Is there anyone that thinks Bin Laden should have been roaming around for over a decade after 9/11 ? There are books by soldiers about the political failure and missed opportunities to annihilate Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
I do not know what McRaven’s role in the delay in capturing Bin Laden is.
I would expect very little – Seals were responsible for executing the mission, not finding him.
That would be a failure of our Intelligence Comunity – another of their innumerable failures.
Yet somehow those on the left beleive them when the IC says what they want to hear.
These are the same people who were wrong about Iraq (in several areas) Wrong about Bin Laden, Wrong about the collapse of the USSR, Wrong about the Ukraine.
In fact they have been pretty much wrong about every major foreign affairs related action since deposing a democracy in Iran and installing the Shah in the 50’s.
But we are supposed to beleive them today over Russia ?
Particularly when they do not even agree with themselves ?
The military in particular should stay entirely out of politics – including retired military.
That is an important feature of our nation – the fact that our military serves the nation and the president. We have never had a Coup, or even a semblance of one.
It would also be wise if our public servants outside the military did the same.
The executive operates to execute the constitutional and legal directions of the current president – whoever that may be.
Policing the president is the role of the courts and the legislature – regardless of who is president.
If you serve in the executive and you beleive you have been asked to act constitutionally or illegally – you must resign. If you can not do so then you are obligated to do as the president directs. There is no room for #resistance in the executive.
To those here and in the left who think that Trump is a nascen tyrant.
That is how we find out. You seem to think that it is legimate to interfere with legal acts of the president based on your fear that he might act illegally.
BZZT wrong.
If you want to impeach Trump, you need him to act illegally or unconstitutionally – ACTUALLY act.
Ron, the National Guard knows how to string razor wire and I’m sure others could have done it without months of delay. Come on, it was all a very expensive (to us) political stunt. And who knows if it yielded that many votes for the Red Team.
The National Guard does not have hundreds of miles of concertina wire. Further Trump can not so easily order the National Guard to string its concertina wire on the southern US border.
This certainly was expensive. So was dealing with the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors that Obama had to deal with as a result of tweaking US policy to favor them.
Government is inefficient and expensive. Get over it.
That is a reason not to delegate to government tasks that are not the business of government. Securing the borders is a task of government.
I am sure that votes factored into Trump’s decision making.
I am sure that votes factored into Schumer’s decision making when he refused to make the deal that would have resolved this.
Regardless, Trump is enforcing the law as it exists.
If you want different law – that starts with congress.
Wait and See.
One of the other things that was done was hundreds of miles of concertina wire was deployed – by the military.
If you are paying attention – the “caravans” are still a big deal – just not making much news.
There are over 1000 in Tiajuana trying to cross. There are many more in other parts of mexico and more groups forming in Honduras.
Nor are these mostly families or women and children, They are mostly young men.
They are beligerant and violent.
The mexicans are now demanding that their own president “secure the borders” – they want to know why Mexico is allowing all these foreigners to pass through.
An Obama judge has just idiotically ruled essentially that borders do not exist and that the president does not have the authority that both the law and the constitution give him.
I am not sure that the right thing for Trump to do politically is to just back down.
Move CBP back from the borders for their own safety. Blame the courts and the left for the mess that results.
“Migrant caravan at US border is harboring more than 500 criminals, Homeland Security claims” says Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/us/migrant-caravan-may-be-in-tijuana-for-the-long-haul-while-u-s-shuts-down-san-diego-area-crossing
Finally the truth. Please give us names so we can pass them on to Tijuanans protesting the “caravan” folks arrival. KN is on the job big time since Trump goosed her into hyper action mode. I hope the caravan leaders turn the criminals over to the police (no, I don’t know which ones), so they can get the punishment they deserve.
dduck, why are residents of Tijuana so pissed. Seems like theybwould be encouraging their brothern to enter USA.
These people are not their brothers. They are not mexicans.
They are beligerants from other parts of south and central america and they are behaving so badly in Mexico the Mexican people are demaniding their president deport them.
Where did you pull up that they are “beligerants’ bullshit? All objective reports from the media, and from US spies who have infiltrated the caravan (didn’t you know about the hacking of caravan emails and text messages?) reports the VAST MAJORITY want to present themselves to claim asylum. They have a legal right to do that, and as you always gurgle: if you don’t like it change the law.
As to those reports of Mexicans angrily protesting the Houndorians you cite, they are exaggerated (by Fox and other Trumpanzee media). Yes a segment of the Mexican population has reacted strongly to ‘foreigners’ entering Tijuana, just as many Americans in Chicago would react negatively to a large scale exodus of Canadians in distress to that city would tax resources and patience. But the greeting the marchers recieved crossing the border into rural Mexico was positive: Mexican rural peasants provided them with food, clothing and well wishes (as documented in media reports from Europe as well as the US).
To be clear:
I’m not in favor of open borders.
But am in favor of immigration reductions.
Particularly from Spanish speaking nations.
curtailing the further spread of the Spanish language through our culture should be a governmental priority, for numerous reasons I’ve articulated but don’t have time or inclination to list again now.
But this caravan is a different concern. It is is an inescapable FACT the majority of these people ARE in distress: humans don’t walk a thousand miles across desert-like terrain other than to escape dire circumstance. They don’t deserve contempt or scorn, or to be painted with distorted lies about their motives or character.
What’s needed is a humanitarian solution to their plight, a solution that offers them a helping hand but doesn’t set a presedence for future caravans. But I doubt we’ll find one with the low life idiots now in control of the government, notably scumbag lard-ass liar trump, who with Parrot Enablers like you would rather regurgitate Fox News memes than focus on acceptable strategies to help diffuse a humanitarian crisis in progress.
“All objective reports from the media,”
There is no such thing as objective.
Regardless the media has not resembled objective in decades.
Journalists today are taught to present narratives, to shape their reporting to fit the narative.
That is not reporting. That is propaganda. So ignore the stories and address the facts – things that you can verify.
Regardless I guess you are not watching the media.
Or you are two busy listening to what progressive talking heads say rather than watching the evidence of your own eyes.
There are myriads of pictures and videos of these assorted caravans.
In all but a few the caravans are made primarily of teen and young adult males.
The numbers of women and children are small and they clustered and herded arround to be presented as needed – as evidenced by the facts that most of the video and pictures – when more than one are provided show young males. Even so the vastg majority of the video and images are of men and boys.
There is plenty of video of them overuning violently police military and other barriers at borders and elsewhere, all the way from honduras and guatemala throughout mexico.
Though we do have to be careful of media footage – in many instances thus far the progressive media has been caught using footage from 2012, 2013 and 2014.
As they did with the initial claims of family separation – using video from Obama, or more recently video of young men at the border wall near san diego that was from 2014.
So do you consider reporters and media that try to sell footage from 4 years ago as what is happening today – ethical, credible ? When Alex Jones is more ethical in his presentation of news don;’t you think there is a problem with the media ?
There is recent video of several clashes between the caravans and mexican police.
Video of them throwing rocks, or them throwing molitov cocktails and mexican police have reported that they have been fired on – with guns.
There is video and news stories of conflicts between them and the mexican people particularly in Tiajuana where they are now encamped.
The mexicans are themselves criticizing their own president for not being more like trump.
Why would you presume that the mexican people would be supportive ? Do you think they like being invaded ?
You see only what you want to see. We can pick most any topic and it is likely that you will offer a view of the world that is at odds with the facts
Progressivism is one gigantic self contradication.
I find it amazing – very few people do not think the media as a whole leans significantly to the left, but facts are still stuborn things. Regardless, progressive talking heads tell you what you should see and despite the fact that you know they are significantly to the left and despite the fact that you can see for yourself, you are deluded into seeing what they want you too.
Joseph Goebels would be proud of the media today.
You say that US spies have infiltrated the caravans. And you know that how ?
I am not saying it is not so. I am saying that if it was true, that it would not be reported on the news.
DHS has been telling us for months about the makeup of the caravans. Maybe their information is from those spies,. But mostly they are claiming it is from mexican police.
This “exagerated” meme of yours is nonsense.
Unless you are claiming that the video is faked or that the counter protestors are paid, the only question is how broad opposition is. There is no reason to beleive FOX or MSNBC.
There is no objective standard for “exagerated”.
I would further suggest that whatever the reaction is, it is likely to get worse.
These groups are congregating near the US border.
They are unable to cross. They are a growing burden on the mexican’s on the other side.
Further the massively heightened border security is making life more difficult for drug smugglers – who are also likely to be getting angrier.
For them these caravans were supposed to be an opportunity. They are turning into a liability.
The probability is that whatever you see today. will worsen tomorow.
Perhaps you can link to video of mexican peasants happily greeting these caravans.
I have seen absolutely ZERO of that. I am not especially interested in the words from the media.
I would note that the eurpoean media tells us exactly the same thing about the welcome that mideasterners get when arriving in Europe – and yet the anti-immigrant sentiment in europe and conflict with immigrants is rising rapidly all over europe.
If the european media can not get stories about themselves right.
Why do you expect them to get stories about us right ?
Though I would further note – I do not know where you are seeing or hearing what you are seeing and hearing. Most of what I am providing comes from that same progressive mainstream media – not FOX – though most studies today show fox to be the closest to the center of the US political spectrum.
Yes, americans would be angry about a mass invassion of distressed canadians.
Do you think that Mexicans would then be happy with an invassion of distressed foreigners ?
Jay;
I am for english as the official language of the US.
That is ALL. Nothing more. Our laws must be in one language.
The obligation to know them and obey them must be in one language.
I have zero problems with stores, and churches and even government responding to the people they serve in the languages they speak. But when government must resolve disputes or apply the law – that law must be in one language.
Canada has had a mess with two legal languages. We do not wish to repeat that.
I am for open borders – but that requires a willingness to significantly change our social safetynet. And absent those changes open borders is suicide and I am not for that.
Given that open borders is off the table. I am not particular about the rules for immigration – EXCEPT that we can not create defacto open borders and lie telling ourselves that is not what we have.
Absent changes to our social safetynet all immigration has positive benefits and negative impacts. Further those impacts vary over time. The initial positive benefits and negative impacts are actually pretty low. But both rise over time.
My guess – and it is little more than that based on past history, is that we can take in about 1M people a year without increasingly larger problems.
That is fairly close to the number of legal immigrants we have today.
If you decide we are going to stick to a limit of 1M – then all of Trump’s actions on the border are proper.
In fact no matter what immigration deal is ultimately reached – absent open boarders the overwhelming majority of people trying to cross our southern border are going to be denied.
If you can not live with that, then no matter what you say you are for defacto open borders.
There are ultimately only two choices – you sahy yes to these people – whatever you think they are, and you have open borders in some form. Or you say no to the vast majority of them and you have exactly what Trump is doing.
Just to be clear I do not think these caravans are evil dudes seeking to do mayhem.
There are a few – probably more than we credit who are essentially MS-13 recruits or who will end up in MS-13 or similar gangs when they get here – because that is the choice available to them.
But most of these are economic immigrants. They do not have jobs where they are and they are seeking eldorado. US illegal crappy paid jobs are far better than their options at home.
They are coming for money and jobs. Not asylum. Many will not stay.
In bad economic times such as much of the obama administration reverse immigration was as large or larger than illegal immigration.
These people either make their money and go home or they make no money and go home.
In good times they are more likely to stay and more likely to eventually bring their families.
They do not bring women and children FIRST. If the media is reporting large percentages of women and children they are reporting against facts and logic and the way the world works.
In the end the difference between perspectives on the people in these caravans does not matter.
If there are no MS-13 recruits, if these are all warm fuzzy people, you are still talking about either a dramatic increase in immigrants – which you claim not to support, or saying no in one way or another to a very large number of people.
