Donald John Trump: 2016 President-Elect

[Rapunzel]

I'm watching LOD, and he is talking about how KAC is actually “bragging” about Trump’s ability to help or hurt businesses with his Tweets. LOD states that KAC is “especially proud” about Tubby’s attempts to help a Japanese Company and hurt an important American Company.

LOD sarcastically points out that that is what the POTUS is supposed to do – “help Japan and hurt America.”

LOD then shows a clip of KAC on “Squawk Box” on CNBC where she states that Tubby has this platform, meaning Twitter, that he can use to affect the stock market, industry, etc. She brags about him telling Boeing to cancel the project/put it on hold due to expenses and this caused their stocks to drop a little (she makes it sound like a ton). She fails to mention, however, that the stock had recovered before the end of the day (this goes back to Wall Street and others knowing not to take Trump seriously at this point).

In addition, as I mentioned in a previous post, planes have to be ordered as the current Air Force One planes are over 25 years old. The lead time to build these highly specialized and customized planes is 8-10 years. Obama commissioned the designs for the new planes, but no order for actual planes has been placed yet. If Trump does not place the order with Boeing, a  US Company, the only other company in the world who can make large commercial aircraft is Airbus, a French company. If Trump wants to keep jobs in the US, he will quit bashing Boeing (his motives for doing so are suspect - they sell about 25% of their planes, 737s in particular, to China, which is likely what may be agitating Tubby at the moment) and place the order. If he wants to keep jobs in the US, he has to issue the order with Boeing. Try to negotiate pricing, fine - but don't just cancel an order due to some odd vendetta against China (whom Trump and family themselves employ to manufacture their own goods and also purchase steel from and who Trump himself has borrowed tons of money from) and give an order to a French company when you have pledged to keep jobs in the US.

KAC also talks about the $50 billion (“and that’s with a ‘b’” she makes sure to state – I have another word for KAC that begins with a “B”…) investment by Softbank from Japan, which caused their stock to go up. However, the details of that deal as Trump and KAC describe them, are, of course, not entirely accurate. This money is not coming from Softbank because Trump was elected. This fund, which is jointly funded by Saudi Arabia (which Trump never mentions), was negotiated prior to the election.

LOD said it best when the clip was over: “And there you have another major entry into the file of stupidest things KellyAnn Conway has ever said.”

I mentioned this in a post a while back now, but KellyAnn looks just like a Hexenbeast (a type of witch that is horrid looking) from Grimm. Someone, at the time I originally posted it (I apologize that I can’t remember who it was), had a great graphic of one of the Grimm Hexenbeasts (Adalind – for those who are familiar with the show) and they posted it. The resemblance of Adalind in her Hexenbeast form to KAC is really astounding.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Rapunzel

[windsprints]

via twitter.  Discuss.

 

[Rapunzel]

1 hour ago, windsprints said:

via twitter.  Discuss.

 

Is Burnett trying to lose ratings for his other shows? Given this, and the fact that he wouldn't release certain footage pre-election from "The Apprentice," which would have helped to prove that Trump is a misogynist, racist, bigoted POS, I have already deleted "Survivor," and any other show he is associated with, from my DVR and will never watch another one of his shows again.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Rapunzel

[bittersweet4149]

Whatever, Burnett. Fuck you and your pseudo-Christian values. I may be just one person, but I'll never watch a Burnett produced show again.

[BookWoman56]

39 minutes ago, windsprints said:

via twitter.  Discuss.

 

Holy fuck. So, we're already at the bread and circuses stage? Only without the bread? (Because it's not like Trump or the Republicans believe in actually providing food to hungry people.)

When I saw this, the first thing that popped into my head was why I dislike some modern singers/performers. When I see a singer/performer on stage with a dozen or so dancers, intense choreography, and a fucking bedazzled microphone, I cannot help but suspect those elements are there to distract from the fact that the song lyrics are insipid, the melody is the musical equivalent of a paint-by-numbers production, and the lead singer has a vocal range of three notes, two of which are flat. With Trump, I get that he is a black hole of neediness for people telling him how wonderful he is, but I also can't help feeling that so much of this OTT so-called thank you tour, twitter rants, and politics as entertainment nonsense is meant to distract the populace from the appointments he is making of unqualified and/or reprehensible right-wing nutjobs, and he'll continue to use these tactics while he and his cronies rob the country blind, strip away our civil rights, and leave his working class supporters holding empty bags of what should have been their social security benefits, etc.

[Padma]

Let's not be too hasty about Burnett. The idea to replicate the "Survivor" finale (arrival in the decorated set to anoint the winner) might have some hidden merit.

What if Tubby flies by helicopter from NYC and arrives on the inaugural stage (decorated in a jungle theme, like, say "Costa Rica").  Since Tubby knows nothing about the Constitution, Jeff Probst is there to greet him, crowds cheer as Probst reminds everyone of the big electoral college vote "That made you our season winner!"  A picture of Tubby on the cover of TIME flashes on the Jumbo tron behind him.  Crowd goes wild.

Tubby puts his hand on something--maybe the "Bible" for the Apprentice?--and Probst swears him in as the winner. People cheer, Tubby gives his victory address, the crowd chants, "Lock her up!" on cue to make him happy and he goes off in triumph to the WH.

Only...only....he never realizes that he's not actually our president! And no one tells him because the GOP is actually scared, too!  This way, one misstep, and ... he's out of there, no impeachment needed.  And as long as people kiss his ample ass and everyone calls him "Mr. President" and butter up his ego, he never knows it was never, actually, you know, legal.

Oh, a fantasy, true... but...but short of a meteor striking Trump Tower in the next month, that's pretty much all the hope we've got for now. :(  It doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

Edited December 8, 2016 by Padma

[Rapunzel]

2 minutes ago, Padma said:

Let's not be too hasty about Burnett. The idea to replicate the "Survivor" finale (arrival in the decorated set to anoint the winner) might have some hidden merit.

What if Tubby flies by helicopter from NYC and arrives on the inaugural stage (decorated in a jungle theme, like, say "Costa Rica").  Since Tubby knows nothing about the Constitution, Jeff Probst is there to greet him, crowds cheer as they recount the electoral college vote "That made you our season winner!"

Tubby puts his hand on something--maybe the "Bible" for the Apprentice?--and Probst swears him in as the winner. People cheer, Tubby gives his victory address, the crowd chants, "Lock her up!" on cue to make him happy and he goes off in triumph to the WH.

