Donald John Trump: 2016 President-Elect

[MulletorHater]

13 hours ago, callmebetty said:

Yes. I'm sure what she wanted to say is "Well I meant take health insurance from those I don't feel deserve it, but not me"

Exactly.  Someone mentioned this morning that one of the reasons we don't have a single payer system is that a certain segment of the population see it as a handout to those "undeserving" people out there.  Never mind that most of us pay taxes, which goes towards funding our military and other places.  Never mind that it's in everyone's best interest to have a healthy population and that the emergency room doctor shouldn't be anyone's primary care physician.  Never mind that most of the people who rely on those "entitlements" look like the people who attend the Drumpf rallies.  Yet, there they were wildly cheering and applauding about the demise of the very thing a lot of them needed to survive.  

Some of them even see the ACA as a handout to "undeserving" people.  I've even seen the ACA derisively referred to as "N-wordCare" because, you know, a Black president implemented it and he wanted to make sure "his people" were getting yet another handout.

It's hilarious (and not in a ha ha! way) how these people managed to cherry pick which of Drumpf's campaign promises they would believe, while telling themselves that he "won't do that other stuff--the stuff that hurts me" because it was just "talk."  Yeah. Kind of the way his boasting about sexually assaulting women was just "boy talk" or "locker room talk."

As someone said upthread, they voted to "eat cake."

12 hours ago, NinjaPenguins said:

As if Orange knew what the electoral college was. I sincerely doubt he understands it now. LOL! I would like to know how he'd change his campaign if the winner was decided by popular vote? Scantily clad goose steppers on stage with him? Toasting marshmallows over a burning cross? Orange tends to double down instead of dialing it back, so he can't be suggesting he'd moderate his campaign style.

I'm a lefty. Confession time: The Left held a secret meeting at Bohemian Grove to put together that B-list celebrity plea to the electors. Arugula pizzas and lattes were served; the catering bill went to George Soros. To enter the meeting, one had to pledge their loyalty to Sweden on a stack of Communist Manifestos. After the serious business concluded, we retired to the study and sipped absinthe while chuckling wryly about the gay Mexican abortion clinics being run in Planned Parenthood basements under the noses of good, god-fearing Americans. The evening ended on a high note with Bernie Sanders leading a drum circle and a surprise appearance by Barack Obama to preview an executive order banning Christmas and truck nutz. Don't tell Alex Jones.

Fantastic!  It sounds like quite the affair and I'm sorry I missed it.  Is it true that Michelle Obama also showed up in an Afro wig with her Black Panther bodyguards trying to peddle her new book, "Why I Hate Whitey" and giving people terrorist fist bumps?

[Bookish Jen]

4 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

Fantastic!  It sounds like quite the affair and I'm sorry I missed it.  Is it true that Michelle Obama also showed up in an Afro wig with her Black Panther bodyguards trying to peddle her new book, "Why I Hate Whitey" and giving people terrorist fist bumps?

Yes, and Cecile Richards held an Abortion Dance-Off. Needless to say, Michelle won!

[MulletorHater]

47 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I feel ya.  One of my favorite things at the Magic Kingdom is the Hall of Presidents. Just the thought of Orangina being part of that makes me want to cry. 

Not to mention our history books, including the SOTU speeches, which I am sure will resemble the Nuremberg rallies.

I can't even thing of him lighting the National Christmas tree or hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll without getting sick to my stomach.

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I feel ya.  One of my favorite things at the Magic Kingdom is the Hall of Presidents. Just the thought of Orangina being part of that makes me want to cry. 

The good news is that a nearby restaurant in Liberty Square is gonna start serving alcohol at around the same time. Coincidence? I think not. Next time I go to the Magic Kingdom I'm sending my husband to the Hall of Presidents solo and I'm gonna get drunk and cry and ride the Haunted Mansion.

I just watched a video of Sunkist Stalin talking about how he has superior genes and that's why he's better than other people, and he has passed those genes onto his children. "But at least he's honest!" (I think his followers have confused "honesty" with "being a fuckhead." They are frequently, but not always, connected.)

[Bookish Jen]

20 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

Not to mention our history books, including the SOTU speeches, which I am sure will resemble the Nuremberg rallies.

I can't even thing of him lighting the National Christmas tree or hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll without getting sick to my stomach.

And considering Ivanka is filling in as first lady (vomit) can you imagine her working in Michelle Obama's lovely garden? Nope, me neither.

[Padma]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

 

Aren't there some intelligence briefings he should be reading?

2 hours ago, NinjaPenguins said:

As if Orange knew what the electoral college was. I sincerely doubt he understands it now. LOL! I would like to know how he'd change his campaign if the winner was decided by popular vote? Scantily clad goose steppers on stage with him? Toasting marshmallows over a burning cross? Orange tends to double down instead of dialing it back, so he can't be suggesting he'd moderate his campaign style.