Most of us are not happy with razor wire along our border.
We are also not happy with violent confrontations between border patrols and masses of immigrants. We are also not happy with 10’s or 100’s of thousands of “fine people” invading our country – even for purely economic reasons.
In the end whether good people or bad people we must make a choice.
And the easy choice that makes everyone happy does not exist.
You are going to have to make a hard choice.
That choice is going to inflict serious pain on someone.
Either in one way or another you are going to send nearly all of these people home.
Or you are going to see a substantial increase in sub minimum wage jobs and less jobs for minorities already here at the bottom. As well as an increase in social safetynet costs to all of us.
So choose. But quit lying to yourself and pretending that there is some easy answer.
There is NOT.
You tell me to trust the media. Inarguably the media is completely ducking the FACT that there is no easy answers. That is called lying.
People walk thousands of miles for many many reasons.
Most of mexico and central america is NOT desertlike terrain.
Regardless, it is highly likely most of these are knocking at our borders for economic reasons.
Well accross the world there are 750M people who would like to come here – mostly for as compelling economic reasons. Most of those can not walk a thousand miles and be at our southern border.
Why exactly are those from Honduras, Guatemala, etc more deserving ?
You are ducking the fact that you are going to have to choose.
Trump was pilloried for his shithole countries remark – but that is just what you are saying.
These people are coming because they are in distress. Because they are the poorest of the poor from shithole countries.
And BTW people who are “distressed” are prone to violence and other forms of misconduct.
And people who have walked 1000 miles for whatever reason are not going to be easily turned away. The more determined they are the more dangerous they are.
You have only two choices – let them in and accept the consequences of that – including that they will be just the tip of the iceberg or stop them and accept the consequences of that.
There is no magic beans
“What’s needed is a humanitarian solution to their plight, ”
You are individually and as a member of voluntary groups free to engage in whatever charity you wish.
As I have said before – I am happy to allow in every single one of these people who some individual or organization is willing to sponsor. But sponsor means take real responsibility for. Binding responsibility. If you are unwilling to do that, then you have no right to demand that others do.
Morality is individual. Everything social is an artificial construct.
I have been providing innumerable links to data from humanprogress.org.
Humanitarian aid is incredibly difficult. It is so difficult that far more often than not helping people leaves them worse off than not helping.
Regardless, the magic answer you are after does not exist.
There are answers – but those answers have nothing to do with humanitarian aide.
Further they have nothing to do with you or I.
Success only comes when people help themselves. If you want to truly help others – be an example. Succeed personally.
I do not watch fox, or pretty much any other talking heads news.
That is probably why I have a different picture of things than you.
I find raw data about things or as close to that as is possible and form my own impressions.
I am not told what to think by hannity or maddow. I think for myself.
“focus on acceptable strategies to help diffuse a humanitarian crisis in progress.”
Go ahead – provide an answer. But know ahead of time that you are going to get little support for answers that have failed again and again in the past.
There are no magic beans. You can not elide the fact that everything you are likely to propose has been tried and failed. usally at great cost, and usually making things worse for the very people you claim to be helping.
Your emotions do not change the laws of physics or economics.
When you have an answer that works THEN come to me.
I am not interested in F’ing over these people in order to feel good about myself.
The information on criminals in the caravan came mostly from the mexican government which has been compiling it since before the election.
You are an idiot if you think this is going to fizzle.
Obama mildly relaxed the rules for unaccompanied children and the numbers went from a few thousand a month to 70,000 a month in a bit more than a month and Obama had to crack down. But as Obama was the messiah the news did not go into full blown outrage mode.
The situation with the Caravan’s is quite simple – if they are not substantially stopped, within a few months whatever you see now will be dwarfed by what is to come.
That pattern has been repeated over and over at our southern border.
Do you think that people in Mexico, Central America and South America are not keenly aware of what is going on ?
Illegal mexican immigration substantially slowed long ago – why ? Ultimately because NAFTA made mexico more prosperous. Now it these immigrants are mostly from countries much poorer than Mexico and the mexicans are not all that happy with them.
Mexico ambassador says there are hundreds of criminals in the Caravan
WH says: “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
WAPO is saying that the CIA is saying, but no attributable quotes, that I can find, so I must believe the always reliable and truthful WH version. Just joking, for those that don’t understand nuance in the written form.
BTW, can’t the WH afford a few extra bucks and hire professional writers. The WH “Statement” reads like a sixth grade assignment paper.
Why do you presume that what WaPo says that the CIA says is reliable and truthful ?
Forget Trump – the record of the press including WaPo absent a NAMED source is horrible.
The record of the CIA is just plain awful.
I do not need a WH statement to be suspicious of an anonumously sourced statement from the CIA filtered through the FBI.
Next, ultimately what does it matter ?
If MBS ordered this – aside from spewing more spittle, what are you going to do ?
Go to war with SA ? Publicly condemn them even more ?
Just to be clear – foreign relations are not BINARY. There are choices beyond those of intimate freind and mortal enemy.
Washington warned us of entanglements with foreign countries.
We need divorce ourselves from this myth that we are the policemen of the world.
In a libertarian world, as SA has not attacked US or its citizens there would be little US involvement in this. US citizens would be free to express their outrage as individuals and groups and US citizens would be free to choose whether to continue their individual relations with SA.
Just as governments should all be precluded from falling over themselves to offer Amazon enticements for HQ2, so too should the federal government be precluded from aiding US manufacturers from selling weapons to SA (or anyone else) Boeing etc. should be free to persuade SA to buy from them or free to decide they will not sell to SA.
Our government should have nothing to do with it.
Protesting Boeing is more effective than protesting the federal government.
Shades of 1984.
aparently it is now a priviledge that one should be grateful for to be a biological female.
Requiring introspection and humility and understanding of those born male who beleive they are women.
I speak for “the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order”
if you are an adult and seek to believe or do something – such as transform your body into that of the opposite gender, I will defend your right to do so.
I will defend your right to do innumerable things that I might think are stupid, so long as you do not directly harm others.
But can we end this nonsense that one person’s envy is another’s privilege that they must apologize for.
https://quillette.com/2018/11/20/writing-for-quillette-ended-my-theater-project/
Interestingly I think I agree with the Judges decision.
In fact I even disagree with State FGM laws.
BECAUSE they are not necescary – these acts are assault as well as child abuse and can be prosecuted by the states under centuries old laws as such.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/11/20/female-genital-mutilation-michigan/1991712002/
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-skid-row-voter-fraud-20181120-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true
Please explain to me why anyone thinks this is less stupid than trump ?
Opposition to climate alarmists – who have been having a really bad couple of decades
Is driven by racism and mommy issues ?
Does that make sense to anyone ?
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-skid-row-voter-fraud-20181120-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true
Sit idly by as Autocratic AssholeTrump destroys American ideals and values.
Even the WSJ knows he’s an idiot.
“President Trump did himself and the country no favor with his crude statement Tuesday on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by Saudi agents.
Commenting on whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the murder, Mr. Trump said in a statement only he could have written: “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
We are unsure of the purpose of the exclamation point here, just as we are unsure what goal Mr. Trump hoped to achieve with what can only be described as a raw and brutalist version of foreign-policy realpolitik.
The bloody realities of the Middle East and the clear threat from Iran, which Mr. Trump described in his statement, give any U.S. President some latitude in forging a policy toward the region that reflects America’s interests.
But we are aware of no President, not even such ruthless pragmatists as Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson, who would have written a public statement like this without so much as a grace note about America’s abiding values and principles. Ronald Reagan especially pursued a hard-line, often controversial, foreign policy against Soviet Communism, but he did so with a balance of unblinkered realism and American idealism. Mr. Trump seems incapable of such balance.
It is startling to see a U.S. President brag in a statement about a bloodthirsty murder that, in his “heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia” last year, he did $450 billion in commercial deals, including $110 billion to benefit Boeing , Lockheed Martin , Raytheon and “many other great defense contractors.” From Mr. Trump’s point of view, U.S. interests in the Middle East can be reduced to arms deals, oil and Iran. That is crass; no other word suffices.
We don’t mean to join the critics who through moralizing glasses seem to be suggesting that the U.S. has no choice other than to sever its relationship with Saudi Arabia over this murder. That wouldn’t cause the Saudis to change their behavior or serve U.S. interests. The Saudis, as Mr. Trump asserted, are important allies in a still-dangerous war against Middle Eastern terror fomented and supported by the mullahs in Iran.
But Crown Prince Salman’s misjudgments have sometimes made protecting U.S. interests in the Middle East more difficult. He has shown himself to be reckless in his prosecution of the war in Yemen and willful in his dispute with Qatar. Even if he did not sanction Khashoggi’s murder, it’s clear he was aware that the journalist would be kidnapped and brought back to the Kingdom.
That too is bad judgment that should raise doubts about the Crown Prince’s reliability and effectiveness as an ally. The risk is that Mr. Trump’s public reduction of the relationship to crass interests is that the Crown Prince will feel he can do anything and suffer no diminution of U.S. support. We hope Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton are delivering a much tougher message in private.
Like any President, Mr. Trump also needs domestic allies in pursuit of a foreign policy that sometimes requires hard choices. Instead, Mr. Trump’s statement isolates him from his natural supporters on Mideast policy, such as Senator Lindsey Graham or Senator-elect Mitt Romney, who both separated themselves Tuesday from the President’s position.
The reality is that few members of Congress will align themselves with a statement bereft of asserting America’s abhorrence for the murder of political opponents. Without political or public support, Mr. Trump diminishes the odds that his Middle East strategy will succeed.”
there is an aphorism that diplomacy is being able to tell others to go to hell in a way that they will look forward to the trip.
The WSJ article compellingly demonstrates that Trump is not diplomatic.
Might I wish otherwise ? Certainly.
Does Trumps lack of diplomacy alter anything ? NO! Even WSJ ultimately has to accept that.
Ben Rhoads Iran deal echo chamber that is parroting all of this alters nothing, and changes few minds.
If you want to get the US government out of the business of negotiating arms deals for our big corporations – I am all for that. Let Boeing etc. strike their own deals.
But that is not what you want.
Where were you when the Obama administration was striking deals with Iran ?
Aparently for those on the left it is OK for the US to bolster Iran in its medling in Yemen, but not OK for the US to bolster SA that has Yemen and its Iranian sponsored proxies and terrorists on its border.
There are no good guys in this – not even US. It is not Trump who gave aide to sponsors of terrorism and war.
If innocents are dying in Yemen because of Trump, they are dying there because of Obama also.
I am tired of stupid platitudes from people filled with moral indignation but no moral answers.
WSJ is not arguing that we should do differently than we are.
They are merely arguing that Trump should speak about it differently.
In fact most of the attacks on Trump are precisely that.
I hear no one saying Trump should quit engaging in censorship.
In fact most of the accusations of the left boil down to attacks on what Trump says not what he does. And those few that do not have no alternative answers.
The left wants to investigate Trump’s ties to Saudi Arabia.
Mostly I could care less. I do not like the Saudi’s, but I like the Iranians even less.
If we wanted to do something in the mideast Obama should have supported the green revolution. Instead he stood idly by. Who knows when the next oportunity will come for the iranian people. Who here is advocating for those tortured and slaughtered as we turned a blind eye ?
If you do not want the kind of crass foreign policy that Trump is advancing, then lets back away from that completely. In Saudi Arabia, in Iran, everywhere.
We are not the worlds policemen.
In the ends these attacks – even by WSJ sicken me.
WSJ would act exactly as Trump. They make no secret of that.
They would just lie about it.
The left would act as Obama – distinguished only by aiding and abetting the greater evil.