Only...only....he never realizes that he's not actually our president! And no one tells him because the GOP is actually scared, too!  This way, one misstep, and ... he's out of there, no impeachment needed.  And as long as people kiss his ample ass and everyone calls him "Mr. President" and butters up his ego, he never knows it was never, actually, you know, legal.

Oh, a fantasy, true... but...but short of a meteor striking Trump Tower in the next month, that's pretty much all the hope we've got for now. :(  It doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

It doesn't hurt to dream, but if Burnett wanted to help, he would have released the unedited footage from "The Apprentice" prior to the election. Some of the footage is said to be quite misogynist, racist, shows his volatile and irrational personality, etc.

In any case, had additional, controversial footage of Tubby being a misogynistic, racist, biased, bigoted, piece of shit been released (as is supposedly on The Apprentice tapes), it would have made things more interesting and, combined with Pussygate and other offenses from Tubby, would have put what Hillary was really accused of, which essentially boils down to some e-mails and using a private server, which others (even republicans, including Condi Rice) have done before, into perspective. This is particularly true given that Hillary was investigated more than once and found to have done nothing wrong.

Who knows who might have been swayed if Burnett had the balls to release the unedited footage from The Apprentice? At the very least, it would have been out there and it would have given people the opportunity to make more of an informed decision.

In any case, as I mentioned in a previous post, I will never watch another Burnett show. He helped Tubby get to where he is. His shows need to lose ratings and he needs to feel some pain from all of this.

[Padma]

I agree about Burnett and The Apprentice tapes (at least he could have let someone "steal" one and release it that way, like Access Hollywood did, no fingerprints).  But Trump's a co-exec producer of the show so I don't know what legalities Burnett may have been faced with. Tubby was--still is--his business partner.

And, on the other hand ... shouldn't Pussygate have been enough?  Plus, there was everything else!  It's not like we didn't know TONS of terrible things already about this awful man out in the public sphere.  So many!   

Of course, for Hillary, she had--OMG!--emails (and "Benghazi!") and the media went right along with Trump in portraying it as one of the great ethical breaches of the world. (And never stopped telling voters that Trump had negatives but "people don't like her either!"  Well, maybe if the media had talked more about their policies and less about the horse race and the emotions--and had shown less wall-to-wall Trump rallies--and done more fact-checking of what he said there--the polling results would have been different. After all, when people actually WATCHED her (as in the debates)--rather than listen to Tubby's ever-present sound bites about her--her favorable numbers went up.

Burnett has nothing to be proud of, but I'm not sure that releasing Apprentice tapes would have made a difference. Maybe it would have confirmed to a lot of voters that "Yay! He's a racist!" and his other supporters would have said, "Eh, he's just playing an obnoxious boss for the drama on the show. He doesn't really mean it."  He seems like a really unusual case, where people "fell in love" and were willing to project a lot onto him and overlook a lot of negatives that were really there that they might not like.  I think he's right that he could have shot someone on 5th Avenue and not lost any votes. "Tough guy! Self defense!" 

And I still think the election results were dishonest in the 3 blue states and probably Fl. and NC, too, not that we'll ever get the numbers to know one way or the other.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Padma

[Ceindreadh]

7 hours ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

You have a link to it? I haven't found it on his Facebook yet.

I think he may have deleted it...or I could be mis-remembering whose timeline it was on (facepalm). 

[QQQQ]

Mad Dog Mattis, famous quotes;

1. “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

5. “Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

----------

Sounds like Mad Dog attended a Betsy DeVos charter school.

[Duke Silver]

SMH.  The Bully In Chief is such a moron.  So many things I want to say.

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/806701537141682176

 

Donald Trump just insulted a union leader on Twitter. Then the phone started to ring.

[Chicken Wing]

I swear to God, if any of us make it out of the next four years alive it'll be a fucking miracle.

[Duke Silver]

Trump addresses racial hate speech/violence only w/ sterile, perfunctory statements.  He waits days to say anything about the Ohio State incident.  But if someone (correctly) criticizes him?  He immediately unleashes Twitter.  Fucking buffoon.

[suomi]

14 hours ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Yep it is. I don't think I want to know.

This fits him. Bless Carly Simon.

Source: cnn.com

"Your face, it was apricot." Yay, Carly! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Edited December 8, 2016 by suomi

[MulletorHater]

20 hours ago, Padma said:

I wish their "Man of the Year" had been a montage of authoritarians--Trump, Erdogan, Putin and Farage--with some title like Rise of Authoritarians" or even better, leave out Putin and call them the Men of the Year with the title "Putin's Puppets?"

At the very least it should have been a tribute to the craven, spineless and overly ambitious men and women who rolled over and sold and normalized evil just to have a seat at the trough.  This is especially true of those who know that this Thing is dangerously unqualified, is a conman, and supposedly doesn't represent real conservative values.  Yes, I'm looking at you:  Christie the Hapless Jester, Ghouliani the Fool, Nikki Haley, Mitch the Turtle, Lyin' Ryan, Mittens Romney, thirsty Little Marco Rubio, Rancid Preibus, Democrats who want to appease the incoming fuhrer and answered his (or his daughter's) summonses only to get dissed, and so many others.

"Persons of the Year," or i.e. "Drumpf's Bitches," would have been quite apropos in this instance.

[random chance]

8 hours ago, Rapunzel said:

Who knows who might have been swayed if Burnett had the balls to release the unedited footage from The Apprentice? At the very least, it would have been out there and it would have given people the opportunity to make more of an informed decision.

 

7 hours ago, Padma said:

And, on the other hand ... shouldn't Pussygate have been enough?  Plus, there was everything else!  It's not like we didn't know TONS of terrible things already about this awful man out in the public sphere.  So many! 

Yes I agree, it wouldn't have mattered, we already knew about a thousand horrifying things that should have put paid to him but his supporters did not care. (Frankly, any racism or misogyny probably would have just given him a boost.) The only way it would have made a difference is if the tapes revealed that Trump was Muslim, an illegal Mexican, gay, used orange spray tan to disguise his black skin, or paid for abortions. And even then it might have taken all of those things.

Not that I have any problem boycotting Burnett regardless, but I already don't watch any of his shows.

[Duke Silver]

^^  Agree completely with @random chance 's take.  Based on Trump voters I've encountered, more racial hate/misogyny would've only served to arouse them more in their support.  Those things were not a net-negative for Trump, and we need to stop trying to view his campaign rhetoric through a normal lens.  Burnett can still go fuck himself, because he's just being opportunistic like so many others.  I can't stand his versions of reality tv, so no loss for me.  I wasn't watching anyway.