I'm a lefty. Confession time: The Left held a secret meeting at Bohemian Grove to put together that B-list celebrity plea to the electors. Arugula pizzas and lattes were served; the catering bill went to George Soros. To enter the meeting, one had to pledge their loyalty to Sweden on a stack of Communist Manifestos. After the serious business concluded, we retired to the study and sipped absinthe while chuckling wryly about the gay Mexican abortion clinics being run in Planned Parenthood basements under the noses of good, god-fearing Americans. The evening ended on a high note with Bernie Sanders leading a drum circle and a surprise appearance by Barack Obama to preview an executive order banning Christmas and truck nutz. Don't tell Alex Jones.

Love this! I guess that's where Soros was able to pass out all the paychecks for thousands of people protesting the election around the country.  I knew the Trumpers were on to something with that one.

Re: Fred and Mary Trump.  I don't think Donald is their fault.  I think they were just normal, hard-working rich people (Fred was stern and "all about the business" but didn't ignore them.  Boys got more attention than girls).

My theory is Donald was born that way (sociopathic, NPD) and has gotten worse through the years.  That's why he punched his music teacher (he says) in second grade for no reason. And why Fred decided he needed to go to boarding school--not just any boarding school, military boarding school--at 14 where he stayed through high school. (He says he liked it, but maybe it toughened him up--and taught him to lie more to avoid the harsh punishments--even more as a result, who knows?)

From Barbara Res' book, he was quite different when she worked with him in 1980 building Trump Tower. Still had a terrible temper and abused his staff, and who was good at pushing people to get things his way, but was politically more liberal (i.e. pro choice).  She considered him a friend, the DT of 1980.  The DT of 2016, she said, "has to be stopped".

Anyway, I don't think the monster we see today is his parents' fault.

[kassa]

2 hours ago, stillshimpy said:

I love this so much, I want to take it out to lunch and listen to its stories.   Surely there was a pagan drum circle with nudity, pot smoking , and someone married a goat, right?!?  

They wouldn't MARRY a goat - they'd just move in with it, because the goat would not have enough respect for the body her father's supposed to turn over to her husband to remain pure until marriage.

[Duke Silver]

[millennium]

2 hours ago, random chance said:

We now live in a post-PC world, so this is not petty. And neither am I petty for laughing along with you.

I envy your ability to laugh.   I didn't vote for Trump.   And I am going to lose my health insurance.    Obamacare has been a godsend to me.   The fact that Trump's supporters will lose their insurance too gives me no satisfaction, nor does it silence my worries about the future. 

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Honestly, it even upsets me that he's getting a Presidential Chia Pet. However, I am looking forward to him tweeting, "Biased Chia company gave Obama two different Chias but I only get one! Very unfair!"

And, just imagine it.  Whoever Drumpf shares his first dance with at the first inaugural ball (will it be Melania the Insipid or Ivanka the Terrible?) will have her ballgown donated to the Smithsonian or some other museum for posterity.  There will be numerous other attempts to normalize these two hot messes in the women's magazines as mavens of style and "role models."  

There are already stories out there about grown ass women getting plastic surgery to look like Ivanka.  Um, ladies...you all do realize that her shit ain't real either, right?

Women Too Stupid to Live

It's one thing to get plastic surgery to correct a real or perceived deformity.  It's another thing to get it to look like Donald Drumpf in drag.

[stillshimpy]

Quote

 

I envy your ability to laugh.   I didn't vote for Trump.   And I am going to lose my health insurance.    Obamacare has been a godsend to me.   The fact that Trump's supporters will lose their insurance too gives me no satisfaction, nor does it silence my worries about the future. 

 

 

 

 

 

The only reason anyone is laughing is that poor fool is so dimwitted she voted to essentially kill her own husband and her only defense for something stupid?  "I didn't believe what the candidate I was voting for said".   I won't be contributing to her inevitable GoFundMe page for his funeral and I'm not actually laughing at the plight of people who will lose their insurance, it's just like the theater of the absurd, is all.  It's laughter tinged with true hysteria.  

Aside from Trump voters, and the third-party voters who decided a protest vote was more important than protecting their fellow citizens from those threats, the people who actually tried rather desperately to try and make sure that woman's husband could keep his insurance and his life, do get to laugh at the "Oh holy shit, I had more respect for the life of someone you love than you did? The irony poisoning may kill me and now I must laugh."  

But not because it's funny.  It's ludicrous and tragic.  It also displays the critical thinking of a dimwitted child.   Maybe she'll get lucky and die ironing in the bathtub before ill health can take her or her spouse because that's the kind of brains that woman is displaying.  