If you think something that is inside our power should be done regarding MBS – then work to do it. Despite Lindsey Graham’s imprications we are not going to sanction The Saudis.
Any more than we are going to sanction the UK for jailing journalist Tommy Robinson for his coverage of radical islam in the UK.
If you are opposed to Trump’s remark’s but unwilling to actually sanction SA – then we are debating rhetoric, and you are a hypocrite.
If you would sanction SA, then you bear the responsibility for the consequences of that.
You are absolutely right few politicians will align themselves with Trumps statements.
Many such as Graham and Rmoney will preen and make the appearance of standing up to the Saudis. Romney as president would have almost certainly done exactly the same thing as Trump, but said it entirely differently. Style vs. Substance.
You say you want sanctions against the Saudi’s ?
If you want the Saudi’s out of Yemen – does that mean you want Iranian backed groups to win and you accept moral responsibility for the consequences of that ?
Or are you saying that we should sanction the Saudis and sanction the Iranians even more ?
Don;’t keep telling me that Trump is morally wrong.
Tell me what is morally right, and assure me that when you follow that course that what inevitably happens is on your hands. That you will take full responsibility for the inevitable outcome.
If you wish to sponsor a “family” from this caravan – I and I think the majority of american people will be happy to allow you to do that – even Trump.
IF you wish to allow these people in under the same standards as our forefathers more than a century ago – no guarantees, no minimum wage, no social safety net, nothing but hard work and private charity between them and starvation – I will support that.
Those are american ideals and traditions.
This is our tradition.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
There is nothing here about rights to medical care – or anything else.
The american dream is to rise from nothing on your own initiative given the opportunity to succeed or fail.
‘
I fully support that.
You are not talking about actual american traditions.
You are lying, you are pretending that something that is not that tradition actually is.
During WWII the russians murdered tens of thousands of Free Poles to preclude them from forming their own government after Germany was vanquished. Further the Russians sat idly by as hundreds of thousands of poles were slaughtered by the SS.
The behavior of Russia during WWII was absolutely reprehensible.
FDR knew, he stood by quietly. Churchill wanted to intervene FDR stopped him.
Nothing Trump has done comes close to the moral stigma of FDR’s turning his back on the poles to apease Russia or the Jews for political benefit.
If you are going to step onto the moral soap box with Trump – are you willing to do so with FDR and Obama ?
http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/21/dc-establishment-gets-almost-everything-wrong-trumps-saudi-posture/#.W_VhAC21IS4.twitter
Should everyone be treated equally always ?
Was this racial discrimination ?
Or good business ?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chipotle-rehires-minnesota-manager-fired-over-racial-discrimination-211504879–abc-news-topstories.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-crude-realpolitik-1542763629
“President Trump did himself and the country no favor with his crude statement Tuesday on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by Saudi agents.
But we are aware of no President, not even such ruthless pragmatists as Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson, who would have written a public statement like this without so much as a grace note about America’s abiding values and principles.
The reality is that few members of Congress will align themselves with a statement bereft of asserting America’s abhorrence for the murder of political opponents. Without political or public support, Mr. Trump diminishes the odds that his Middle East strategy will succeed. “
I would suggest reading the molly Hemingway article I linked elsewhere.
Fundamentally this debate is over the core nature of US foreign policy.
“Are we the policemen to the world” is shorthand for should we impose our moral values on the rest of the world ? That was literally the argument for the Iraq war.
So Do you wish to go back to the foreign policy where the US is obligated to ride in an right every wrong, depose every despot – even if the people of that nation do not wish us to ?
If our foreign policy is the vehicle by which we impose our moral values on the world by force – then why have we not invaded Iran ?
As Hemingway notes Trump’s remarks are actually pretty effective in stating the obvious.
Our foreign policy is “America First”, Our interests first.
In fact there is really nothing at all unusual about what Trump states – though those in the obama administration picked a different set of ogres to snuggle up to, their foreign policy was one of “america first” even if they could not say that.
The purported leaks from the CIA are irrelevant. The CIA does not set foreign policy. Nor should they. The president does. Further Trump is NOT arbitrarilly setting foreign policy unilaterally. He is setting nearly the same foreign policy he campaigned on and that voters elected him for.
If Trump has failed in this at all, it is in that we are still in Afghanistan.
So rather than these childish attacks, come out into the open and discuss the real core issue.
Our foreign policy.
Not Trump. While Trump has put his marker down – and as the properly elected president he has a big one. This is not about Trump.
It is about the core to our foreign policy.
What are we to do when a critical allie does something heinous ?
While the Obama administration was rhetorically better at hiding it, their position was no different from Trump’s – except that they choose to coddle to Iran’s mulah’s rather than Saudi Sheiks.
I do not agree with Trump on Afghanistan.
Nor do I agree with him on Saudi Arabia, though I do agree with him on Iran.
But my disagreements do not mean I seek to impose sanctions.
My prefered foreign policy is that of George Washington – that America acts alone and only in its own interests. that we avoid foreign entanglements and that we let foreign nations deal with their own messes even if that means tolerating despots.
But that has not been US foreign policy since Washington.
If you wish to malign Trumps foreign policy – you should atleast recognize that what you seek is even farther from Washington’s advice than Trump. And you should recognize that though it was not stated so boldly, the only difference between Trump and Obama is which bad guy each views as the more heinous and the greater threat. On that Trump is inarguably right.
The Saudi’s are a horrible allie. But they are the only check to Iran – our last endeavor to make foreign policy about altruism destroyed the alternative to Saudi Arabia as a check on Iran and failed horribly.
The Saudi’s are also likely instrumental to any resolution of the problems in Israel. Iran is not and never will be.
The reality is that congress can morally preen as it please.
It is highly unlikely that legislation will pass thwarting Trump, and completely impossible that anything can override his veto.
I would further suggest that Trump’s public support is greater than you measure.
A factor in getting elected was precisely this America First foreign policy.
Whatever americans might want to happen. They do NOT want a resurgent Iran. They do not want growing terrorism. They do not want US soldiers returning home in body bags in efforts to remake the mideast in our own image.
American values are best practiced by individual americans – not our government.
Some good news: Interpol presidency vote: Russia in surprise loss to South Korea”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46286959
More good news, the rule of law: “Trump Is Losing His War Against the Courts
The judiciary has continued to quietly deliver subtle, devastating blows to the president’s agenda.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/donald-trump-losing-courts-jurisprudence.html
Oh he is ?
I am only aware of one inconsequential loss in the supreme court for Trump, and that was defending a case brought against Obama.
Outside the 9th circuit Trump has a better than even record on appeal. And even the 9th circuit has generally rejected the stupid arguments of lower courts.
The problem is not that Trump is not winning in the courts, it is that the process – as it was with Obama is time consuming and in the meantime we are all stuck with leftist garbage.
While Obama was president myriads of his decisions were challenged. He did reasonably well with lower courts and for the most part was able to impliment his policies.
But after years challenges finally reach the supreme court – were Obama has the longest run of 9-0 losses of any president ever, and in general rarely won. This is highly unusual as the courts have typically been top to bottom deferential to presidents.
With Trump we have the opposite. The left has waged holy war against the most minor actions of Trump. They have engavged in lawfare over everything. They are doing slightly better than 50:50 at lower courts, and where there is disagreement they are imposing TRO’s with national scope effectily thwarting much of Trump’s repeal of Obama.
But as these cases travel towards the supreme court Trump has been winning increasingly.
With as I noted a near undefeated record with SCOTUS.
That does not sound like Trump being beaten by the courts.
Bad news again: “Stalemate on Trump’s wall amid threat of shutdown
Both parties are refusing to bend, with a government funding deadline two weeks away.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/21/trump-border-wall-congress-government-shutdown-1009349
There is not a single issue in your list that is not a loser for democrats.
We went through all of this last spring and democrats ultimately caved.
It does not matter what house or senate republicans do. I think the odds of Trump caving on these are ZERO.
You can not pass a law protecting Mueller without facing a veto.
If you did it would near certainly fail constitutionally.
Schumer can be in whatever mood he wishes.
As the battle over Pelosi should make crystal clear – the democratic representatives whose victories are supposed to be “the blue wave” did not sign on to be progressive lackey’s.
Democrats won by claiming to be reasonable. By claiming they can work with republicans and with Trump. By running against the maximized outrage of their own parties.
If they fail to do so, they will be obliterated in 2020.
Trump is stronger on immigration right now than ever. It is quite clear than the current caravans are only being held in check by concertina wire and recent wall improvements in San Diego/Tiajuana
Further shutdown threats always have the problem that the president gets to decide what is critical and what is not. Obama deliberately and carefully shutdown services that would most anger republicans. Trump did the same with the sides reversed.
Exactly how is it that democrats think fighting over the citizenship question on the census is a fight the public is going to back ?
The democratic party might as well wave a flag at people and openly state – keeping non citizens and dead people from voting is what we mean when we talk about “voter supression”.
This is a huge loser for the left.
I suspect Trump is itching for a conflict at the moment. Because his odds of winning are high and because democrats will be screwing themselves no matter what.
Money news: “The federal government has spent $80 million to care for and reunite migrant children who were separated from their parents by immigration authorities, a figure that continues to grow months after the policy ended because more than 140 children are still in custody.
The first official price tag on family separations — which ended abruptly in June in the face of widespread public opposition — comes to about $30,000 per child. That data, along with new details on the children who remain mired in the policy’s lingering effects, were handed over last week by the Health and Human Services Department to members of Congress, who shared the report with The New York Times.”
Some of us would like to know why it is costing 500K per child to do ANYTHING ?
All you have done is prove how horribly inefficient the federal govenrment is.
https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-new-hhs-documents-reveal-that-unaccompanied-alien-children-processed-during-obama-years-included-violent-criminals-drug-smugglers-and-human-traffickers/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=press%20release
Twitter News” “So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian,” Trump tweeted. “Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?”
MS said: “I bet you’d be on my side if I had killed a journalist.”
Jay
Was Ivanka a government employee when the emails were sent.
I do not beleive she was.
I am not sure that she is now.
The Federal records act which is what would apply here does not specify anything about email accounts, only that government records must be preserved.
That inarguably was done with Ivanka.
That inarguably was not done by Clinton. In fact Clinton herself in emails made clear that removing her emails from government was the point.
Did Ivanka email classified information to someone who did not have a security clearance ?
Clinton and Comey inarguably did.
Did Ivanka destroy her emails to prevent anyone from gaining access to them.
Clinton inarguably did. Not merely that but she did so after litigation to acquire them started. The has fits over obstruction of justice – the destruction of evidence after the court has ordered preservation is classic obstruction of justice.
Regardless, if you can demonstrate that Ivanka broke the law – she should be prosecuted.
Unfortunately there are no criminal penalties attached to the Federal Records act, which is why it was not discussed much regarding Clinton, and that is the only thing that Ivanka MIGHT (but probably did not) violate.
While Clinton not only acted intentionally – we have her own emails to prove that.
But she used the private account to transmit classified information and then she engaged in the destruction of evidence.
I have thus far heard no assertion that Ivanka did either.
If she did then prosecute her for that.
Regardless, I will be fine with you prosecuting Ivanka, Comey, and Clinton to the fullest extent that the law allows for whatever actions they took.
Her lawyer admits she had entered government service
“Peter Mirijanian, the spokesperson for Lowell and ethics counsel for Ivanka Trump, said in a statement, “Like most people, before entering into government service, Ms. Trump used a private email. When she entered the government, she was given a government email account for official use. While transitioning into government, until the White House provided her the same guidance they had to others who started before she did, Ms. Trump sometimes used her private account, almost always for logistics and scheduling concerning her family.”
Read carefully, that is NOT what he says.
Lets use Trump himself as an example because that is legally clearer.
