Donald John Trump: 2016 President-Elect

[Rapunzel]

22 minutes ago, windsprints said:

 His gold toilet. Just kidding. Probably something gaudy though, a throne like chair or something.

A very, very gold, very tacky, gaudy looking, high-backed gold throne-ish chair. Maybe even with a lion or tiger at his feet. Wouldn't surprise me if the gold toilet was in the background. :-)

Edited November 22, 2016 by Rapunzel

[SoSueMe]

2 hours ago, fishcakes said:

What he sees:

What we see:

Or, what is known as a threat display...

The threat display of a Hamadryas baboon. UC Berkeley paleontologists studied the molars and premolars of baboons to uncover inherited dental traits that can help track primate and human evolution.

http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/changes-primate-teeth-linked-rise-monkeys

[izabella]

8 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Trump's pushed this a lot, claiming just today that he thinks differently about ISIS than everyone else, suggesting his son in law for some reason could solve the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Well, he seems to approve of and respect Putin and his perspectives, so maybe that's where he's getting his thoughts about ISIS and Israel/Palestine.

Edited November 22, 2016 by izabella

[windsprints]

6 minutes ago, Rapunzel said:

A very, very gold, very tacky, gaudy looking, high-backed gold throne-ish chair. Maybe even with a lion or tiger at his feet. Wouldn't surprise me if the gold toilet was in the background. :-)

Maybe he'll go a little simpler, even barefoot.

(I cannot complete with the nostril flaring monkey)

Edited November 22, 2016 by windsprints

[ClareWalks]

2 minutes ago, windsprints said:

Maybe he'll go a little simpler, even barefoot.

(I cannot complete with the nostril flaring monkey)

Bwahahaha! Look at that pitiable, tiny crotch bulge! That sure explains a LOT!

[NewDigs]

5 hours ago, molshoop said:

Not all of us who are dependent on Medicare and SS are willfully ignorant Trump supporters.  Life events, like
long term serious illness, can leave liberals in the low income category too.  I may not like the company or
have much in common with them, but I'll be in the same sink hole without a rope.

I tried to convince myself that, No Way! would or could that happen. Then I remembered PRyan already has a blueprint. And this morning I received an AARP email that was more of an AlertALertAlert about it being a real possibility.

I hope lots Trump voters were as concerned as I. And as pissed off as I.

Did all of these low-info Trump-voters not understand campaign "promises". 

Especially his. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by NewDigs

[Padma]

Does it seem weird to anyone else that Trump had to bring four people with him to the NYT luncheon/interview?

And that he didn't bring Bannon or Kushner--the two who seem to have the most influence over him. He brought policy guy Stephen Miller, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne (she's never going away is she?), and Reince who joined in his defense of Bannon as not being a white nationalist..

[SmithW6079]

I think I'm in love with Keith Olbermann now.

https://mobile.twitter.com/keitholbermann

#RESIST

Edited November 24, 2016 by SmithW6079

[izabella]

1 minute ago, Padma said:

Kellyanne (she's never going away is she?),

He needs someone with him at all times who is quick enough to speak for him, or stop him from blundering too badly.  That's why he chooses YouTube and Twitter as his methods of communication, and why he won't be having any press conferences any time soon.  He doesn't know enough about any specific issue to answer questions intelligently or deftly, but Kellyanne speaks for him quite well on all the media outlets.  She's not going anywhere as long as she can stand being in that job.

[theredhead77]

What's the over/under on Kellyanne and Trump having an affair?

[Padma]

I think she's too old and worn looking for him. (Which doesn't mean he hasn't tried something of course, just for fun, as a power trip).   But maybe her obsequiousness is enough of a power trip.

[backformore]

trump would hate for you to share these photos of him

A collection of unflattering photos of DT.   I suggest adding one to every tweet about him.

Think about how clueless he is.  He TELLS the press exactly what ticks him off.  And expects them to comply with his wishes?   He has a distorted view of how much power the president actually has. 

[BuckeyeLou]

4 hours ago, Padma said:

[[Edited because lol, picture.]]