Edited December 21, 2016 by stillshimpy

[random chance]

31 minutes ago, millennium said:

I envy your ability to laugh.   I didn't vote for Trump.   And I am going to lose my health insurance.    Obamacare has been a godsend to me.   The fact that Trump's supporters will lose their insurance too gives me no satisfaction, nor does it silence my worries about the future. 

I don't have health insurance. Obamacare raised my rates and deductible to the point where I couldn't afford it anymore. I still voted for Clinton.

[millennium]

13 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

After Trump secured the electoral vote:

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/12/look-donald-j-trump-securing-historic-electoral-win/

What Schumer did the Friday before the electoral vote:

http://americanlookout.com/bah-humbug-top-ranking-democrat-fires-staffers-five-days-before-christmas/

I agree, it is unfortunate that Chuck Schumer's office let 6 people go.   But I don't think I am being unreasonable by predicting a far greater number of current government employees will lose their jobs once the new Trump administration takes office.   It will be after Christmas, so I guess there's that. 

8 hours ago, random chance said:

I don't have health insurance. Obamacare raised my rates and deductible to the point where I couldn't afford it anymore. I still voted for Clinton.

I don't know what state you're in, but I read an article yesterday that the states experiencing the most problems with Obamacare (i.e., highest rates) are the states whose officials have been most vigorously resisting its implementation.

Millions more Americans can afford a doctor's visit under Obamacare, study shows

I voted for Clinton too, despite knowing she would give amnesty to existing illegal aliens and do little to curb the influx of new ones as a means of securing the Hispanic vote.  

I think many of us had asterisks attached to our vote for her.

[PatsyandEddie]

31 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

And, just imagine it.  Whoever Drumpf shares his first dance with at the first inaugural ball (will it be Melania the Insipid or Ivanka the Terrible?) will have her ballgown donated to the Smithsonian or some other museum for posterity.  There will be numerous other attempts to normalize these two hot messes in the women's magazines as mavens of style and "role models."  

There are already stories out there about grown ass women getting plastic surgery to look like Ivanka.  Um, ladies...you all do realize that her shit ain't real either, right?

Women Too Stupid to Live

It's one thing to get plastic surgery to correct a real or perceived deformity.  It's another thing to get it to look like Donald Drumpf in drag.

What fucking airheads! My beautiful, blonde daughter got her breasts reduced because she didn't like the attention she received. Why do people want to mangle themselves for the sake of vanity? 

I didn't realize about the ballgowns so thanks for that piece of info. Good thing I'm not watching. 

[Padma]

19 minutes ago, random chance said:

I don't have health insurance. Obamacare raised my rates and deductible to the point where I couldn't afford it anymore. I still voted for Clinton.

Was that on the exchange where your rates and deductible were raised from what they were when you carried your own insurance?  It was more with the exchange than without the exchange?

I know that could happen because of some inexpensive plans that don't exist anymore, but just wanted to clarify if that's what you're talking about. Some people tell me they can't afford insurance because of Obamacare--then it turns out they qualify for federal subsidies but won't go to the exchange.

[Bookish Jen]

8 hours ago, MulletorHater said:

And, just imagine it.  Whoever Drumpf shares his first dance with at the first inaugural ball (will it be Melania the Insipid or Ivanka the Terrible?) will have her ballgown donated to the Smithsonian or some other museum for posterity.  There will be numerous other attempts to normalize these two hot messes in the women's magazines as mavens of style and "role models."  

There are already stories out there about grown ass women getting plastic surgery to look like Ivanka.  Um, ladies...you all do realize that her shit ain't real either, right?

Women Too Stupid to Live

It's one thing to get plastic surgery to correct a real or perceived deformity.  It's another thing to get it to look like Donald Drumpf in drag.

What kills me is these women are in their thirties yet look like the far side of forty or fifty. 

8 hours ago, PatsyandEddie said:

What fucking airheads! My beautiful, blonde daughter got her breasts reduced because she didn't like the attention she received. Why do people want to mangle themselves for the sake of vanity? 

I didn't realize about the ballgowns so thanks for that piece of info. Good thing I'm not watching. 

Yes, it's one thing to go one cup higher like I would if I wanted breast implants. And I can see some fine tuning or fixing a deformity but these chicks are going to complete extremes. And setting one's make-up gun to "Whore" or "Baby Jane" doesn't make them look any more attractive.

For years we have heard how conservative women are so beautiful and liberal women are ugly hags. But to me, a lot of conservative women look like either frumps or floozies.

I usually don't bag people on their looks considering on a good day I only clean up to somewhat cute, but considering the right has been slagging liberal, feminist and Democratic women solely for their looks ("Hillary has cankles!" "Michelle is a tranny!") I figure it's only fair make them taste their own deplorable medicine.