Trump became president on January 20, 2017.
Prior to that he was president elect. Technically he has no power, and he does not work for the government. At the same time an enormous amount of things are occuring regarding him that are clearly tied to the US government. Trump is not bound by laws that apply to federal employees until 1/20/2017. But he is interacting with government employees and communicating government matters for months before that.
I do not know the date Ivanka entered government service. It is my understanding that she is not being paid, and that she has no formal government title. That pretty much makes her even now, NOT a government employee.
On the other hand she participates in the executive providing advice. I beleive she has a security clearance. But then in 2005 I had a top secret security clearance but I was not a government employee.
BTW holding a security clearance WOULD subject you to 18cfr793 – the espionage act. While not having a clearance would exempt you from it.
And that would be true whether you were a government employee or not.
But the Federal record keeping act – which Clinton also violated, but is not a criminal statue and has no teeth only applies to government employees.
It is my understanding that the allegation against Ivanka is a federal record keeping allegation.
To violate that law she would have to be a government employee, and she would have to have removed records that were government property from government control.
Your correspondence for yourself – even if directed to government is NOT a government record – or atleast not with regard to you. It is for the government employee who receives it.
Further to violate the records keeping act, you have to fail to preserve government records.
Using bleachbit to destroy them is clearly not preserving them.
Ivanka preserved all here transition correspondence.
Hopefully the government employees she corresponded with did too.
But that would be their problem.
aside from the fact that you are misrepresenting Peter Mirijanian’s statement, there is a reason that people speak through lawyers – because anything the lawyer says representing you is NOT an admission.
Roberts’s Rules: “WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts is pushing back against President Donald Trump for his description of a judge who ruled against Trump’s migrant asylum policy as an “Obama judge.”
It’s the first time the Republican-appointed leader of the federal judiciary has offered even a hint of criticism of Trump, who has previously blasted federal judges who ruled against him.”
https://apnews.com/c4b34f9639e141069c08cf1e3deb6b84
“Roberts is widely seen as the justice closest to the middle and likely to determine the outcome of high-profile cases that split the court.” I hope so.
I still say Judges should keep quite.
Roberts is wrong, Trump is right, and even the left and the media fully agree when they are not suffering from TSD.
Almost no one thinks that the decisions of judges appointed by Bush, Obama, or Trump are made on an identical basis.
Republican opposition to Obama appointments is rooted in that understanding.
Democratic oposition to Trump appointments is rooted in that beleif.
Arguments everywhere – in the senate, in the media on twitter, and here as to how the constitution should be interpretted inherently and clearly mean that
Judicial independence and judicial homogenity are totally unrelated constructs that Roberts falsely equates.
We all expect that the judiciary will be independent. That they will make their choices solely based on the law and the constitution – that of course is an ideal.
Not only that it is not even a shared ideal.
Those on the left explicitly seek to have judges make decisions based on ideology and want to pretend that everything is ideological. That there can be no consistent means of understanding the law and constitution that does not depend on ones ideology.
Before Trump no judge had ever tried to claim that the law was unique as applied to Trump – and several 9th circuit judges have done so. Openly ruling that Trump’s prior remarks dictate that Trump’s acting in the same way as Obama did would be unconstitutional because “argh! Trump!”
The threat to judicial independence is from the judiciary themselves.
Trump is pointing out something that is both true and obvious.
It is not Trump undermining the judiciary. It is the judiciary itself.
What if after Brown v. the board of education was decided for years federal judges in the south ignored it and forced every single case to be appealed to the supreme court.
That would have delayed certain gains in civil rights for a decade.
SCOTUS has already decided in favor of Trump on most of the issues that lower courts are still ruling against him on. Get a clue SCOTUS determined that Trump’s authority on immigration was nearly as broad as Trump had asserted. But lower courts are not conforming to those decisions.
That is not a failure on the part of Trump. That is a failure on the part of the courts.
It is also evidence that what Trump is saying and everyone knows to be true is true.
The ideology of different judges matters greatly with respect to outcomes.
There are Trump judges and Obama Judges and Bush Judges and Clinton Judges.
And court decisions on significant issues reflect that. I highly doubt that Roberts beleives otherwise.
I would further note that if the courts do not get their act together, it is THAT which will threaten judicial independence.
Law and order does not survive when a significant portion of the lower courts disregard it.
We agree that Judges should keep quiet.
That said they should also police themselves.
If lower court judges are going to routinely ignore supreme court decisions, it is the responsibility of the courts to bring them in line or discipline them.
Preferably quietly.
Regardless, EVERYWHERE, where there is no oversight there is corruption.
The independence of the courts is not freedom from oversight, it is freedom from political oversight.
I would further note that even that is by tradition, not the constitution.
Congress and the president could draft laws that apply to the judiciary.
The fundimental problem with Roberts defense of the judiciary is that it is so obviously untrue
Btw apparently 79% of 9th circuit cases that are appealed are ultimately overturned
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/chief-justice-john-roberts-defends-the-federal-judiciary/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
As usual Dishonest Dave is too intellectually shady to present the full picture.
“From 1999-08, of the 0.15% 9th Cir cases reviewed by Supreme Court, 61% got reversed. The median reversal rate for all fed courts was 68%. From 2010-15, both 6th & 11th Circuits had higher reversal rates.”
And he conveniently forgot to mention the 9th hears a higher number of controversial cases that might require SCOTUS review.
So I am dishonest – because data that you find actually confirms the point I made, with a small difference in percentage ?
One of the major issues at question is “obama judges”.
There are NONE of those prior to 2008 – the END point of your data.
As to your claims regarding the 6th and 11th circuit.
The higher rates of reversal for those circuits during the period you cite does not surprise me in the slightest.
Those districts are in the south. Those federal courts with clinton and Obama appointees were systemically thwarting Voter ID laws, Voter Registration Laws, etc by conservative southern states and were pretty universally overturned by SCOTUS.
Regardless – you as well as your stupid fact checkers, are MAKING my point.
Neither Trump nor I have claimed that the 9th circuit is unique.
Nor even the worst in terms of reversal rates.
The claim is that the 9th circuit is politically biased and has a very high reversal rate.
Your own fact checking CONFIRMS that.
The reversal rate was ludicrously high by YOUR statistics – BEFORE Obama started appointing judges.
Do you honestly beleive it improved afterwards ?
I would note AGAIN, that Obama has the highest 9-0 reversal rate of any president ever.
And he claims to be a constitutional lawyer.
Trump is no constitutional lawyer. Thus far SCOTUS has upheld every Trump case that has come before it EXCEPT on that was continued from OBAMA.
Trump has not lost 9-0 yet.
It takes a really bad grasp of the constitution to lose 9-0.
NY Times vs,. Sulivan was 5-4. Rowe was 7-2.
Do you understand how bad 9-0 is ?
Do you understand that means losing Ginsberg, Kagan, Breyer, Stevens, Sotomayor ?
“And he conveniently forgot to mention the 9th hears a higher number of controversial cases that might require SCOTUS review.”
I have no idea what you think that means.
CU was 5th circuit.
None of the voter ID cases were 9th circuit.
None of the redistricting cases were 9th circuit.
The 9th circuit does not hear especially controversial cases. It makes especially controversial decisions.
Basically your argument is circular.
If 9th circuit makes lots of bad decisions then it will inherently be controversial.
McCarthy written before trumps kerfluffle with Roberts noting exactly what trump has
The courts are restricted to the constitutionality and legality of executive actions
Questions such as the reasonableness the motivation the justification even the science are for the legislature and executive not the courts
That is a part of our checks and balances
That is a part of 5he justification for life tenure
Elected representatives must answer to the people for policy choices
Judges are expected to address the law and constitution
And nothing else
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/obama-appointed-lawyers-thwart-trump-policies-immigration-energy/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
So NYT things Trump is right about Saudi Arabia?
No, what the NYT thinks is reflected in their editorials, not in the opinion pieces they often publish which reflect views different from their editorial stance.
Nyt chose to print this peice that means they think it is significant
They do not run opeds by Alex jones
Apparently the chinese people – as opposed to the government like Trump, and they think that his threats might force the chinese government to return to focusing on the chinese economy rather than the power of the communist party.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-breakingviews/breakingviews-cox-trump-is-surprisingly-popular-in-china-idUSKCN1NQ0OP
“Here’s How Climate Change Is Already Impacting The US (Hint: It’s Not Good)
“The impacts of climate change are already being felt in communities across the country,” per the new US government report.”
“The new report, released Friday afternoon, concludes “that the evidence of human-caused climate change is overwhelming and continues to strengthen, that the impacts of climate change are intensifying across the country, and that climate-related threats to Americans’ physical, social, and economic well-being are rising.”
This sweeping report was a collaboration between more than 300 federal scientists and outside experts. It is the second part of the congressionally mandated Fourth National Climate Assessment, and it’s all about how climate change is (and will continue) impacting the people and economy of the US. The first part, released last November, overviewed the latest climate science.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/climate-science-us-report
The belief that humans are capable of significantly alter global temperatures is a litmus test
Of actual intelligence and understanding of science
Any scientist in any field that believes that government must act based on the evidence today should not have a degree
If you beleive in cagw then you fail logic and reason and have no grasp of the facts
We are past the point at which any faith in those selling cagw is plausible
The planet has completely failed to behave as warmists predict
It is MORE than 2.5 std devs BELOW predicted temperatures
In real science that is called abject failure
I can think of no theory eve that was that far off that proved correct
Even a 1 std dev error falsifies any theory
Within the past month nature had to retract an article claiming that the “missing heat”
Had been found in the oceans.
The article paper was a scientific mess and the results did not replicate
At the lay end
Not a single claim of war ISO’s has ever come true
I we are 5 years past the artic purportedly being ice free
This winter is on track to have the most artic ice in 4 decades
Antarctica is gaining ice mass
What little melting there is
Is attributed to friction between the glaciers and the rock as it never gets warm enough to melt in Antarctica
Oh that and the fact that there is an active volcano under Antarctica
Can you name a single Malthusian claim of the left that has ever come true ?
Why do you beleive these people ?
To sustain the appearance of warming nasa has been fudging past data to make the past colder
Only records exist
We are well past the point where someone should have to defend being a skeptic
I can and have produced reams of data that actual human caused warming is minuscule
All of that is more true today than ever
At the moment and for several decades into the future the sun is diminishing in activity
We appear to be matching the Maunder Minimum
And that triggered serious global cooling
2016 was the first year that was as warm as the warmest year in the 20th century
And remains so
There has been no measurable warming in the past 2 decades
Warmists should be slinking away in silence having been thoroughly rebuked
Not by me but by earth
Most governments are increasingly quite about cagw they are dismantling expensive failed projects
Cagw is just more proof that you should never trust government
Not trump government
Not Obama
Government is a necessary evil
Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.
Our Turkey in chief, Trump, took the arduous and dangerous trip (7.3 mile trek) to visit our service people at the Mar-A Lago Coast Guard station. What a great example he is to our troops everywhere in the world. Trump also risked the danger of brain cancer by holding a phone teleconference call with troops. Thankfully, there was no rain.
What a guy!
Can someone without a brain have brain cancer?
Just askin…
You stand with pelosi ?
Really ?
I’m neutral on Pelosi.
But any Dem running for speaker who promises to get Trump’s taxes released will have my blessing.
Neutral on Pelosi ? Really ?
Regardless, how are you on strong arming those democrats who ran against Pelosi and are now getting their arms twisted ?
And Please – I know republicans can do the same things.
But the question is are you OK with that ?
Are you OK with them capitulating ?
Or their being politically punished for trying to keep a campaing promise ?
And how should voters respond ? Now ? In 2020 ?
I voted against Bush I in 1992 because he went in front of the UN and lied about the Vincennes.