[Chicken Wing]

It's apparent that while some Trump voters embrace his hateful nationalist rhetoric, the majority did not vote for him because of these things but rather in spite of them. But as I've said, even if you don't actively support such things, by deciding it was not disqualifying you are in effect a tacit supporter and enabler -- which is barely better than being an out and out actual racist like the true deplorables making up a minority of his fan club. That said, I agree that additional and even more horrifying Trump rhetoric would have not swayed these voters, as they clearly demonstrated that they didn't care about anything else other than the desperate, mindless need for change of any kind and/or the lure of even the possibility of economic improvement -- as many supporters admit they don't know or even quite believe Trump will do many if any of the things he's promised regarding jobs, but they voted for him anyway because he at least addressed it. (??) Since people will disregard racism, sexism, fascism and the like as long as they are given the opportunity to delude themselves with the idea of jobs coming back from the past, then I suppose the only thing we could reveal about Donald Trump that would make them change their minds is that he isn't actually rich and doesn't know a damn thing about running a business. They could have video of him punching women in the face or screaming the n-word at people at the top of his lungs, but only if his business acumen was proven to be a sham would people turn away. Forget racist and sexist rhetoric bombshells. Show his tax returns.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Chicken Wing

[Rapunzel]

41 minutes ago, random chance said:

 

Yes I agree, it wouldn't have mattered, we already knew about a thousand horrifying things that should have put paid to him but his supporters did not care. (Frankly, any racism or misogyny probably would have just given him a boost.) The only way it would have made a difference is if the tapes revealed that Trump was Muslim, an illegal Mexican, gay, used orange spray tan to disguise his black skin, or paid for abortions. And even then it might have taken all of those things.

Not that I have any problem boycotting Burnett regardless, but I already don't watch any of his shows.

To be clear, I was referring mainly to those who didn't bother to vote at all or who voted for a Green Party/Independent candidate out of protest. Those who are staunch Trump supporters are what they are. Maybe it would have swayed some of them who voted for him out of protest and didn't really like him either, but, generally speaking, the footage from The Apprentice (not just the edits from the program itself - there is, apparently, also footage of him treating the crew poorly), should have been released in the interests of full disclosure. Maybe it would have persuaded some who didn't vote at all or who cast a "protest vote" to vote differently. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. We'll never know now and that's the problem.

[numbnut]

4 hours ago, Chicken Wing said:

I swear to God, if any of us make it out of the next four years alive it'll be a fucking miracle.

IKR? His childlike focus on his soon-to-be POTUS title and lack of interest in the actual job is what scares me the most. On Seth Meyers, Michael Moore references Bush and 9/11 as he implores Trump to attend his daily security briefings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_nciu0mBfo&feature=em-uploademail

[Lunata]

11 hours ago, Rapunzel said:

I'm watching LOD, and he is talking about how KAC is actually “bragging” about Trump’s ability to help or hurt businesses with his Tweets. LOD states that KAC is “especially proud” about Tubby’s attempts to help a Japanese Company and hurt an important American Company.

LOD sarcastically points out that that is what the POTUS is supposed to do – “help Japan and hurt America.”

LOD then shows a clip of KAC on “Squawk Box” on CNBC where she states that Tubby has this platform, meaning Twitter, that he can use to affect the stock market, industry, etc. She brags about him telling Boeing to cancel the project/put it on hold due to expenses and this caused their stocks to drop a little (she makes it sound like a ton). She fails to mention, however, that the stock had recovered before the end of the day (this goes back to Wall Street and others knowing not to take Trump seriously at this point).

In addition, as I mentioned in a previous post, planes have to be ordered as the current Air Force One planes are over 25 years old. The lead time to build these highly specialized and customized planes is 8-10 years. Obama commissioned the designs for the new planes, but no order for actual planes has been placed yet. If Trump does not place the order with Boeing, a  US Company, the only other company in the world who can make large commercial aircraft is Airbus, a French company. If Trump wants to keep jobs in the US, he will quit bashing Boeing (his motives for doing so are suspect - they sell about 25% of their planes, 737s in particular, to China, which is likely what may be agitating Tubby at the moment) and place the order. If he wants to keep jobs in the US, he has to issue the order with Boeing. Try to negotiate pricing, fine - but don't just cancel an order due to some odd vendetta against China (whom Trump and family themselves employ to manufacture their own goods and also purchase steel from and who Trump himself has borrowed tons of money from) and give an order to a French company when you have pledged to keep jobs in the US.

KAC also talks about the $50 billion (“and that’s with a ‘b’” she makes sure to state – I have another word for KAC that begins with a “B”…) investment by Softbank from Japan, which caused their stock to go up. However, the details of that deal as Trump and KAC describe them, are, of course, not entirely accurate. This money is not coming from Softbank because Trump was elected. This fund, which is jointly funded by Saudi Arabia (which Trump never mentions), was negotiated prior to the election.

LOD said it best when the clip was over: “And there you have another major entry into the file of stupidest things KellyAnn Conway has ever said.”

I mentioned this in a post a while back now, but KellyAnn looks just like a Hexenbeast (a type of witch that is horrid looking) from Grimm. Someone, at the time I originally posted it (I apologize that I can’t remember who it was), had a great graphic of one of the Grimm Hexenbeasts (Adalind – for those who are familiar with the show) and they posted it. The resemblance of Adalind in her Hexenbeast form to KAC is really astounding.

In his CNN appearance last night, Robert Reich was especially horrified by the fact that Donald Trump was able to cause a drop in the stock prices of two companies simply by engaging in a twitter war with them. But Kellyanne Conway thought this was a powerful and wonderful display of his power and boasted about Trump's ability to do this. This is nothing less than 'gangster capitalism' and Kellyanne is smug and bragging about it. She takes great pleasure knowing that Donald Trump has so much power that he can cause havoc for a large and powerful company like Boeing if they dare oppose him. She was pleased that their stock immediately dropped 1.5%, and later recovered the loss, but it was a result of his tweet against them. As you mentioned @Rapunzel, she bragged at how Trump went down to the lobby in front of the media and announced a 50 billion dollar (that's with a B) investment by Softbank and their stocks went up. SoftBank has pledged $25 billion over the next five years. Immediately their stock went up. Saudi Arabia is planning to contribute $45 billion over the same period from its Public Investment Fund. Isn't this the same thing that Donald Trump criticized Hillary Clinton of doing and vowing to 'lock her up' over it?