[Lunata]

There's one story I ran across regarding Donald's older brother Fred 'Freddy' Trump, Jr. who died of alcoholism in 1981. Flash forward to 1999, Fred Trump Sr. dies of pneumonia. Fred had been suffering from senile dementia for years before his death. Donald Trump helped draft the final will of his father Fred. Freddy's family was largely cut out. Donald had a very tumultuous relationship with his older brother Freddy.

As reported in the New York Times;

When Donald Trump’s father, Fred Sr., died in 1999, the roughly $20 million inheritance was divided up among his children and their descendants, “other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.,” according to the Times. Donald Trump had helped draft the will. At the time, Freddy Trump’s children sued, claiming Donald Trump and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia.

Donald retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits he had promised to his nephew’s infant son, who suffered from seizures that led to cerebral palsy, according to the Times. “I was angry because they sued,” Trump told the Times.

Trump told the NY Times that the family members later settled the lawsuit "very amicably." What became of the care for his sick grandnephew? We'll never know. The settlement agreement is sealed.

Did you learn anything new here? Did you not know Donald Trump was greedy? Or dishonest? Or without even a vestigial sense of decency?

 

Fred Trump with his son, William, 13, at their Greenwich home, Thursday, June 6, 2013. William Trump has cerebral palsy.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Lunata

[random chance]

41 minutes ago, Padma said:

Was that on the exchange where your rates and deductible were raised from what they were when you carried your own insurance?  It was more with the exchange than without the exchange?

I know that could happen because of some inexpensive plans that don't exist anymore, but just wanted to clarify if that's what you're talking about. Some people tell me they can't afford insurance because of Obamacare--then it turns out they qualify for federal subsidies but won't go to the exchange.

I appreciate that you're trying to help me but I don't want to go into it on here and I promise you I have explored the options. I only mentioned it because she said (not verbatim) "well nice you can laugh but I won't have insurance either," and I felt bad that she felt bad about me laughing, so I wanted to clarify I was in the same boat, and now I'm sorry I brought it up.

[Duke Silver]

23 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

Quote

People rejected the uglier aspects of Nazism but gave ground in ways that ultimately made it successful. They conceded premises to faulty arguments. They rejected the “facts” of propaganda, but not the impressions of it. The new paradigm of authoritarianism was so disorienting that they simply could not see it for what it was, let alone confront it.

Quote

Outside of Germany people often wonder at the palpable fraudulence of Nazi propaganda, the stupid incredible exaggerations, the ludicrous reticences concerning what is generally known. Who can be convinced by it? They ask. The answer is that it is not meant to convince but to impress.

 

 

I'm just bumping this one time because I think this is terrifically written & worthy of more eyeballs on it.  Please, if you have the time, take a look.

[Padma]

14 minutes ago, Lunata said:

There's one story I ran across regarding Donald's older brother Fred 'Freddy' Trump, Jr. who died of alcoholism in 1981. Flash forward to 1999, Fred Trump Sr. dies of pneumonia. Fred had been suffering from senile dementia for years before his death. Donald Trump helped draft the final will of his father Fred. Freddy's family was largely cut out. Donald had a very tumultuous relationship with his older brother Freddy.

As reported in the New York Times;

When Donald Trump’s father, Fred Sr., died in 1999, the roughly $20 million inheritance was divided up among his children and their descendants, “other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.,” according to the Times. Donald Trump had helped draft the will. At the time, Freddy Trump’s children sued, claiming Donald Trump and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia.

Donald retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits he had promised to his nephew’s infant son, who suffered from seizures that led to cerebral palsy, according to the Times. “I was angry because they sued,” Trump told the Times.

Trump told the NY Times that the family members later settled the lawsuit "very amicably." What became of the care for his sick grandnephew? We'll never know. The settlement agreement is sealed.

Did you learn anything new here? Did you not know Donald Trump was greedy? Or dishonest? Or without even a vestigial sense of decency?

Fred Trump's company had paid for all of his grandson's medical care until his death.  Donald hadn't promised to pay, but when the nephew (deceased brother's son) sued to be included in the $20 million inheritance, the three Trumps cut off the baby's care. (He was born with CP)  Here's more: http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/what-sort-of-man-is-donald-trump

Bottom line was, yes, the kind of -truly vindictive and cruel- person Donald Trump is.  (Also, other sources place the inheritance at $200 million, much of it still wrapped into the Trump Organization, which -given the extent of Fred Trump's properties in Brooklyn/Queens--makes sense).  Also selfish, a million here, a million there, what's the difference when you're "a billionaire"?

Scary to picture him with the power of the presidency.