I would have impeached Clinton if the vote was mine for lying under oath.
I did not vote for Trump and likely will not.
But despite the constant “Trump lies” harranging, I have find him to be extremely truthful for a politician.
He has just told the hard Truth regarding Khassoghi.
We are not going to Fup the wold because MBS murdered Khassoghi.
He just told the trump to Roberts – our courts are screwed up.
The actual law and constitution are their business.
Not politics or policy.
And the 9th circuit as well as myriads of judges – mostly left, but even a few on the right, have misconstrued that they have a role in determining policy.
And that is Truth.
Trump has kept the most campaign promises of any politician I can remember in my life.
And he is striving valiantly to keep the rest.
That is called being truthful.
I actually expect that of all politicians. Though I am still surprised when I get it.
I will be much more inclined to vote for Democrats who actually keep their promises.
Trump said he was wiretapped – he was.
He said he was spied on – he was.
Aparently the reason that the FISA applications can not be declassified and made public is that MI5 and MI6 are objecting. Except that FiveEyes has confirmed that they provided no intelligence on Trump or Russian election interference to the US IC.
That means that nothing went through normal channels.
Either the British intelligence came through extrodinary channels – as the Information from AU ambassoador Downing. Or as appears more likely giving Mifsud’s entanglements with the British and american IC, it came through a conspiracy between the obama whitehouse, John Brennan and a retired MI6 Boss.
Regardless, it appears that we have british intelligence actively interfering in a US election.
Further Nunes is telling us that The FISA application needs to be declassified because there is something worse than the Steele Dossier in it. My guess is it is the involvement of IK intelligence.
Whatever is their is ultimately getting out.
I will not predict what will occur.
But the IRS is barred by law from making public Tax returns.
I am not sure whether they are free to provide than to Congress.
I know that that can not provide them to DOJ/FBI absent an actual criminal referal – though that did occur during the Obama Administration.
I am sure that Trump’s taxes would provide news fodder for months.
But I have zero expectations that it will provide any actual evidence of misconduct.
His Taxes were vetted by an army of lawyers and accountants before being filed.
Each of those would be liable for any misconduct.
Mueller was able to threaten and roll a couple of small potatoes accountants and lawyers in the manafort case. That is a common law enforcement technique that should not be allowed.
Regardless it is highly unlikely to work with any substantive law firms.
You will not get a lawyer or accountant to roll on the people they work for if they ever want to work again.
Authur Anderson was destroyed by DOJ over Enron – despite the fact they were ultimately fully exhonerated.
And to be clear when I say “rolled” I mean threatened into lying.
Think of how the manafort case would have gone had his accountant said – “loans from offshore corporations controlled by manafort to US entities controlled by manafort are perfectly legal and his taxes were done properly.”
Which BTW is the truth and the state of the law – well except when you want to get someone bad enough and are willing to threaten to get people to lie.
There is a reason that we do not target people, but crimes.
The constitution specifically prohibits laws targeting individuals and small groups.
One of the reasons for such constraints is because the Beria adage – “bring me the man, and I will find the crime” is a temptation to every prosecutor on the planet.
I posted a video of a recorded police stop over speeding.
The person pulled over was angry and argumentative.
Guess what, that is his right.
I have no idea if he was right or wrong.
I have no idea if race was a factor.
But the officer did what offiers are trained to do – he escalated.
The officer had no basis to order the driver out of the car.
That is unusual.
He did it to punish the driver.
He also did it because it would interfere with recording him
and because if the driver refused it gave him grounds to escalate.
Asking the driver to get out of the car over a mere speeding stop and an argumentative driver is improper. The courts would have found against the officer had it been important to anything later. At the same time they would still have found that the driver was obligated to obey and that failure to obey an improper order of a police officer is still a crime.
The officer likely knew all of this and was basically seeking to find a way to arrest the driver for arguing with him.
We have given far far to much power to police and prosecutors.
Please
Trump met repeatedly with MBs
Are you saying that is not dangerous ?
Regardless
It is turkey day
Not Veterans Day
This trump disrepsects others because his ass is too tight for leftists to stick their Hans up and manipulate him
Article 4 of the constitution defines what the president and executive must do
That would include protecting the nation from invasion
When trump does NOT perform a constitutional duty
Call me
When he actually acts unconstitutionally in a fashion obvious based on the clear language of the construction not the creative endeavors of leftist judges
Call me
When he does something that actually harms the country rather than irritates lrpeft wing nuts
Call me
When trump is actually a greater failure as a president than bush or Obama
Call me
“WASHINGTON — A major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies on Friday presents the starkest warnings to date of the consequences of climate change for the United States, predicting that if significant steps are not taken to rein in global warming, the damage will knock as much as 10 percent off the size of the American economy by century’s end.
The report, which was mandated by Congress and made public by the White House, is notable not only for the precision of its calculations and bluntness of its conclusions, but also because its findings are directly at odds with President Trump’s agenda of environmental deregulation, which he asserts will spur economic growth.” NYT
The Chicken Shits Will Soon Be Coming Home To Roost
NEW YORK – A state supreme court judge has cleared the way for the New York state attorney general to pursue a civil lawsuit against the Trump Foundation for allegedly abusing its tax-free status and violating campaign laws by operating on behalf of President Donald Trump’s business and political interests.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/23/trump-foundation-n-y-judge-says-suit-against-group-may-proceed/2093488002/
Dunce Donnie Scolded For Stupidity
“David Stockman, budget director for former President Ronald Reagan, blasted President Donald Trump as a “madman” during an appearance on Fox Business Friday morning.
Stockman told host Charles Payne that the economy, which Trump routinely touts as the best and strongest in history (it is not), is at risk for a crash because Trump is acting “like a madman.”
Quick, Dave, show us Stockman is the madman…
“Hey guys, I so glad to be with you this Thanksgiving Day, and your only 7.3 miles away. Awesome. Who knew I had part of my troops so close to Mar-a Lago.
I want you to know that besides that besides being thankful that I am president and your Commander In Chief, that I appreciate all of you being here guarding my temporary WH.
I’m so grateful that I invite all of you to get a free round of golf (if you break 100 par), if you are in the neighborhood as long as you swear loyalty to me and are not any of those terrorist caravan minorities. Did you know there are 500 criminals, from all over the world, in the invasion, but I’m sure there might be, or might not be, some good folks in there too.
I follow @realdonaldtrump on twitter, specifically so that I can tell fake trump tweets from real ones.
Trump did not tweet any part of the above.
He didn’t tweet it.
He said it.
No google search matches
Me Me Me Me….
“Asked Thursday what he’s thankful for this Thanksgiving, President Trump answered as only he could, with a perfunctory nod toward his family and high praise for himself.
“For having a great family, and for having made a tremendous difference in this country,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club. He went on: “I’ve made a tremendous difference in the country. This country is so much stronger now than it was when I took office that you wouldn’t believe it.”” Newsweek.
Is it news to you that trump is a narcissist ?
Anyone who did not know that before the election is paying no attention
Virtually all successful politicians are narcissists
Many are sociopaths
Finally his remarks are Also true
And that is likely what bothers you most
Nearly 3 years of ragging on trump and he is not only as strong as ever but he has a long list of accomplishments
WASHINGTON — Before Saudi Arabias crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was implicated by the C.I.A. in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, American intelligence agencies were trying to solve a separate mystery: Was the prince laying the groundwork for building an atomic bomb?”
http://newsenter.org/world/2018/11/22/422275-saudis-want-a-us-nuclear-deal-can-they-be-trusted-not-to-build-a-bomb.html
“But there is a hitch: Saudi Arabia insists on producing its own nuclear fuel, even though it could buy it more cheaply abroad, according to American and Saudi officials familiar with the negotiations. That raised concerns in Washington that the Saudis could divert their fuel into a covert weapons project — exactly what the United States and its allies feared Iran was doing before it reached the 2015 nuclear accord, which President Trump has since abandoned.”
We should trust bumbling MSB and his doddering father. NO f—— way, no matter how much they pay for rooms and floors at Trump’s dorms.
It has been an open secret that SA would seek to create a nuclear bomb if Iran developed one.
The most powerful argument for non-proliferation is that each nation that joins the nuclear club inspires others to do so.
I have no idea what the CIA intelligence was.
But I have absolutely ZERO doubt that the saudis have a secret nuclear program.
Though they are likely farther behind, it is probably much like that of the Israelis.
The threat is purely defensive.
Israel denies having a nuclear bomb, but most estimate beleive that the Israelis have components that could be assembled quickly to produce about 90 nagasaki class bombs and that separately they likely have the a few hydrogen bombs.
Should we Trust SA ? No.
There are few if any countries we should Trust.
We certainly should not trust Iran as an example.
I do not think Trump has said that we should Trust SA.
Only that like lots of other nations that we do not trust we must work with them.
And that of our choices in the mideast, they are among the better ones.
Not good, just less bad.
I would would be happy to get our government completely out of midestern affairs.
But neither party is going to allow that.
Given that we are going to be there at all.
SA is a better alie than Iran.
Just to be clear – NO ONE doubts that Iran has a nuclear program.
No one doubts they are quite close to or already have a nuclear bomb.
Further much like North Korea they also have IRBM’s
In fact pretty much anything that NK has Iran eventually gets.
Trump scrapped the Iran deal specifically because – exactly as he claimed, and as Obama assured us was false – the Iranians were continuing to make progress on nuclear weapons.
All Obama’s deal accomplished was reducing the political cost to Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Abslutely the Saudis are likely to have their own nuclear program
Much of the mideast likely does, and the closer Iran gets to nukes the more likely others will increase their efforts.
The reason for SA’s nuclear program is Obama’s inability to thwart Irans.
Can campaign contribution corrupt NYS be the ones to nail the Trump foundation? I hope so because I want to know why he gave so much of the TF funds to the Boy Scouts. Half as much would have been plenty from Trump. What’s he hiding?????
“The donations were made possible by a loophole in New York’s campaign finance law that, for more than 20 years, has allowed corporations to create limited liability companies for the sole purpose of giving virtually unlimited amounts of money to candidates.
The law treats limited liability companies as people, allowing each to donate up to $65,100 to every statewide candidate per election cycle — far more than the $5,000 aggregate contribution limit for corporations. Firms can create multiple L.L.C.s, effectively erasing any maximum.”
You are never getting anywhere with tf
It is a small private charity
It does not accept donations from just anyone
The worst outcome of any investigation is some of its expenditures are subject to taxes
Wow amazing
You presume to be entitled to decide what a reasonable contribution of another person is
1984 ?
Why do you believe you can dictate to others what they do with what is theirs ?
It is unlikely I would make the same charitable contributions trump has
So what, I still have no right to dictate
Trump thwarted, again by those nasty judges, from going after immigrants- some from before 1995 legally here.
Homeland Security is in the bag to Trump:
“A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Katie Waldman, confirmed that the deportations of these Vietnamese immigrants were off the table for now. But she characterized resistance to the policy as dangerous, saying “dangerous loopholes and misguided court decisions” were forcing the government to release “violent criminal aliens” rather than deport them.”
Just like our abandoning those from Iraq and Afghanistan that helped our troops by severely limiting their immigration to the U.S. we are shafting these Vietnamese too.:
“The decision outraged the American ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius, who was removed from his post last fall and then resigned from the State Department. He characterized the deportation effort as a broken promise to South Vietnamese families who had been allies of the United States during the war and would not be safe in Vietnam.
I thought he was supposedly racist against brown people.
The vietnamese are yellow people.
Or maybe he is just trying to uphold the actual law.
He’s not racist.
He’s bigoted.
Means he can enjoy visiting with blacks and Hispanic celebrities, but considers them exceptions from their racial inferiority.