The thing that matters here, as Robert Reich stated, “No one, not a CEO, nobody on television, no journalist, nobody” to criticize him under any circumstance, merely because it offends Trump. You are going to have at your command not just Twitter but also the CIA, the IRS, the FBI. If you have this kind of thin-skinned vindictiveness attitude toward anybody who criticizes you, we are in very deep trouble, and, sir, so are you.” Which companies will dare to oppose him. Which private individuals, government agencies, heads of state or members of Congress and Senate will openly oppose Donald Trump when he can easily destroy them on Twitter? This is his method to suppress free speech.

Yes, she's the spitting image of Grimms, Hexenbiest

[SmithW6079]

17 hours ago, callmebetty said:

"a government of  the government ,  for the government and by the government shall not perish from the Earth!"

We  are all well and truly fucked.

I believe you mean, "a government of the corporation, for the corporation and by the corporation..."

But spot on about the "well and truly fucked." I've been saying that since the election. 

13 minutes ago, Lunata said:

Yes, [Kellyanne Conway] is the spitting image of Grimm's Hexenbiest

That's insulting to hexenbeists.

Edited December 8, 2016 by SmithW6079

[DollEyes]

On 12/6/2016 at 0:40 PM, Lunata said:

I don't think that it's only the Democrats that have some soul-searching to do. Let's be honest, our government has been guilty of a lot of things on both sides of the fence, Republican and Democrat. The fact that the government is run 'for the people and by the people' is pure fantasy that government perpetuates because it serves their agenda, it helps to control masses of people. People believe they have a voice in government and the fact is we don't, none of us. Money controls our government. This particular election proved to all of us that it wouldn't have mattered one bit who ran against Donald Trump. If it wasn't Hillary, or Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden or even Jesus Christ, they would have lost this election. Why? Because the minds of voters were manipulated because they were vulnerable and able to be manipulated. People feel that the banks were allowed to screw them and take their homes from under them and despite that they got bailed out by the government. They are angry and pissed off about that. But it's those same people that were not thinking about how they were going to pay back their huge mortgage that they simply could not afford. They wanted the American dream, their own home. They wanted a new SUV. They wanted a new Mac Pro and had to have the newest Smartphone when it came out on the market even--if it cost over $600. People are greedy consumers and they weren't and still aren't smart about their own greed.

The intentional ignoring of the government to not only rein in that impulse in Americans to consume voraciously, but to encourage it was deliberate. It created a precariously balanced economy that would create a false economy and artificial stock market. Looks good to people when they see the stock market rising, the housing market recovering and jobs created. In August 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 255,000 new jobs were created. Great! you say. But that number includes part-time workers without benefits and they count a person working two jobs as two employed persons. So the numbers in August were like this;

Professional and business services led the way with 70,000 new positions, while health care rose 43,000 and Wall Street jobs increased by 18,000. Leisure and hospitality continued to be a big contributor to job growth, adding 45,000. Government added 38,000 to the total.

Job losses came in mining and logging (-7,000), while construction added 14,000 and manufacturing grew by 9,000.

There you go, this is a part of the reason why people in the 'rust belt' of Ohio for instance, felt that Democrats were just not paying attention to their needs, and they were hurt badly by this lack of focus on their welfare. The blue collar worker living in those depressed manufacturing areas are certainly not going to become a financial services or health care professional overnight. But they don't want to be either. They want back what they lost and heard Trump tell them that's exactly what he planned to do.

I partially agree. Both major political parties have made big mistakes for centuries, but I still feel like we do have a voice in government, although it might not seem like it now. At the risk of aging myself, I've been voting for decades and while some of my candidates won and others lost, I always had a choice and I use it every chance I get because too many people have fought and/or died for me to take it for granted. As for the voters' minds/choices in general and about Trump in particular, people are ultimately responsible for their own actions. If people choose to live beyond their means, that's their own fault. Same re Trump, who told people what he thought they wanted to hear and it's already starting to backfire, like the Carrier deal, when he said that 1,000 people would get their jobs back, but when local Union President Chuck Jones exposed that lie for the bullshit it is, Trump attacked him -on Twitter, of course- and blamed the workers for companies outsourcing jobs, like the bosses had no choice in the matter. Those Ohio voters who know what Trump is capable of but picked him anyway get no free passes from me, whether they voted for Obama or not. When Trump disappoints them, which he inevitably will, they can't say that nobody-especially Hillary-didn't warn them. To paraphrase Malcolm X, "[They've] been had. [They] been took. [They] been bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Led astray. Run amok." 

Re "Person Of the Year," if Time were smart, they would have made both Trump and Hillary "People Of the Year," put them on separate covers and seen which one sold best, aka "got the popular vote." 

[AntiBeeSpray]

8 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

I think he may have deleted it...or I could be mis-remembering whose timeline it was on (facepalm). 

Ah I see. 

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, Rapunzel said:

To be clear, I was referring mainly to those who didn't bother to vote at all or who voted for a Green Party/Independent candidate out of protest. Those who are staunch Trump supporters are what they are. Maybe it would have swayed some of them who voted for him out of protest and didn't really like him either, but, generally speaking, the footage from The Apprentice (not just the edits from the program itself - there is, apparently, also footage of him treating the crew poorly), should have been released in the interests of full disclosure. Maybe it would have persuaded some who didn't vote at all or who cast a "protest vote" to vote differently. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. We'll never know now and that's the problem.

And, here's another F-U to those voters who sat their asses home in protest, or who in a fit of selfishness and pique, decided to "teach the Democrats a lesson."

Drumpf Taps Fast Food Exec as Secretary of Labor

This man is the chief executive of the company that operates Hardees and Carl's, Jr.  And, guess what?  He is against the minimum wage for workers and has been an outspoken critic of the protections put in place by President Obama.  In addition, he's opposed efforts to expand the eligibility for overtime pay.

All I can say is that I hope the purists and BoB's are fucking satisfied.  The same thing applies to those who couldn't be bothered because Hillary didn't "excite" them.  The last time I checked, we were voting for a qualified candidate--not looking to date or marry her.  I don't want to hear nary a peep from any of them as this country slides from an Oligarchy into an Idiotcracy.  Although the schadenfreude is quite delicious, those who are now regretting their vote for the orange shit stain can also take a seat in one of those half-empty stadiums that their future fuhrer is staging his praise and worship rallies in.  I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It.