[Bookish Jen]

16 minutes ago, Padma said:

Fred Trump's company had paid for all of his grandson's medical care until his death.  Donald hadn't promised to pay, but when the nephew (deceased brother's son) sued to be included in the $20 million inheritance, the three Trumps cut off the baby's care. (He was born with CP)  Here's more: http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/what-sort-of-man-is-donald-trump

Bottom line was, yes, the kind of -truly vindictive and cruel- person Donald Trump is.  (Also, other sources place the inheritance at $200 million, much of it still wrapped into the Trump Organization, which -given the extent of Fred Trump's properties in Brooklyn/Queens--makes sense).  Also selfish, a million here, a million there, what's the difference when you're "a billionaire"?

Scary to picture him with the power of the presidency.

I just read this story, and I am so angry and chilled to the bone. I want this story to go viral. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

33 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

I just read this story, and I am so angry and chilled to the bone. I want this story to go viral. 

Me too. It's downright sick.

[bittersweet4149]

12 hours ago, NinjaPenguins said:

As if Orange knew what the electoral college was. I sincerely doubt he understands it now. LOL! I would like to know how he'd change his campaign if the winner was decided by popular vote? Scantily clad goose steppers on stage with him? Toasting marshmallows over a burning cross? Orange tends to double down instead of dialing it back, so he can't be suggesting he'd moderate his campaign style.

I'm a lefty. Confession time: The Left held a secret meeting at Bohemian Grove to put together that B-list celebrity plea to the electors. Arugula pizzas and lattes were served; the catering bill went to George Soros. To enter the meeting, one had to pledge their loyalty to Sweden on a stack of Communist Manifestos. After the serious business concluded, we retired to the study and sipped absinthe while chuckling wryly about the gay Mexican abortion clinics being run in Planned Parenthood basements under the noses of good, god-fearing Americans. The evening ended on a high note with Bernie Sanders leading a drum circle and a surprise appearance by Barack Obama to preview an executive order banning Christmas and truck nutz. Don't tell Alex Jones.

Hey, I didn't get my invite. Did you email it to me? Gotta go check my server.

8 hours ago, MulletorHater said:

There are already stories out there about grown ass women getting plastic surgery to look like Ivanka.  Um, ladies...you all do realize that her shit ain't real either, right?

Women Too Stupid to Live

It's one thing to get plastic surgery to correct a real or perceived deformity.  It's another thing to get it to look like Donald Drumpf in drag.

Too much money and not enough damn sense.

[Duke Silver]

[SmithW6079]

17 hours ago, millennium said:

I envy your ability to laugh.   I didn't vote for Trump.   And I am going to lose my health insurance.    Obamacare has been a godsend to me.   The fact that Trump's supporters will lose their insurance too gives me no satisfaction, nor does it silence my worries about the future. 

I am sorry people like you are going to be hurt, but am I experiencing Schadenfreude for the suffering Trump voters will soon endure when the "entitlements" they rely on get cut and/or ended? Yes, I am. Trump supporters must be held accountable for their role in what our country will become. They should have no problem doing that (because Republicans are the party of "personal responsibility," don't you know). 

I'm on the mailing list for Carson News, a newsletter from Ben Carson (which I think just channels Reagan Reports). I can't find the link in the newsletter to this, but apparently, Rush Limbaugh still fears Barack Obama:

Quote

 

Limbaugh: Obama Lining Up to Be 'Divisive' Force Against Trump

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh predicts President Barack Obama will "try to create all kinds of unrest and disunity" once President-elect Donald Trump takes office Jan. 20.

During his national radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh also lashed out at cable and network news personalities who will likely be happy to give Obama the media platform.

"Obama's gonna call [NBC's] Chuck Todd, take his pick, [CNN's] John King, [CNN's] Wolf Blitzer, take your pick, he can call any of them, 'Hey, you know what, I want to go on TV, grant an exclusive, Trump's about to destroy Obamacare,'" Limbaugh predicted.

"And they will not be able to wait," he added. "They'll give Obama as much time as he wants to rip into Trump and to warn the American people."

"Obama's gonna be doing national speeches, the equivalent of them, to the American people warning them of all the dangerous things Trump is doing. He's gonna try to create all kinds of unrest and disunity and so forth – unprecedented, no former president has ever done what Obama is likely going to do." 

Apparently, when Republicans blocked everything Obama wanted to do, when they called him "liar" and were so disrespectful so that they undermined America to our allies and enemies, that was OK. I posted it a while ago, but memorize the definition of blackwhite, as defined by George Orwell in his novel 1984, because that's going to be the most important word during the Trump regime. 

I will never give Trump a chance, and I think I love Charlie Pierce in Esquire saying basically the same thing:

Donald Trump Doesn't Have a Mandate. Pundits Shouldn't Give Him One.  

Edited December 22, 2016 by SmithW6079

[rcc]

Obama won't have to cause any problems, as if he would. Trump and his tweets will make his own trouble.