Isn’t that obvious to you?
People prefer associating with others like themselves
Is Oprah or gates bigoted because the do not spend lots of time with the poor ?
Obama spends time with other political activists politicians mostly on the left
Does that make him bigoted ?
You not only want to control how trump spends on charity
But who he associates with ?
I assume reasonably that you are willing to do to me exactly what you are willing to do to trump
Does that explain why I and many others see you as a dangerous threat?
This is the moron you keep defending.
Once a dumb douche, always a dumb douche.
Racial preferences are discrimination
Whether they favor Indians
Or whites
When done by government they are an improper rights violation and a violation of equal protection
I do not have to like trump to reject your arguments
I have defended nazis marching in my town and then protested them
Rights belong to individuals
Why do you continue to presume to know what others think ?
Can’t trust government ?
Ok
I can accept that
I can be skeptical of anything dhs says
And cia
And doj
And noa
And …
Maybe there are things called facts logic and reason to help us think for ourselves and decide who and what to beleive ?
I know little about the current Vietnamese deportations
I would agree that the us hasstupidly f’d over those who helped us in Iraq Vietnam. ….
That was wrong
And long before trump
I do not thing there is much if any overlap
Vietnam war ended almost 45 years ago
But if there are still Vietnamese that need protected for war service then fix the law
Bingo, Jay. Some people don’t understand Trump worth a s____.
Some people do not understand trump ?
Absolutely
Especially those sure that others do not understand trump as well as they
Rather than guessing what is in his head
Or speculating on what he will do
Why not use they best measure we have
His actual known actions
Which professions are most conservative/liberal
The distribution within each profession
https://amp.businessinsider.com/charts-show-the-political-bias-of-each-profession-2014-11?__twitter_impression=true
New Trump border plan: Make immigrants applying for asylum wait in Mexico
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/11/23/new-trump-border-plan-make-immigrants-applying-asylum-wait-mexico/
WaPo has the full story.
This may no pass legal/constitutional muster, but it is an interesting plan.
Absolutely it will be challenged
But this is stronger constitutionally than the initial imagination. Eo
The constitutional rights of non us persons outside the us who have not come to a us embassy or consulate to make a request are quite small
The us does not owe everyone in the world. Due process
Only those actually under our jurisdiction
It will be challenged probably in the 9th
It will lose
It will go to scotus and win
What conclusions can be drawn from this?
The us imprisons way too many people
Trump is trying to do something about that
As are many other democrats and republicans
Obama could have but did not try
Trump Foundation lawsuit: New York state judge rejects Trump claim that he can’t be sued because he is president: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/23/new-york-state-judge-rejects-trump-claim-that-he-cant-be-sued-because-hes-president.html
So sue, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, the Boy Scouts won’t miss is munificent level of contributions ($7.50). What a sport! -Satire-
That was a stupid argument on trumps part
Tf is a separate legal entity
It can be sued
I beleive that 5he jones lawsuit should have been blocked by scotus
It was a mistake
I hate bill Clinton he is a rapist
But it still was a mistake and I said that at 5h3 time
But that ship has sailed
More relevant is what is the compelling state interest ?
Tf is a private charity
It is not the same as cf
It is like most any family trust
The only issues is taxes and that issue is small and the statute of limitations has run
And the state and irs have looked at all of this long ago
There is no trum exception to statues of limitations
Thank you Paul Weiss for caring about kids, our president doesn’t.
“In the firm’s Midtown offices, about 75 lawyers have been trying to find more than 400 parents who were separated from their families at the southern border this year and then deported without their children.
Paul Weiss, where partners charge more than $1,000 an hour and clients include the National Football League and Citigroup, is looking for these parents, pro bono, as part of a federal American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the Trump administration over its family separation policy.”
Gives hope that decent people are still among us
Do you beleive 5he partners are doing 5he work ?
One of your dumbest observations…
You are the one who implied they were
Not looking to piss on the law firm
I have no problems with pro bono work
But if you think that partners are doing it you are the one who is dumb
There is a law of economics that dictates that no wise law firm will allow its partners to perform a task that can be performed more economically by others
It is the law of comparative advantage
Charity is not the role of government
If you do not want your family separated do not drag them thousands of miles from your home and cross a border into other countries
Separation of children i# the least potential issue
You’re correct.
They shouldn’t be desperate enough to make that desperate trek.
“They shouldn’t be desperate enough to make that desperate trek.”
Correction
“They shouldn’t be stupid enough to make that stupid trek.”
I would also ask if the US is not exceptional – why do these people want to come here ?
Maybe Trump said those words about his visit to the Coast Guard Station. Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t. Who knows. But maybe he thought those words, or maybe he didn’t. Maybe some people recognize satire, nuance, sarcasm, humor and maybe some are missing that gene.
Someone commented this about the story: “The American tragedy we are living through, dduck, is that your satire so closely represents reality. Scary stuff!”
An awful lot of maybes
Regardless you may not judge some one else for what 5he might have said
What 5hey might have thought
We judge actual acts
Not our guesses
A bit of humor: “RNC Catches Heat For Hawking Discounted Donald Trump Merchandise On Black Friday
“Sure, no conflict of interest going on here. When exactly did the GOP sell their souls?”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rnc-donald-trump-black-friday-merch_us_5bf8fb18e4b03b230fa19df8
There’s only one thing better than a Black Friday deal…and that’s a Trump Black Friday deal.
Shop now and save 20% OFF OFFICIAL Trump Merchandise using the code THANKFUL.
http://
gop.cm/6016rhPvy
570
10:09 AM – Nov 23, 2018
Humorous. – yes
Conflict of interest ?
How ?
Dumb dumb’s Tariff Wars Cost US Agriculture A $Billion$
But that’s OK, because he’s the best president ever, right Dave…
“President Trump’s trade war with China is having a major impact on agricultural industries, most notably on U.S. soybean exports.
According to Torsten Slok, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, U.S. soybean exports to China are down 98 percent in 2018.
There was about $1.2 billion in soybean exports to China in January 2018 before the nosedive. Soybeans were the top U.S. agricultural export to China last year.” yahoo finance
Look I am opposed to tarries
They are stupid
But no they did not cost agriculture 1b
This has been reatedly addressed
Absent serious over supply which does not exist in a global economty the harm is to consumers not suppliers – because they must pay more
And even that tends to be small
Unless the tariff is on all foreign sources
As supply chains just rearrange
He’s free to collect two salaries ain’t he? Sure can, nice work if you can get it. Did the Mooch get this kind of WH deal? What the F—- does a communications director do, and why does a big mouth Trump need one when he acknowledges he knows more than any CD does.
Meantime, Baron is really tall now, and with a little makeup, he can look older, not that Trump can’t appoint any family member he wants for the job.
Your comments would be more understandable with less insulting nicknames and more context
If for no other reason than it would possible understand what you are saying
This goes with the above comment on communications director.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/report-bill-shine-to-get-paid-by-fox-news-and-white-house-simultaneously
Most of clinton’s Staff at state was also on the payroll of Clinton foundation concurrently
Resolving this is simple
No pay for p9litical jobs
No pay for elected
Whataboutism Dave back at it again.
If you are unwilling to apply the law the same under the same circumstances
That is not Whataboutism that is lawlessness
This is simple
We have evidence of multiple actual crimes by Clinton and cronies of varying severity
Ranging from perjury destruction of violations of the espionage act
And federal records keeping failures
The very people purportedly investigating Clinton were themselves guiltyi of violations of them espionage act
Several of those same people were also guilty of perjury
Inarguably the Obama administration used the cia doj fbi exactly as Nixon wanted
That is criminal
Inarguably at no time prior to muellers appointment did Obama the doj fbi or cia have probable cause that what they wanted to beleive was actually true
There remains to this date no actual evidence of anything except a corrupt nvestigation
There are people,who should be jailed
There are real crimes that have been committed
Far more serious crimes than have been alleged against trump
All of which have actual evidence
To date there is no evidence that anyone except the Clinton campaign “colluded” with the Russians
What is disturbing is that the left is following goebels playbook
Tell a lie
Tell a big lie
Repeat it often enough
And get the state behind it and it will be believed
Identify someth8ng I have said that is not true ?
What about truth ?
Doesn’t actual truth matter to you .?
Or can your ignore truth by fallacious arguments using made up words ?
I am fully prepared to support criminal consequences for trump and all his surrogates
If everyone in the Obama administration and Clinton campaign who has done the same or worse is prosecuted using the same standards
That is not called “wharaboutism” jay
That is called the rule of law
Without the rule of law the only question is which side is going to start the violence and which is going to end it
read the Declaration of Independence
It is the legal justifaction for violence when the rule of law has failed
The social contract requires the rule of law or it is void and individuals are morally free to initiate violence
You want to pretend that everything is an oppiniona
It is not.
Harrisburg is about 1hr from me
It never was a great city
But it is much worse than 30 years ago
I am surprised that it is purportedly 5he worst city in the country
Baltimore ?
Philadelphia ?
I was just in Montgomery al
And that city is much like Harrisburg
People come 5here to work during the day
But they do not live there
There is almost no business in the city
But plenty outside
Climate change is so popular elsewhere in the world
Ah, yes, the old stupid ass Venezuela comparison.
They’d head for the European Social Democracies if they could swim that far.
Those european social democracies are not socialist.
Nor are they particularly freindly to immigrants.
Aparently things are getting interesting in the House.
A bipartisan group that appears to be moderates and appears to be affiliated with “no labels”
and appears to have had some success as a caucus in the house and senate in the past.
I am not able to verify all of that, has presented Pelosi with a carrot and a sick.
She is being opposed by 16 democrats who were elected demanding new leadership.
She can only afford to lose 15 democratic votes if she wants to be speaker.
Unless she gets some republican votes.
Now an additional 9 Problem Solvers democrats have withdrawn their support unless she agrees to 10 rules changed that promote bipartisanship and diminish the power of the parties in congress. The carrot is that if she agrees Problem Solvers can deliver a number of republican votes.
I can not find the full list of 10 rules changes, but atleast 2 of the 3 I can find out about I fully support.
One essentially imposes a supermajority requirement on the house vaguely similar to the 60 vote rule in the senate – legislation must have 3/5ths to pass the house.
Another permits moving for a vote on any legislation that has 2/3 of the house as co sponsors.
The third rule change eliminates some vacant chair rule that has been used as a threat to thwart legislation in the past. I have not been able to find out as much about that.
I strongly favor making it HARDER to legislate. I support the first 2 proposed rule changes.
I have to find out more about the third.
There are 7 more changes I have been unable to find out about.
There are also claims about several initiaitives that the Problem solvers have been behind.
Some of which have succeeded.
I do not think any of those are perfect, but I think they are all improvements over the status quo.
They seem to be committed to making PPACA work – to fixing it.
Rather than getting rid of it.
That is a mistake.
But their fixes to the extent I understand them appear to be good.
They are behind an immigration compromise that sounds like something that should have passed long ago. More money for border security as Trump wants – probably his wall money.
Legal status for dreamers. More is necescary but that sounds like a start.
They are also big on an infrustructure bill – something I vigorously oppose.
Additional federal government infrastructure spending under ARRA was disasterous.
The best economic analysis seems to indicate that ARRA’s infrastructure spending was somewhere between at best neutral and actually harmful, delaying recovery for several years. Even Keynes eventually ceded to Hayek on stimulus spending.
IT DOES NOT WORK!!!!
https://www.greenmountaindaily.com/2018/11/23/problem-solvers-caucus-create-problem-for-nancy-pelosi/
Excellent article about what is wrong with journalism today.
Even a link to a good response by Bernstein regarding the Acosta kerfuffle.