It's not petty in my book. I don't trust any of them. Trump's idea that Jerrod should be involved in Middle East peace negotiations almost made me laugh--almost!!--but it's too scary to be funny! Because, crazy as it seems, this dangerous, lying, corrupt crazy person is really going to be our president.

I hate all that Pence stands for but I've lived through right-wing Republicans before and can do it again. Trump is something new and different and -very- dangerous.

* On a (possibly) lighter note, I caught a bit of Obama's Medal of Freedom award ceremony. Love our president! And you could feel it in the room.  Unfortunately, I thought about how the ceremony could go with Trump in charge, "...a great online innovator, Steve Bannon.....a terrific radio pioneer, Rush Limbaugh.....one of the greats of the motion picture industry, Chuck Norris....a woman who's turned history and journalism into best sellers...Ann Coulter.... and that actress I always wanted to grope but who'd never let me (until today, hehheh).... wait, Salma's not here? Damn!

I loved seeing Obama enjoying giving out the Medals of Freedom...and the honorees so thrilled to be honored.  Obama is just so cool & knows just what to say, its Great watching him, makes me feel good.  I was thinking what in the world would tRump be saying about honorees?!  He would make it all about himself, and the people would be looking embarrassed.

[BuckeyeLou]

4 hours ago, potatoradio said:

Perhaps the press should learn to visit this site for a flattering photo: Can you tell the Donald Trump from the raw chicken?

So, I read the tweets from the bullshit meeting with the NYT and I'm just...goddamn it, what the fuck? Let me get this straight - the Times should go easy on poor widdle Donnie because that will make his JOB EASIER?? 

Say no, NYT. For the love of all that is free in this country, SAY NO and say it with some American pride. 

Get after this fuckhead. Call him out. Don't let him be right when he says he can and will do anything he pleases. 

He doesn't know jack shit about much except how to decipher the world as "winners" and "losers" and "suckers." Like any good psychopath. He's a bigly, yyyugely good sociopath. I realize we're a great melting pot, but sociopath tastes awful even covered in chocolate.

THIS!  The MSM, including all the major news outlets, need to investigate & do serious homework on what Trumpster & his Gang are doing in DC!  I hope they dont roll over & just accept whatever he says because He is the "President".

[SoSueMe]

2 hours ago, windsprints said:

Maybe he'll go a little simpler, even barefoot.

(I cannot complete with the nostril flaring monkey)

Tiny feet also.

[Rapunzel]

Trump's charity admitted to misusing funds from his charity. They were used for personal gain, likely for Trump himself, including 2 portraits of himself that he purchased with charity funds, one which sits in one of his sports bars at one of his golf clubs. In addition, charity funds were used to pay off various legal settlements. These are violations of the "self dealing" rules for charities, and, when Trump filed his taxes and paperwork on his charity, they checked the box stating that they did not violate any of these rules. This means that he committed perjury and that when he signed off on the IRS filings for the charity, Trump clearly committed perjury as those forms specifically state that what you are signing is true and accurate under penalty of perjury/law.

So he has officially admitted to a significant crime in perjury. How can this man be allowed to be our President? Perjury can carry jail time. Of course, Trump may just have to pay the money back plus additional fines, but how dare he be so hard on Hillary when she was proven not to have broken the law (despite being investigated about a million times) when he has now flat out admitted to abusing his charity and committing perjury? This is so hypocritical - how can people still support this? He exploited a charity - it's pretty hard to get much lower than that. For those that voted for him, I hope they're proud.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Rapunzel

[mojoween]

I would say he's obviously a minion of Satan but I fear that would be insulting to the denizens of the underworld. 

And I'm only half kidding.

[Keepitmoving]

5 hours ago, windsprints said:

Maybe he'll go a little simpler, even barefoot.

(I cannot complete with the nostril flaring monkey)

Is this for real? Did he really take this picture? Or did someone put his head on top of some other body?

[Rapunzel]

5 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Bwahahaha! Look at that pitiable, tiny crotch bulge! That sure explains a LOT!

And most of that is probably tissue paper or a sock or something stuffed in there...