[callmebetty]

22 minutes ago, Duke Silver said:

He called it right he just was 4 years too soon. 

[EyewatchTV211]

I think this guy has it right. Another chain.

[ChristmasJones]

I had a sad thought this afternoon..... I think the negative changes in society that will be triggered by Drumpf's policies (and the Republican congress, etc) are going to need to last longer than 4 years for them to actually cause his supporters to change their minds. I think we might see things swing in that direction for a decade or more for enough people to feel enough of a burn that they will actually vote democratic.

Hopefully I am wrong, but on some level, this is how it feels to me.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

I just read this story, and I am so angry and chilled to the bone. I want this story to go viral. 

 I believe it already did -- before the election. No one cared. (EMAILS!) 

[EyewatchTV211]

1 minute ago, Giant Misfit said:

 I believe it already did -- before the election. No one cared. (EMAILS!) 

I don't know. I was reading all the craziness before the election, and I don't remember seeing it. Not sure how viral it got.

[Guest]

The date of the New Yorker article is January 2016 so that's likely when I read it but recall hearing the story before the article. Anyway, I thought it was a big deal when it was published, but maybe I'm mistaken. 

[stillshimpy]

I've also read that piece before, Giant Misfit.  They didn't care then; they wouldn't care now.   His supporters have never cared that he's an appalling human being.   

[Lunata]

Just when we thought there was enough to worry about, we haven't even scratched the surface.

I know it's a difficult situation to explain easily and personally I've had to spend some time researching this issue. But, as I learn more and more, it's a big issue, probably the biggest one we'll be facing by June 2017. Donald Trump is absolutely committed to moving our U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv where it's been since 1947, to Jerusalem. So, what's the big deal you may wonder? Here's the big deal. There has been a battle over the holy city of Jerusalem for a thousand years. It's been the mecca for both Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

For nearly 70 years, the U.S. embassy has been based in Tel Aviv -- along with embassies of almost all other countries with relations to Israel -- because the U.S. has wanted Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations to determine the final status of Jerusalem. The United Nations’ original partition plan from 1947 on Palestine called for Jerusalem to be an international city. The U.S. government, as a result, does not officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Efforts to relocate the U.S. embassy from the coast of Tel Aviv to the holy city have surfaced periodically since at least the early 1980s. President Reagan and his secretary of state, George Shultz, were against the move, and Reagan even threatened to veto legislation pending in Congress that would have made the move a reality. Reagan was wise enough to listen to someone even wiser than himself, George Schultz, and he understood this would have been disastrous.

About a decade later, lawmakers passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, proposed by Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (aka war-monger). Signed into law by President Clinton, the measure authorized the U.S. to move the embassy to Jerusalem by 1999 with one caveat -- the president could indefinitely delay the move by signing a waiver, citing national security concerns. Clinton made what could possibly be an extremely grievous error.

While Clinton and President George W. Bush similarly pledged at different points to move the embassy, they both repeatedly signed the waiver to prevent the embassy’s relocation throughout their presidencies because they said it would undermine the peace process. President Obama renewed the waiver in early December, and it is now set to expire next June.

Kellyanne Conway said that moving the embassy is a “very big priority for this president-elect.”

The Palestinians would be furious and addition it would be a violation of International law. The PLO would revoke their recognition of Israel and cancel agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. It would adversely affect the relations between the Palestinians and the US and the relations between the US and Arab States. Donald Trump has obviously been pro-Benjamin Netanyahu and his choice for ambassador to Israel, his own attorney David Friedman, (who has called President Obama 'an anti-Semite') is immediately seen as a threat to Palestine and all the Arab States.

Everyone in the entire world will be enemy to the United States, we'll have no allies at all. This is worse than bad, this will have catastrophic repercussions.

[random chance]

1 hour ago, stillshimpy said:

His supporters have never cared that he's an appalling human being.   

If there is any hope at all of getting rid of him, people need to understand and believe this. Don't waste your time digging up more proof that he's appalling, that approach has already failed.

Edited December 22, 2016 by random chance
If not For

[Duke Silver]

I just think that the sheer volume of dirt on Trump has led to a hangover of sorts.  There are rabid #neverTrump 'ers I know who just groan & roll their eyes at any new revelations.  Ironically, the massive amounts of corruption might actually serve to "shield" Trump, in a way.  I predicted (cynically) right after the news broke about #RussianHack that it wouldn't maintain momentum for long.  I predicted a week.  It's been a few days longer than that & it's petering out.  It's just hard to maintain a level of outrage for long (unless you're a white working class male suffering from "economic anxiety" I guess).