Though Solomon directly addressed the huge problem that Journalists need to step away from making the news and controlling the narrative to straight reporting, Bernsteins observations were equally important.
In the war between Trump and the Media – Trump is winning, and that is BECAUSE of the tactics the media is employing.
I have sort of discussed this here. The bad conduct of the media makes Trump’s conduct acceptable.
I do not think the media is capable of returning to the reporting of Cronkite – I do not think that was actually neutral reporting, but it was far more neutral than what passes for media journalism today. But if the media returned to more neutral reporting, it would lose its audience – something I think is inevitable anyway.
As much as I think the neutral reporting standard of the past that has been lost is a great aspiration. It should be core to journalists code of ethics. At the same time the myriad of diverse sources today is an improvement over the 3 quasi-neutral sources of the 60’s.
More voices is better – even if they are chaotic.
I think that the MSM is fundimentally a dying industry – the internet is slowly killing it.
I think that the myriads of internet outlets is the future.
Whether it is the Joe Rogan’s or Ben Shapiro’s or the Dave Rubin’s,
More voices are better.
Solomon is criticizing the death rattle of the MSM. But the criticism is pretty good.
The media and the left made Trump and they empower him.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/417921-the-greatest-threat-to-american-journalism-the-loss-of-neutral-reporting
A concurring perspective from Andrew McCarthy
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/trump-media-criticism-enemy-of-the-people-charge/
Asking someone to lie under oath is ACTUAL obstruction of justice.
For those of you who do not know what it looks like.
I have no idea whether Clinton’s exact words are sufficient to reach Obstruction.
But Lewinsky did sign the false affadavit – with the assistance of Clinton Lawyers who near certain knew that it was a lie.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/monica-lewinsky-reveals-bill-clinton-urged-her-to-lie-under-oath-following-one-last-fling-before-ditching-her
You stated you don’t watch Fox, nevertheless you continue to link to them here.
Are you a hypocrite?
I do not recall linking to fox and did not find said link in the bottom couple of dozen posts
Regardless, not only do I not watch Fox
I do not watch television media
That does not mean that when i google some question the answer is not from Fox or cnn or msnbc
I do not subscribe to nyt or wapo
But I sometimes link to their articles
Are you saying that is hypocracy ?
I get my new from aggregators like rcp who link to everyone
Or from social media where I primarily follow left or libertarians
I do specifically follow @realdonaldtrump because since you are claiming he said heinous thing all the time I want to hear the. From the horses mouth
I do not need an army of neocons to tell me what trump has said when I can read it myself
I do not mostly find trumps remarks interesting
I also do not find them the heinous world ending threat that you and the media does
I have provided dozens of links
I do not recall one being Fox
But it is possible that Once or twice over weeks fox provides an answer to a question
This is just more word games on your part
A lie is not a statement that you do not agree with
Do you watch Fox ?
You link to them far more ten than. I
Does that mean you are a hypocrite ?
I do not beleive that you watch Fox
you certainly link to the. Frequently
Or am I wrong and you are a frequent fox viewer ?
https://www.investors.com/partner-perspective/usbank/5-ways-to-elevate-your-international-travel/
Trump’s Deficit
The deficit belongs to anyone who will not cut spending
Even a recent article by a left wing think tank using a discredit left economic model
Concluded that tax increases will not fix the deficit
They will not bring in more revenue because they will reduce economic growth
Should trump do more to cut spending – absolutely
Though he is doing about as much as can be done unilaterally
Did Obama try ? Not really
Are democrats even willing to discuss reducing the deficit ?
Absolutely not
Are many congressional republicans hypocrites on fiscal matters ?
Absolutely
So while trump shares responsibility for the deficit
Congressional republicans bear more responsibility
And democrats even more
Republicans have tried to cut the deficit
Democrats have never even tried
They do not care
“I think the report is going to be devastating to the president and I know that the president’s team is already working on a response to the report,” Dershowitz said on “This Week” Sunday.
Dershowitz added that he believes the report, although it will have a strong political impact, is unlikely to result in criminal charges.
“When I say devastating, I mean it’s going to paint a picture that’s going to be politically very devastating. I still don’t think it’s going to make a criminal case,” Dershowitz said. “I think the report is going to be devastating to the president and I know that the president’s team is already working on a response to the report,” Dershowitz said on “This Week” Sunday.
Dershowitz added that he believes the report, although it will have a strong political impact, is unlikely to result in criminal charges.
“When I say devastating, I mean it’s going to paint a picture that’s going to be politically very devastating. I still don’t think it’s going to make a criminal case,” Dershowitz said.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mueller-report-devastating-president-frequent-trump-defender/story?id=59393855
I like Dershowitz
I think mueller is going to try to make his report as devastating as possible
Because his reputation like it or not is tied to “getting the president”
I think his report is likely to make lots of allegations he admits he can not prove
But it is going to fail to credibly tie the trump campaign to Russia
And if it fails to do that then it is not devestating
At least not to trump
If there is no criminal case
That is all the report should say
Mueller is not supposed to engage in political commentary
All dershcowitz is saying is that from start to finish the special counsel law is no being followed
In fact prior to firing comey
The ordinary law and rules governing fbi and doj were not followed
What is deadly disturbing is we have actual evidence of real political corruption
By the Obama administration
And no one on the left cares
We have actual evidence of crimes by Clinton
And no one cares
After 2 years and millions of dollars we have nothing on trump
And the entire left is whiffed out
Facts logic reason law
Do you have any of those ?
If not you are the one that is corrupt
Fully 2/3 of democrats actually beleive the Russians hacked voting machines
Keep trying to tell me that democrats are sma ether than republicans
“The President’s behavior towards me made me wonder: What did he have to gain by saying such a thing about a fellow Republican,” Love said during her speech in Salt Lake City. “It was not really about asking him to do more, was it? Or was it something else? Well Mr. President, we’ll have to chat about that.”
She continued, “However, this gave me a clear vision of his world as it is. No real relationships, just convenient transactions. That is an insufficient way to implement sincere service and policy.”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/politics/mia-love-donald-trump-concession/
Trump Transaction 101 ” Dear ML, kiss his ring, say nice lies about him and he will say nice things about you and your loss.
Assignment: watch how Cruz does it, he is an advanced student.
I do not know Rep. Love very well.
Whether it was a good choice or bad choice to seek conflict with Trump is measured by personal morality.
But politically it was a bad choice. For all the lefts harping about “a blue wave” the overwhelming majority of candidates with Trump’s support won.
We are watching Pelosi demand that democrats kiss her ring (or ass) is that any more > Less appropriate ?
“The White House counsel’s office is down to a skeletal staff, potentially leaving it unprepared to deal with a flood of subpoenas for documents and witnesses when Dehttps://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/26/white-house-lacks-lawyers-to-deal-with-empowered-democrats-1010121mocrats take control of the House.”
The master negotiator and user of lawyers like disposable hand wipes, is ill prepared for the “disastrous” Mueller/Dems onslaught.
Awwwww.
Fox News – State Sponsered Media
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-and-friends-fed-interview-script-to-trumps-epa-chief-emails-show
Where have we heard that story before – oh yes, with debate questions being leaked to democrats.
I do not have much respect for Fox. Or NYT.
So I can not say I care much.
It is not like I could trust the MSM less.
Why do you presume that every problem requires large numbers of people and vast amounts of money ?
We heard this same garbage as Tillerson slashed Department of State.
And yet the world did not come to an end because large numbers of carreer foreign service people go sacked or quit.
I beleive that the Trump administration is required to comply with every congressional subpeona that is not for communications directly with the president.
That is actually covered by executive privilige,
But congress is not entitled to Private tax returns or personal or business records.
Regardless of what I beleive and what the constitution says, Obama stonewalled myriads of subpeona’s through his entire presidency.
Even after Trump was inaugurated DOJ/FBI have refused to honor congressional subpeonas that Trump has publicly stated they should.
I think that one of the stupidest things that Democrats can do with control of the house is wage a personal war against Trump. That exploded in the face of Republicans in the 90’s,
And there is actual evidence of misconduct on the part of Clinton.
But if democrats wish to orchestrate their own self destruction – be my guest.
Better to be cautious when listening to your son-in-law: “According to the Department of Defense, of the original $110 billion, Saudi Arabia has signed Letters of Offer and Acceptance valued at around $14.5 billion for equipment, including helicopters, tanks, ships, weapons and training.” A tad shy of 110B.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kushner-pushed-inflate-saudi-arms-deal-110-billion/story?id=59418244
Yeah, right, just a coincidence. LMAO
“Another Winner of Amazon HQ2 in Queens? Goldman Sachs
By Noah Buhayar and Justina Vasquez
November 26, 2018 5:00 AM EST
Bank invested in housing the same day retailer announced move
Timing was an ‘absolute coincidence,’ Goldman executive says”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-26/goldman-lucks-into-amazon-windfall-chasing-a-tax-break-in-queens
I’m not saying RE, is the sleaziest business. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t.
Is there something wrong with GS making a bet on housing in Queens ?
Winning that Bet ?
And profiting ?
Scott Shuchart: If you’re going to separate families in the pursuit of an immigration policy, it was irresponsible to push that on top of a system that wasn’t prepared on the backend to allow the families to be reconciled later.
Scott Shuchart was surprised by the new policy even though he worked at Homeland Security headquarters at the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He told us the order was so abrupt it bypassed the usual review.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-family-separation-policy-mexican-border-60-minutes-investigation-greater-in-number-than-trump-administration-admits/
“That’s what we found in this Homeland Security internal investigation. It says one border station, “made no effort to identify and reunite families prior to [their] removal [from the United States].” The DHS inspector general says the agency was “not fully prepared” and “struggled to provide accurate, complete, reliable data on family separations…” The report found that incompatible computer systems erased data that connected children with their families.
Cecilia Munoz: I don’t know what part of your soul has to be missing to say, “We’ll take an infant from its mother with no provision about how they will ever get back together again.” They might never see each other again.”
He ain’t got a soul. Probably lost it in Faustian transactions with the money devil.
America -our nation – will be forever tainted by those child separations
There is a recent article about incredibly stupid things millenials belive.
Are you a milenial ? Sure sounds like it.
If you do not like family separation – change the law.
You now control half of congress.
I would also ask – why you did not change the law when you controlled all of congress ?
And if Trump’s family separations are so heinous. Why weren’t you complaining about them when Obama was doing them ?
If you create a way for these people to game the system – they are going to game the system. That is how humans work. It is a good thing. It is also a reason that we have laws.
Worse stain on our reputation by far than Japanese Incarcerations during WWII.
https://apnews.com/0c62b088c27147b0a6055d1e8394a3af
Yes Jay, and remember the 442 Regiment: “The Most Decorated Unit in American History — (442nd REGIMENT)”
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-most-decorated-unit-in-american-history-442nd-regiment/
How does the 442 not make the Japanese internment much worse ?
“Worse stain on our reputation by far than Japanese Incarcerations during WWII.”
Really ?
Did you actually write that ?
Avoiding family separation is trivial.
Do not allow them into the country.
You want an actual discussion of open borders – I am fully prepared.
I will happily support open borders – if you are prepared to do what is necescary to make it work, and if you are prepared to be open about the fact that is what you support
Anything less than open borders – and the debate is about who to turn away.
You do not want to stop families at the border ? You do not want family separation ?
Then answer two questions:
In order to accept more families – who are you planning to say NO to ?
If you accept all families how long do you think it will be before there are 100,000 families a month at the border ?
When Obama relaxed the rules on unaccompanied minors, the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border spiked from 10K/month to nearly 100K until Obama quietly cracked down and reversed himself.