[sistermagpie]

6 minutes ago, DollEyes said:

like the Carrier deal, when he said that 1,000 people would get their jobs back, but when local Union President Chuck Jones exposed that lie for the bullshit it is, Trump attacked him -on Twitter, of course- and blamed the workers for companies outsourcing jobs, like the bosses had no choice in the matter.

That's a pretty common way of seeing it, it seems. There was an article linked on the forum recently blaming workers agitating for a higher minimum wage for work at fast food places with fast food places wanting to go to self-checkout. I'm not any authority on exactly what everybody there was thinking or exactly how the situation broke down, but it seemed strange to me to suggest that it was up to workers to accept anything gratefully and only if they got "greedy" would corporations look for cheaper alternatives. Like they aren't looking for that anyway. It just seemed like a really hopeless lesson for workers. Either work and not have enough money to live on or be punished and not have enough money to live on. I don't think CVS workers have made a push for higher wages and they've got self checkout.

It reminded me of a clip from years ago when somebody on Fox was using Downton Abbey as an example of how things should run, the way that everybody just lived their lives happily grateful to the rich guy for being nice enough to give them jobs. I assume that's part of the reason behind the term "job creators" being a new synonym for rich people, as though being rich immediately means you're giving people jobs, and that jobs are like presents.

It's just doubly ironic that the guy who's actually trying to get the workers a better deal is now being threatened for pointing out the reality of his worker's situation. Because the point of that deal isn't helping workers, it's Trump getting praise for helping workers.

[Padma]

1 hour ago, Chicken Wing said:

Since people will disregard racism, sexism, fascism and the like as long as they are given the opportunity to delude themselves with the idea of jobs coming back from the past, then I suppose the only thing we could reveal about Donald Trump that would make them change their minds is that he isn't actually rich and doesn't know a damn thing about running a business. They could have video of him punching women in the face or screaming the n-word at people at the top of his lungs, but only if his business acumen was proven to be a sham would people turn away. Forget racist and sexist rhetoric bombshells. Show his tax returns.

But wasn't there already PLENTY of evidence for this, too?  Six (six!!!!) Ch 11 bankruptcies!  Bankruptcy. That does not say "good businessman" despite Trump's (insulting) insistence that passing on the costs of his poor management to the rest of us just shows he's "smart".  (On a different note, polls show 30% of Latinos voted for him. How is that possible?)

USA Today did a great piece on some of the many, many "little people" he stiffed through the years--not only because of the bankruptcies but because he "negotiates" how much he will REALLY pay them after the work is done when they have no recourse (they could sue, of course, but he knows it hurts them more than him.  3400 lawsuits.  Doesn't that say "lousy businessman" too?  While he was running for president, he was even SUING the city of Washington, DC because there, as elsewhere, he didn't think HE should have to pay property taxes at the same rate as everyone else!

40 years and no prop tax paid for Trump Tower.  That robs the city of services, but Tubby doesn't care. It's all me, me, me.  People who didn't see it just didn't want to see it.

No tax returns. Not for 2015, "under audit" (lol) But how about any OTHER year? Before 2009, when the IRS doesn't care --ever-- anymore?

Now polls show 67% of Americans don't see any reason for him to divest himself of his overseas businesses. Emoluments clause? Conflict of interest that could hurt our national security in many ways? Who cares?

I don't understand it, but for those who support him, Tubby gets to play by a different set of rules.  Things other people would do that they would criticize, for Donald Trump, they just don't care about it.

[callmebetty]

15 hours ago, Lunata said:

I almost spit out my iced tea at the television. Robert Reich was on CNN via satellite. Jeffrey Lord was there in the studio on the panel. If you aren't familiar with Professor Robert Reich, he's one of the most respected commentators ever to speak on television. Here's his credentials....

'Reich is currently Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He was formerly a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and professor of social and economic policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University. He has also been a contributing editor of The New Republic, The American Prospect (also chairman and founding editor), Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.'

This is the good part. Anderson Cooper asked him to give his opinion of Donald Trump criticizing the Steel Workers Union President on Twitter. I actually wrote down all he said. I was DYING. Donald Trump is going to shit a brick, and I loved it.

"With all due respect, Mr. Trump. You are President-elect of the United States. You are looking and acting as if you are mean, and petty, thin-skinned, and vindictive. Stop this! This is not a fireside chat. This is not what FDR did. This isn't lifting people up. This is actually penalizing people for speaking their mind. What you did with Boeing the other day. Minutes after the CEO of Boeing was quoted as saying that you, Mr. Trump, President elect Trump, were wrong on International trade, what did you do? You tweeted that Boeing should have an order cancelled. What you called a $4 billion dollar order. And that meant Boeing's own prices, its share prices plummeted. So in other words, what you, Mr. Trump, what you would like is for no one, not a CEO, nobody on television, no journalist, nobody, to criticize you. You take offense at that. Well, you are going to be President very shortly. You are going to have at your command not just twitter, but also the CIA, the IRS, the FBI.  If you have this kind of thin-skinned vindictiveness attitude towards anybody that criticizes you, we are in very deep trouble. And...sir, so are you."

Jeffrey Lord commented. "well I think this is being vastly overblown. This is just a modern form of communication".  To which Robert Reich replied "Well this is the 21st century and Twitter as a medium that communicates directly. This isn't Harry Truman. This is about specific personal criticism. This is bullying".  Jeffrey Lord; "oh come on".

Oh! the video is up on Youtube already!

 

Thank you for posting the link. after watching it is got to see more of the panel discussion .  Fucking Jeffrey Lord either delusional or maybe smart like a fox. He knows what Reich says is true but to protect himself personally.

Reich is correct how many people are going to be audited by the IRS? Investigated by the FBI ? If he decides that anything they say hurts his feelings or shows him up?  Not just rich people ,  CEOs or businesses,  but regular old Joe's like Chuck Jones.

What if he finds out Sally on Twitter says something about him suddenly is she going to get a knock on the door? That's what I'm afraid of.

Edited December 8, 2016 by callmebetty

[AntiBeeSpray]

35 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

And, here's another F-U to those voters who sat their asses home in protest, or who in a fit of selfishness and pique, decided to "teach the Democrats a lesson."

Drumpf Taps Fast Food Exec as Secretary of Labor

This man is the chief executive of the company that operates Hardees and Carl's, Jr.  And, guess what?  He is against the minimum wage for workers and has been an outspoken critic of the protections put in place by President Obama.  In addition, he's opposed efforts to expand the eligibility for overtime pay.