Edited December 22, 2016 by Duke Silver

[KerleyQ]

Tom Arnold says he got a voicemail from one of Trump's people threatening a lawsuit over the tapes.  Arnold's response seems to be that he's going to let it all spill out.  That should lead to a patented Trump Twitter meltdown.  

[Bookish Jen]

18 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

Tom Arnold says he got a voicemail from one of Trump's people threatening a lawsuit over the tapes.  Arnold's response seems to be that he's going to let it all spill out.  That should lead to a patented Trump Twitter meltdown.  

Getting the popcorn ready.

[Duke Silver]

Even if he doesn't produce audio/visual, I LOL at the thought of Trump's orange head ready to explode at the thought of "some schmuck has-been actor" having him by the short hairs.

[NewDigs]

Nothing says, "I wuv you" quite like a ''Honeymoon Bounce'.

translation: bend 'em and spread 'em.

[Lunata]

Holy crap. Donald Trump has appointed (16.7 billion) billionaire Carl Icahn as his special advisor and will also have a role in selecting the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Carl Icahn will not have to divest himself of any of his personal holdings, he's going to have inside information, he's going to be able to stay outside of the government but still benefit from the regulations that he's going to change or repeal. He's in the position to change the rules of the game and benefit extremely without having to divest himself of anything. Carl Icahn is a well known corporate raider and his business ethics have been questioned for years.

Welcome to the swamp Carl Icahn

Edited December 22, 2016 by Lunata

[Padma]

4 hours ago, Lunata said:

Just when we thought there was enough to worry about, we haven't even scratched the surface.

I know it's a difficult situation to explain easily and personally I've had to spend some time researching this issue. But, as I learn more and more, it's a big issue, probably the biggest one we'll be facing by June 2017. Donald Trump is absolutely committed to moving our U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv where it's been since 1947, to Jerusalem. So, what's the big deal you may wonder? Here's the big deal. There has been a battle over the holy city of Jerusalem for a thousand years. It's been the mecca for both Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

For nearly 70 years, the U.S. embassy has been based in Tel Aviv -- along with embassies of almost all other countries with relations to Israel -- because the U.S. has wanted Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations to determine the final status of Jerusalem. The United Nations’ original partition plan from 1947 on Palestine called for Jerusalem to be an international city. The U.S. government, as a result, does not officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital......

.....Kellyanne Conway said that moving the embassy is a “very big priority for this president-elect.”

The Palestinians would be furious and addition it would be a violation of International law. The PLO would revoke their recognition of Israel and cancel agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. It would adversely affect the relations between the Palestinians and the US and the relations between the US and Arab States. Donald Trump has obviously been pro-Benjamin Netanyahu and his choice for ambassador to Israel, his own attorney David Friedman, (who has called President Obama 'an anti-Semite') is immediately seen as a threat to Palestine and all the Arab States.

Everyone in the entire world will be enemy to the United States, we'll have no allies at all. This is worse than bad, this will have catastrophic repercussions.

Yes, yes and yes. Thank you for writing about this (I just cut for length but hope everyone will read your original post in its entirety.)  The U.S. siding with the far right, extremely anti-Palestinian governments of Netanyahu (and before him, under Bush, the equally awful Ariel Sharon) have contributed to anti-U.S. antagonisms throughout the Arab world.

I'm surprised Jimmy Carter isn't speaking out against Trump's announcement because he, better than most Americans, understands the importance of that -- and how it will absolutely destroy ANY chance for a negotiated peace between Israel and Palestinians--as well as the repercussions you mention world-wide. Netanyahu's policies toward Palestinians --and how they are backed by their #1 supporter (and arms broker), the United States--are part of the radicalization of Muslims and the anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Trump's moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a HUGE statement (F-U, basically, to Palestinians) and will have dire results. In terms of Israel-Palestinians, the U.S. is -already- considered pretty far right globally. Trump is planning to "up" that even more. As you say, pretty soon we will have no allies left at all.

Also, I thought Donald was the great deal maker.  In a "great deal", a skilled negotiation, you're supposed to GET something for the trade, a concession. Jerusalem has always been a HUGE bargaining chip. 

In this case, it seems he's just giving it to Israel without getting any concessions to the Palestinians in return--settlements promised to be more abundant than ever, the wall still there, no effort toward the "two state solution" that everyone -- and the U.N. - has agreed to for decades.

So now, the U.S. won't even pretend to be a neutral broker. What does anyone get in return?  Trump International, Jerusalem?

[Rapunzel]

More classy behavior from an apparent Trump supporter at a Louisville, KY JC Penny's store who tells some latino shoppers "to go back to where they belong" and to "speak English" and states that they are "probably on welfare." She also uses several other choice words and phrases. It was caught on video.

According to the person that shot the video, the woman ranting also apparently stated that believes that Trump is going to "fix" this. The link to the article also contains some of the video shot by another shopper's cell phone: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/speak-english-you-re-america-woman-tells-latina-shoppers-rant-n698776.