I am not particularly interested in your moral rants at others, unless you are prepared to offer your own plan of action and subject that to the same moral and practical critique
I do not know what part of your soul has to be missing to take an infant on a 1000+ mile journey, knowing at the end they will be separated from you permanently ?
What part of your soul had to be missing to drag your children onto jam packed wooden sail boats that frequently were lost at sea or rife with fatal disease for a dangerous 3,500 mile sea voyage? Or did your ancestors fly here on jets?
“What part of your soul had to be missing to drag your children onto jam packed wooden sail boats that frequently were lost at sea or rife with fatal disease for a dangerous 3,500 mile sea voyage? Or did your ancestors fly here on jets?”
My ancestors left a country where millions were starving and dying.
Where their odds of living on a boat were greater than if they stayed.
Where there children were certain to be better off on arrival, than if they stayed.
Where the odds of getting turned away on arrival were miniscule.
Where even if families were separated – which was rare,
their children would be better off.
My ancestors came here legally under the rules at the time.
I would have no problem in offering the same rules to immigrants today.
No restrictions on immigration.
No guarantee you and your children will not starve.
No guarantted wage, to prevent you from getting a job.
Even as far back as james town – the odds were greater that an indentured servant coming to the colonies would live LONGER than the same person remaining in london.
If this is confirmed by other sources, it will explain Trump’s frantic outburst against Mueller yesterday, as it likely will contradict Trump’s written responses to Mueller last week:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
Even Glenn Greenwald will not buy this.
Assange has been in the ecadoran embasy since 2012.
There are records of everyone who meets him.
And it is not easy.
Further that embassy is in the most surveiled city of the most surveiled country in the world,
And that embassy is itself probably the must surveiled peice of realestate in that city.
There is numerous british officers constantly monitoring the embassy to catch Assange should he try to leave.
BTW Manafort was hired by Trump on March 28, 2016
So are you saying Manafort “colluded” with wikileaks within 2 days of being hired ?
Or was the meeting earlier when he did not work for Trump ?
We have been through this garbage with Cohen and several other.
No one has ever found evidence of these meetings – because they did not happen.
We are not talking about things that could easily be kept secret.
Hmmm, is Trump doing a “good” thing” or just rearranging the shells?
“WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed on Monday to cut costs for Medicare by reducing the number of prescription drugs that must be made available to people with cancer, AIDS, depression, schizophrenia and certain other conditions.
Under the proposal, health insurance plans that provide drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries would no longer have to cover all of the drugs in six “protected classes.”
“The drug industry also criticized the proposal. James C. Greenwood, the president of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, said the proposal would undermine protections for “some of America’s sickest and most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries,” allowing “insurance company bureaucrats” to limit access to drugs.”
He is doing exactly what the left does all the time.
Trying to do good by acting stupid, and beleiving that the economy is magical and that politicians can manipulate it.
These are choices that should be made within the market.
Where they will not be made exactly the same – where one size will not fit all.
But this is about medicare, so that is not within the market.
Rationing is a common attribute of socialised systems.
Even when Trump does the rationing.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has labored zealously to cut federal regulations, but its latest move has still astonished some experts on health care: It has asked for recommendations to relax rules that prohibit kickbacks and other payments intended to influence care for people on Medicare or Medicaid.”
“Federal laws make it a crime to offer or pay any “remuneration” in return for the referral of Medicare or Medicaid patients, and they limit doctors’ ability to refer patients to medical businesses in which the doctors have a financial interest, a practice known as self-referral.
These laws “impose undue burdens on physicians and serve as obstacles to coordinated care,” said Dr. James L. Madara, the chief executive of the American Medical Association. The laws, he said, were enacted decades ago “in a fee-for-service world that paid for services on a piecemeal basis.”
A good guy with a gun kills another good guy with a gun and the bad guy is on the loose/at large.
GUNS do kill.
Just because a person with a gun is employed by government does not make them a “good guy”.
Guns are tools, and they are dangerous – like many many other things we use everyday, cars, knives, hairdryers.
When they are used to cause harm, or used recklessly bad things can happen.
Laws do not prevent bad people from doing bad things.
But they allow us to punish them for doing them.
Nor do they prevent negligence or carelessness.
If you are negligent with a dangerous tool – like a gun, a knife or a car.
You are not a good person.
At best you are not a criminal.
I have never seen nor heard of a gun jumping up and killing someone.
Guns do not kill people anymore than cars, knives hair dryers or bars of soap in the shower do.
“Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and visited around the time he joined Trump’s campaign, the Guardian has been told.
Sources have said Manafort went to see Assange in 2013, 2015 and in spring 2016 – during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.
In a statement, Manafort denied meeting Assange. He said: “I have never met Julian Assange or anyone connected to him. I have never been contacted by anyone connected to WikiLeaks, either directly or indirectly. I have never reached out to Assange or WikiLeaks on any matter.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
Never met Assange. Hmmm, anyone believe him besides Trump?
Assange is the most surveilec person in one of the most surveiled countries in the world
If this story is actually true:
You would have pictures
2 years ago
I would further note manafort had zero reason to visit assange at any of these times
Until Wikileaks published the dnc emails
Assange was considered a leftist
He was greatly at odds with those on the right
He was the bane of neo cons
Regardless we have been through this before
With Cohen and papadoulis and page and Flynn
And several others
The only real Russian collusion that has ever been found has been with the Clintonn campaign
When there is never any evidence of this
Are you going to continue to believe tin foil hat conspiracies ?
How much has to prove false before you realize you have been duped ?
Unfortunately I expect you will go to your grave believing trump Russia garbage
Because the alternative is too threatening
Do you understand that there is no evidence in public knowledge today that justifies opening an investigation into trump now much less in 2015
The legitimacy of The Whole investigation of trump rests on the presumption that mueller or others have information the rest of us do not that justifies the investigation
Otherwise we have worse than watergate
What do you want to bet this story goes the same way as the Cohen prague meeting story.
The gaurdian is already toning it down, They have revised the headline and altered several parts of the story to make the story less certain.
I have already noted that Assange is just about the most surveiled person in the world.
I forgot the fact that no one comes and goes from the london ecuadorian embassy without being photographed or videoed.
There is no log of Manafort going to the ecaudorina embassy at any of the alleged times.
There is no photographic evidence in a situation in which there should be dozens of photos.
It is near impossible to prove a negative.
And you will beleive anything.
My guess is you still beleive that Cohen went to prague.
I would also note the timing is wrong.
I would further note that meeting with Assange does not establish what you want.
Unless you can establish that Assange directed hacking of the DNC, what you have even if true which it is not, is Manafort meeting with someone who publishes leaked information.
You know, like meeting with Woodword and bernstein or the Washington Post or NY Times.
BTW this is also applicable to the Corsi stone nonsense.
Lets just say that Mueller is miraculously correct and Corsi or Stone had an inside connection to assange.
Unless Assange directed the attack on the DNC or in someway had before the fact participation – not merely knowlege, he is still nothing more than a publisher of leaked information – Like Wapo or NYT.
So Mueller has wasted an enormous amount of effort browbeating people over minor discrepancies in their remarks about something that is not a crime,
Again lets Assume that Corsi and Stone actually collaborated with Assange.
Lets say Assange told them of information that he hoped to have in the future.
You still have nothing.
Lets say that Assange was receiving this information from the Russians.
Still nothing.
Unless you can prove that Assange actually participated in illegally acquiring information.
And it is already established that a news publisher does not commit a crime by publishing illegallly obtained information,
Then you still have NOTHINg.
I have zero expectation that you will ever connect a trump surrogate to Assange.
That just did not happen.
But even if you did it gets you nowhere.
I would further note that even this garbage about minor mistatements to congress or Mueller.
If we are going to use a standard that narrow and send people to jail.
Why isn’t clinton and her staff and Comey and his staff in jail ?
Out and out interference with Congress?
“The White House has denied preventing the CIA director, Gina Haspel, from briefing the S
enate on the murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/27/jamal-khashoggi-murder-senate-briefing-saudi-arabia-gina-haspel-white-house
So ?
If congress cares they will get her
But this is all political theater
It is highly likely that MBs had khassoghi killed
There is nothing of consequence we are going to or should do about it
All of the angst is on the stupid pretense we should shift to engaging a state that greatly exceeds Saudi evil
And that is hard
I am confused. You are saying that it is intentional interference with congress if the white house does NOT prevent the CIA from talking to congress ?
Why is it that DOJ, CIA, FBI and apparently even MI6 can decide what congress NOT allowed to hear about US investigations, but the president does not ?
I want full disclosure of everything government related to congress.
I want it about Khassoghi, I want it about Mueller, Comey, McCabe, the Page FISA warrant, The FBI’s dealings with Fusion GPS, Steele, MI6. I want it about Halper, the CIA, and Mifsud.
If the information is actually classifed – provide it to congress in a classified setting.
Our executive branch can only deny congress ONE thing. Advice given to the president.
Trump rule #1 always blame someone else: “”So part of the disappointment is, ‘We made this deal, we worked with you along the way, we’ve done other things — mileage standards for example and other regulations. We’ve done this to help you, and I think his disappointment is it seems like they kind of turned their back on him.”
“The backdrop: U.S. automakers generally supported the USMCA, but mostly because it was considered preferable to Trump’s threats of ripping up NAFTA without a replacement, and additional tariff threats.”
https://www.axios.com/larry-kudlow-trump-betrayed-by-general-motors-701a664b-68a2-48fd-9a64-281642b746d7.html
Spin nothing more
Does trump use his power to levy tariffs and wage trade wars to get deals Tharp are better than current and closer to free trade ?
Absolutely
I am willing to discuss whether that is a moral tactic
But how can I do that with those who beleive the ends justifies the means ?
I do not like how trump does many things but I like the results
I did not like similar methods employed by democrats
And they got bad results
Woe is me, the caravan, the caravan. Well look to the skies, cause there is a bigger caravan landing every day and Trump is silent as usual.
“Visa overstays have become an increasingly significant share of unauthorized migration. Such immigrants, who typically have the means to enter the country legally but have not been granted permission to stay beyond a certain period, “probably constituted most of the recent unauthorized immigrant arrivals in 2016,” according to the report.”
Mummm……
“Scientists have again landed a spacecraft on a proverbial dime on a planet 40 million miles away that rotates at 241 metres per second. Think I’m gonna trust them on this climate change stuff.”
Has Trump yet tweeted that his ‘gut’ is telling him the landing hasn’t really happened?
Nobel prize winning physicists do not buy global warming
There are 40 nasa scientists who signed a paper challenging global warming
Btw while nasa has some incredible successes
It also has some inctpredible massive and stupid failures
You do not find armies of actual physicists mathematicians statisticians leading the global warming charge
Despite the fact that governments spend billions on global warming reasearch
The warmists are losing the battle of evidence to groups funded at best by Koch’s pocket change
This guy’s having a mental breakdown.
He needs to be removed from office, fast.
https://secondnexus.com/news/trump-retweets-political-enemies-jail-treason/
This is SCARY.
Straight jacket scary.
You spout this all the time
But what has trump actually done that is scary ?
Most everything has been improving
No journalists have been surveiled
Chill out
Let go of your outrage
Trump could have easily fired Rosenstein a month ago
And he should have
For some reason he seems to actually like Rosenstein
Treason is the wrong claim
But yes many of these people should be investigated and locked up
Criminal conduct under color of authority is far worse than alleged nonsense as a private citizen
Absent evidence that does not exist even today using the cia fbi doj and apparently mi6 to investigate a political opponent is the worst abuse of power is us history
Trump actually canceled his meeting with Putin because of the sailors and boat being held.
WTF is the matter with him, did he get some bad romaine lettuce, or what.
Satire warning for the oblivious among us.
If the news reported that trump spent 2:30 instead of