All I can say is that I hope the purists and BoB's are fucking satisfied.  The same thing applies to those who couldn't be bothered because Hillary didn't "excite" them.  The last time I checked, we were voting for a qualified candidate--not looking to date or marry her.  I don't want to hear nary a peep from any of them as this country slides from an Oligarchy into an Idiotcracy.  Although the schadenfreude is quite delicious, those who are now regretting their vote for the orange shit stain can also take a seat in one of those half-empty stadiums that their future fuhrer is staging his praise and worship rallies in.  I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It.

Wow. What an asshole. Let's see HIM try to survive on less than minimum wage.

[Padma]

Anderson Cooper is doing an interview with Robert Reich and freaking Jeffrey Lord gets to be involved in challenging Reich?  Why?  Who the hell is Jeffrey Lord and why does CNN keep these know-nothing surrogates on my television?

(Well, not unfortunately, on my television anymore. Because I hate them and won't watch them. I'm a fan of Reich, though, and would like to hear what he has to say.  I'm also positive that Cooper is capable of questioning him and engaging him critically in conversation without any "help" from Jeffrey Lord.)

What is wrong with CNN?

[ari333]

17 hours ago, stormy said:

Al Gore should have done himself a favor and stayed under the rock where he'd been the past 16 years.

He could have spent some of the time during those years to try to abolish the electoral college.  He campaigned in Florida with Hillary about the whole winner takes nothing and that made him ripe for doughy butt to call in him to disgrace him days later.

There are so many ex-military and rich friends of doughy butt in his cabinet, I'm thinking an inside war.  They're never going to get along with each other, with doughy butt and his kids that think they're in charge of this hot mess too.

And the Mattis thing?  That's just the first of the fuck the system, I can do what I want because the dems have no power and the republicans will do whatever I want.  That's why doughy butt gave McConnell's wife a job.  Now he's indebted to doughy butt.

This is how I feel but you already said it.... THIS^^^^

I'm neutral ish on Gore, but I think he did some good, tried to -  for the environment. But I was sickened that he lowered himself and  met with this orange bastard.

I feel humiliated as an American....HUMILIATED... that this effing turd will be our president.. barring the universe intervening. Or some EC folks doing the right thing on Dec 19.  

[izabella]

28 minutes ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Wow. What an asshole. Let's see HIM try to survive on less than minimum wage.

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Trump has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Trump is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Trump doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Trump gives a shit about them.

[AntiBeeSpray]

2 minutes ago, izabella said:

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Drumpf has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Drumpf is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Drumpf doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Drumpf gives a shit about them.

Yep. But like the old saying goes, 'there's a sucker born every minute'. They fell for everything he said.

[callmebetty]

1 minute ago, izabella said:

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Trump has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Trump is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Trump doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Trump gives a shit about them.

Because nothing had been enacted yet. Wait a year or two and let's see how many of the same people are at the rallies or outside protesting them. 

Or they just will never blame him it will be someone else's fault . 

[Padma]

6 minutes ago, callmebetty said:

Or they just will never blame him it will be someone else's fault . 

That one. And he'll help them do it.  Hopefully, it won't be a scapegoat that we all fear it will--a minority group, a foreign country.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Padma

[callmebetty]

Just now, Padma said:

That one. And he'll help them do it.

Sigh. I know that, but you always hope for some sunshine . 

I will laugh heartily because he'll be throwing the swamp creatures at the upset masses for them to focus their attentions and death threats on.  

[ari333]

26 minutes ago, izabella said:

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Trump has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Trump is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Trump doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Trump gives a shit about them.

I cant add anything. you said it  ^^^THIS

[ari333]

I feel hesitant to say what I've heard around here in real life bc it sounds horrible. Some .... can I say ill-informed redneck type people? (I am part redneck so I can say it) They voted for rump and now are crying, "what ?our overtime?  ?" "What? our health insurance?' Yep.... but they chose rump for their guns... the unborn... and the "fucking Mexicans." and I quote.

Well, the love of my life ....who took care of me when I had a stroke is a" fucking Mexican."so there's that and I feel it. And I get angry. 

[candall]

15 hours ago, Padma said:

I hate it that I have so little confidence in Trump's Cabinet choices that I actually am more hopeful that Mattis, as a four star general with bipartisan praise, would do more to respect the Constitution (especially re: president's overreach) than any--any--others in this group, including the Pres & VP.  

Mattis, maybe alone, can stand up to Trump and is a smart guy who knows the Constitution. To my surprise, I'm hoping for his confirmation.

But he didn't even come close to saying Hillary operates a child pedophile ring out of the basement of a DC pizza parlor, so HE'S BETTER THAN FLYNN.

O_o

Seriously, the argument is that he's a four-star general and Flynn's a three-star general, so everyone has their fingers crossed Mattis might be able to keep a firm grip on Flynn's choke chain.  'Cause Flynn's fucking psychotic.

I know we're all desensitized to charges of "insanity" because it applies to . . . all of them! and everything they say and do! all day! every day!

But if a few of those MSNBC people I'm glued to between 2 and 5a.m.--because who can sleep?--cautiously suggest Mattis might be the adult representative in a room full of toddlers, okay. 

It's kind of like how the chance Ivanka's going to save the last polar bear from drowning is only one in a million, but those are still better odds, for the bear, than zero chances in a million.

Ah!  And speaking of environmental activists, cough, Leonardo DiCaprio makes his way to the Golden Elevator. 

***************

It was sad listening to the Steelworker Union guy explain that all the Carrier people who heard DT announce "I saved 1100 jobs today!!" were thrilled, thinking that meant each of them might be one of the 1100 retained.  But the Union guy was stunned, party of one, because he knew--even while he was listening to DT brag--that the actual numbers hadn't been figured out yet.

 No surprise to us here that DT would throw out a grossly inflated, purely fictitious number just to get that crack hit of approval he's always jonesing for.  But Union guy thought it was outrageous, so tweeting that DT was "lying out his a**" was a pretty mild rebuke, considering.

Now the Union guy has had threats against his kids, DT twitter slammed him personally, some of his colleagues disapproved of him criticizing the President-Elect, and right now he's on tv, definitely looking all beaten down and exhausted.  He's still willing to own up to being a Bernie man, though!

 

Yep, that should help quash any future pushback from the little people.  Union guy's lucky he got in under the wire before criminalization of criticism is enacted and he had to serve jail time.