It's a really sad world when these racists, bigots, homophobes, misogynists, etc. are now coming out of the woodwork because Trump has set the example that this kind of behavior is alright - this is becoming the "new normal," so to speak. These are the kind of people that I will not for sorry for when their healthcare goes away or is too expensive for them to afford, when social security and medicare are gutted, when they realize their jobs aren't coming back and that they are too uneducated to get any other jobs, when their homes are foreclosed on, when the cost of goods starts to rise, etc. These assholes that behave like this deserve everything that they have coming to them.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Moose135]

18 minutes ago, Lunata said:

Carl Icahn is a well known corporate raider and his business ethics have been questioned for years.

May that bastard burn in hell.

[stillshimpy]

Quote

Everyone in the entire world will be enemy to the United States, we'll have no allies at all. This is worse than bad, this will have catastrophic repercussions.

Yeah, as I've been sort of droning on about for a while here?  We're in seriously geopolitical trouble, guys.  Trump doesn't understand anything about the global stage.   People are worried about a lot of things but this man is so dangerously ignorant that we could be fucked at a core level we've never even known possible.   

[Padma]

11 minutes ago, Lunata said:

Holy crap. Donald Trump has appointed (16.7 billion) billionaire Carl Icahn as his special advisor and will also have a role in selecting the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Carl Icahn will not have to divest himself of any of his personal holdings, he's going to have inside information, he's going to be able to stay outside of the government but still benefit from the regulations that he's going to change or repeal. He's in the position to change the rules of the game and benefit extremely without having to divest himself of anything. Carl Icahn is a well known corporate raider and his business ethics have been questioned for years.

It's vile, but I'm kind of getting into it.  The complete brazenness of Trump's takeover of our government for millionaires and billionaires. The potential for corruption is already huge--including his own--and grows exponentially every day.  Trump clearly is confident that (1) no one will hold him accountable for anything; and (2) he can get away with everything he and others around him want... Everything.

Lawrence O'D reported on how Trump & Co (Limbaugh, Breitbart, Trump-on-Twitter, the Trumpers) are already intimidating congressional Republicans who dare to say anything even mildly contradictory about their Great Leader. It is ALREADY having a chilling affect and Republicans are apparently NOT ready to stand up.

This -could- give Democrats a real opportunity to lead, if they choose to take it. And could, in a year or two, have re-branded the Republicans as such crooks and liars that the it is basically destroyed for generations.  Maybe with a new party--like the now gone, and greatly missed, MODERATE Republicans.

I'm hoping Trump's ideological extremism and naked greed and corruption--unchallenged within his own party--will discredit it eventually to millennials (who grew up with Obama)--and, hopefully, many others as well.

[twoods]

I didn't even watch that disgusting video of that hate-filled racist Trump supporter, but her comments were ridiculous. She was telling the women to speak English to her, but her sentences weren't even grammatically correct. How can you lecture someone to speak English if you can't do it yourself? I hope they find this terrible person and ban her from the mall. Same with that Chicago racist who keeps wandering around and yelling racist tirades in different stores. 

[ruby24]

That new story about Trump being pissed that he can't get big stars to perform at the inauguration is the first thing that's made me feel happy in over a month. Because I know how badly that really does bother him. This is a guy who has only ever wanted to hang out with celebrities and other rich people all his life.

It's a total freeze-out. I just hope no one caves.

[Padma]

Not to go backwards, but I still don't understand how--even when blocking recounts--Trump's 3 state vote total had to be adjusted DOWN by tens of thousands of votes, while Hillary's basically remained unchanged.  Before they were forced to start a recount (sadly not forced to finish, or do hand counts), the difference was 107,000. Before counting, that was "adjusted" to 77,000 vote difference.  Why????

For example, here's Wisconsin, before starting, "adjusting" the precincts where Trump's totals had been "padded" by 5,000 votes.  "Padded"? What?  Why is that not just good old fashioned "voting fraud"?  Then in Detroit at least 20 ballot boxes had broken seals--showing votes could have been altered and the results were supposed to be invalidated--that's how serious it was. I could understand one.  But .. 20?

This was Wisconsin's early statement re: the so-called "padding". http://www.politicususa.com/2016/11/25/report-thousands-wisconsin-votes-trump-recount-begins.html

[backformore]

5 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

Tom Arnold says he got a voicemail from one of Trump's people threatening a lawsuit over the tapes.  Arnold's response seems to be that he's going to let it all spill out.  That should lead to a patented Trump Twitter meltdown.  

I don't understand why someone wouldn't make a copy and release it to a news station anonymously.  or "lose" it in the vicinity of Rachel Maddow. Oops! That's what I would do.