Edited December 8, 2016 by candall

[KerleyQ]

1 hour ago, Padma said:

But wasn't there already PLENTY of evidence for this, too?  Six (six!!!!) Ch 11 bankruptcies!  Bankruptcy. That does not say "good businessman" despite Trump's (insulting) insistence that passing on the costs of his poor management to the rest of us just shows he's "smart".  (On a different note, polls show 30% of Latinos voted for him. How is that possible?)

They say his bankruptcies were, and I quote, "a valid business strategy."  

37 minutes ago, izabella said:

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Trump has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Trump is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Trump doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Trump gives a shit about them.

One supporter in the rust belt was interviewed and flat out said "I know he can't bring our steel jobs back, but I like that he said he wants to."  

The above two examples are what we're dealing with in Trump supporters.  It's cognitive dissonance on steroids.  They know, deep down, that he's lying.  They know, deep down, that he's not the success he claims to be.  But they just don't care, because he appeals to whatever dog whistle they are partial to - whether it's guns, abortion, immigrants, minorities, or uppity women who don't know their place.  He blew every dog whistle he could get his puckered anus mouth on, and they all came running, reassuring themselves with flimsy platitudes to process the numerous gigantic red flags.  

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

This is what is most incomprehensible to me.  Trump has the same contempt for the poor, the blue collar, the middle class, the unemployed, the under-employed, the ones who don't have health care, etc., as the mainstream Republicans do, yet they believe that Trump is on their side and voted for him because "at least he addressed their issues."  And eve now, with all these appointment showing exactly how much Trump doesn't give a shit about working people and poor people, and ONLY gives a shit about corporate profits, stocks and investments - at the voters' expense - they still hold firm to their belief that Trump gives a shit about them.

So much WORD to this!  It reminds me so much of the lemmings who follow and "sow a seed" into a televangelist's ministry.  The same televangelist who is wealthy, flies around in a private jet that the suckers' tithes and offerings paid for, lives in several mansions, and has the wife/husband of their desires.  Meanwhile, these fools are living hand to mouth, are in poor health, and are one paycheck away from financial disaster.  But, the TV preacher promised they would have bountiful blessings if they would just believe and declare it.

I see Drumpf operating in the same way with his followers--many of whom are evangelicals.  A good conman always knows his marks and will adjust his sales pitch accordingly.  And, when he can't follow through on his promises, he will have just enough deniable plausibility to get away with duping them.  It will be because the suckers didn't use the product correctly, or he will convince them that it's someone else's fault.  They will start out scapegoating the usual suspects, i.e. those scary brown people, those heathen liberals, those RINO's who dared to speak against Drumpf, those foreigners.  Ultimately, they will finally get around to blaming him and will pretend that his presidency never happened (i.e. the George W. Bush presidency that the GOP still has amnesia about).

Edited December 8, 2016 by MulletorHater
One word too many

[ari333]

4 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

So much WORD to this!  It reminds me so much of the lemmings who follow and "sow a seed" into a televangelist's ministry.  The same televangelist who is wealthy, flies around in a private jet that the suckers' tithes and offerings paid for, lives in several mansions, and has the wife/husband of their desires.  Meanwhile, these fools are living hand to mouth, are in poor health, and are one paycheck away from financial disaster.  But, the TV preacher promised they would have bountiful blessings if they would just believe and declare it.

I see Drumpf operating in the same way with his followers--many of whom are evangelicals.  A good conman always knows his marks and will adjust his sales pitch accordingly.  And, when he can't follow through on his promises, he will have just enough deniable plausibility to get away with duping them.  It will be because the suckers didn't do use the product correctly, or he will convince them that it's someone else's fault.  They will start out scapegoating the usual suspects, i.e. those scary brown people, those heathen liberals, those RINO's who dared to speak against Drumpf, those foreigners.  Ultimately, they will finally get around to blaming him and will pretend that his presidency never happened (i.e. the George W. Bush presidency that the GOP still has amnesia about).

yes... PREACH!

[sleekandchic]

Generals, generals, generals!   Donald better be careful.  He might have a junta on his hands in a year.

Trump did everything in his and daddy's power to make sure he didn't have to serve in the military. And his unbelievably nasty attitude toward POW McCain during the campaign showed that Donald doesn't respect or gives a damn about the military. (I don't count his words to the contrary. He lies so much.)

So why this fascination with surrounding himself with old generals.  He likes their tough nicknames?  Or their shiny medals?  Or their uniforms?  Maybe he'll commission a design of a uniform for himself!  He's Commander in Chief soon.  White with lots of gold.  Epaulettes.  Shiny gold boots.  Oh and fancy headgear, maybe with ostrich or flamingo feathers.   No wait!  Peacock feathers!

A day or so ago I saw Marla Maples go through the lobby and upstairs in Trump Tower.  Anybody seen or heard from Ivana lately?  God, their NDA must be draconian.  I mean, she can't be getting alimony anymore right?  She's been married a couple of times since her divorce from trump.  Will she be invited to the inaugural or galas, etc.  I mean, they do share three kids and eight grandkids together.  Does Donald have her chained in a basement?  What secrets does she keep? Wonder how the three oldest feel about their mother not being included in anything.  Then again, I would understand BIGLY if it's Ivana's own choice just to stay away.

[KerleyQ]

5 minutes ago, sleekandchic said:

So why this fascination with surrounding himself with old generals.  He likes their tough nicknames?  Or their shiny medals?  Or their uniforms?  Maybe he'll commission a design of a uniform for himself!  He's Commander in Chief soon.  White with lots of gold.  Epaulettes.  Shiny gold boots.  Oh and fancy headgear, maybe with ostrich or flamingo feathers.   No wait!  Peacock feathers!

He basically uses our veterans (and active service) as props.  Of course, the GOP party in general has been doing that for a while now.  "Look at us saying we respect our veterans and convincing you all that our opponents don't respect them.  Pay no attention to all of the votes we cast in Congress that completely contradict that respect."  The only thing they respect is money and power.  Our veterans, our flag, Christianity?  All props they surround themselves with to look like they're the party who you have to side with if any of those are important to you.  

I'm waiting for someone in the media to make a bigger issue of the fact that those tax breaks Carrier was given are essentially funding their investment in automating their Indiana plant so they can reduce the workforce there even further.  Jobs were not saved in this "deal," but anyone who points that out will be attacked and threatened by Drumpf's volunteer minions (until after 1/20, when he will do his best to use the Secret Service and FBI as his paid minions, and by paid, I mean by us.  He doesn't pay shit).  

[debbie311]

54 minutes ago, Padma said:

Anderson Cooper is doing an interview with Robert Reich and freaking Jeffrey Lord gets to be involved in challenging Reich?  Why?  Who the hell is Jeffrey Lord and why does CNN keep these know-nothing surrogates on my television?

(Well, not unfortunately, on my television anymore. Because I hate them and won't watch them. I'm a fan of Reich, though, and would like to hear what he has to say.  I'm also positive that Cooper is capable of questioning him and engaging him critically in conversation without any "help" from Jeffrey Lord.)

What is wrong with CNN?

I positively LOVED what Robert Reich said on CNN last night.  My jaw actually dropped when he looked at the camera and spoke to Trump.  He is my new hero.  And I am becoming increasingly infuriated with Anderson Cooper.  He just kind of has this blank, semi-sedated expression.

[izabella]

10 minutes ago, sleekandchic said:

So why this fascination with surrounding himself with old generals.  He likes their tough nicknames?  Or their shiny medals?  Or their uniforms?  Maybe he'll commission a design of a uniform for himself!  He's Commander in Chief soon.  White with lots of gold.  Epaulettes.  Shiny gold boots.  Oh and fancy headgear, maybe with ostrich or flamingo feathers.   No wait!  Peacock feathers!

It's that, and he wants to give the impression that he's really going to be tough on ISIS and terrorists and immigrants, ahem, I mean, illegal immigrants.  No doubt there are Trump supporters nodding along with every appointment of a general, not having any idea what it means to have generals running our internal homeland security teams.

3 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

He basically uses our veterans (and active service) as props.  Of course, the GOP party in general has been doing that for a while now.  "Look at us saying we respect our veterans and convincing you all that our opponents don't respect them.  Pay no attention to all of the votes we cast in Congress that completely contradict that respect."  The only thing they respect is money and power.  Our veterans, our flag, Christianity?  All props they surround themselves with to look like they're the party who you have to side with if any of those are important to you.  

Yes.  This.  All the money spent on "the military" is going to corporations who build stuff for "the military" while de-funding the services available to military and vets.  Just wait until they privatize the VA. 

[Padma]

I still remember having a sickening feeling when Tubby said in one speech, "On Day 1, I will give my generals the order to...." (can't remember what came next. Not martial law, which is what I'm sure he secretly wishes for. But the phrase "my generals" was just sickening.  It's still a democracy you fool. They're not "your" generals at all.)

Re: Ivana. I read she's lobbying Tubby to make her ambassador to the Czech Republic and wouldn't be at all surprised if he does it.

I was in the mood for one of those Hitler and Trump movie dubs. Still works!

Edited December 8, 2016 by Padma

[izabella]

2 minutes ago, Padma said:

Re: Ivana. I read she's lobbying Tubby to make her ambassador to the Czech Republic and wouldn't be at all surprised if he does it.

Isn't that still nepotism and isn't that still protected by our Constitution?

[Duke Silver]

[Lunata]

59 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

They say his bankruptcies were, and I quote, "a valid business strategy."  

One supporter in the rust belt was interviewed and flat out said "I know he can't bring our steel jobs back, but I like that he said he wants to."  

The above two examples are what we're dealing with in Trump supporters.  It's cognitive dissonance on steroids.  They know, deep down, that he's lying.  They know, deep down, that he's not the success he claims to be.  But they just don't care, because he appeals to whatever dog whistle they are partial to - whether it's guns, abortion, immigrants, minorities, or uppity women who don't know their place.  He blew every dog whistle he could get his puckered anus mouth on, and they all came running, reassuring themselves with flimsy platitudes to process the numerous gigantic red flags.  

There's so much more behind this Carrier deal. I had to get my head completely straight as to exactly what transpired and what it will mean looking forward for the blue-collar union workers, the ones that voted for him because they want him to bring back their jobs.

This is a breakdown of the Carrier deal as explained by Steelworker Union President Chuck Jones. This whole Twitter thing that transpired was because Chuck Jones corrected Donald Trump on his numbers. Chuck Jones answers to the union members and they, all 1100 of them, were first told their jobs were going to Mexico. Then, the 'deal' came and they were told they're being kept there. Celebration! Then a day later, they find out that only 730 of their jobs will be saved in Indiana and the other 500 are out of jobs. He corrected the erroneous braggadocio of Trump and Trump did not like that, so he went on the attack.

This was the deal as it happened. First, Carrier's parent company UTC (United Technologies) already receives 5.6 billion a year in federal money through grants and tax credits, that's about 10% of their overall revenue. The taxpayers of the State of Indiana offered $7 million in incentives to Carrier over ten years. That's not a lot of money in corporate terms but that's $7 million of taxpayers money from the State of Indiana that would be going to a very profitable company. The Steelworker's Union offered $23 million in concessions. 'Not good enough" Carrier said. "What would it take to keep you here" they asked. Carrier replied that it would take $65 million to keep them open in Indiana and retain all 1,100 workers. In order to achieve that, the Carrier company would have to reduce wages to $5 an hour across the board, offer no benefits such as health insurance, vacation pay or sick time because they could do it in Mexico for $6 an hour. That company doesn't make air conditioners, they make furnaces. Mexicans don't need furnaces. What was planned is that those furnaces will be made there then shipped back to the US where Donald proposes a tariff of 35% to be placed on those furnaces as punishment. That's alright for Carrier because although Carrier will be hit with a 35% tariff on their furnaces coming back into the US, all they'll do is pass that additional cost back onto the consumer because that's how companies operate. The end users are the ones that will get hit in the pocketbook by that tariff.

What Donald Trump REALLY wants to achieve is to break up every labor union. He wants to send these blue collar workers back to the 1930's. Even though the CEOs of these corporations get outrageous million dollar salaries and bonuses plus incredible benefits and perks, they expect the 'little guy' to give up more and more until they're totally powerless and will work for peanuts. The second point that I'd like to make is that putting tariffs on goods and services being imported will certainly create a trade war. And truthfully, nobody wants to get into a trade war pissing contest with countries like China or India. This would create a recession unlike any we've every seen. You think the price of a Honda Accord is high now? Imagine what it will be if tariffs of 35% are put on them as they enter the US.

THERE IS A CHAOS MONKEY IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THIS CANNOT END WELL!

Speaking of the 'chaos monkey', it's already 3:00 here in the East coast and Trump hasn't tweeted even ONCE today. I wonder if Robert Reich's little scolding woke up some of his staffers and they convinced him to stop the stupid tweeting, or they used another method to stop him.

Edited December 8, 2016 by Lunata