Edited November 23, 2016 by Rapunzel

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, Rapunzel said:

So he has officially admitted to a significant crime in perjury. How can this man be allowed to be our President? Perjury can carry jail time. Of course, Trump may just have to pay the money back plus additional fines, but how dare he be so hard on Hillary when she was proven not to have broken the law (despite being investigated about a million times) when he has now flat out admitted to abusing his charity and committing perjury? This is so hypocritical - how can people still support this? He exploited a charity - it's pretty hard to get much lower than that. For those that voted for him, I hope they're proud.

And isn't the other crime thrown at her that she used her position of Secretary of State to get money for her foundation? (That afaik has also been checked out for any bad behavior and they didn't find anything.) Now Trump's basically announced both in word and deed that he's making the Presidency part of his company and vice versa, claiming nobody cares about it, that he's above the law like that as president. (His attitude to every suggestion to show minimum integrity is basically, "Make me!" and then nobody does.) And still there's this gleeful expectation that any day how justice is going to catch up with...Hillary?

[BuckeyeLou]

7 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

That's all I'm watching for, because I cracked up at Rachel's tone when she said I didn't go, my boss went, but not me... LOL 

Rachel will go back to fucking landscaping before she plays this game, hell no. 

You can add Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell to this list, watching these four for any changes.  

I think I heard/read that he was still bitching on Katy Tur, but was she invited? I didn't see her name on the list. Again, can't stop laughing, but poor Katy. 

Trump is the "gift" that keeps on giving to comedians, they have got to do this press meeting on SNL, they've got to. Who can play Chuck Todd? Because he gives a good WTF face, when he has to and I know he was at this meeting.

Poor Katy Tur...I have not seen her on the evening news covering all things Trump, maybe she's taking a well-deserved vacation?  Or maybe she asked to be relieved of her Trump beat?  Seems like Hallie Jackson is doing the Trump stories now.

[Rapunzel]

11 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Poor Katy Tur....she got all kinds of abuse on the campaign trail....I have not seen her recently on the Evening news and I hope she is taking a well-deserved vacation.  Or maybe she asked to be relieved from covering Trump?   I've seen Hallie Jackson covering most of the Trump stories now.

She was on one of the MSNBC shows the other night - I can't remember which one. She seemed alright - I admit, I had it on in the background and wasn't paying a lot of attention, but she was there actively participating in the discussion, which of course was about Trump.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Padma]

Here's an open letter to Trump supporters from the Op-Ed section of the L.A. Times.

It's bitter.

I liked it.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-me-richmond-20161118-story.html

[BW Manilowe]

18 hours ago, windsprints said:

I want the Time to continue to report about him so I think this is great news.  For those without Twitter:

He thinks he's gonna be POTUS for *8* years? (Look at the top Tweet screengrab) Is he just ignorant that an actual term of office for a POTUS starts at 4 years, then goes to 8 if you get re-elected (assuming you even run for a second term, which a few POTUSes, like LBJ, have declined to do), or what? Heaven help us!

[backformore]

Here's the photo that NBC used that hurt Trump's feelings: 

while I agree it's not a very flattering photo, I've seen him make that face many times.  he looks a bit deranged.

Edited November 23, 2016 by backformore

[BW Manilowe]

The Hollywood Reporter is saying Trump *did* disavow the White Supremacists, etc., who are spewing hate in his name, during his meeting with The New York Times.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-trump-disavows-alt-right-white-supremacists-950109

[Ceindreadh]

19 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

The Hollywood Reporter is saying Trump *did* disavow the White Supremacists, etc., who are spewing hate in his name, during his meeting with The New York Times.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-trump-disavows-alt-right-white-supremacists-950109

I'm curious as to whether he did it unprompted or only in response to a question. Of course either way, I'm sure his next meeting with his nazi advisor(s) he'll be back-pedalling again. 

 

The NY times had an editorial along the lines about how easily he flip flops depending on who his last meeting was with. 

[inkworks]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38076763

Activists call for recount in battleground states.

Just sore losers?

[ari333]

7 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

He thinks he's gonna be POTUS for *8* years? (Look at the top Tweet screengrab) Is he just ignorant that an actual term of office for a POTUS starts at 4 years, then goes to 8 if you get re-elected (assuming you even run for a second term, which a few POTUSes, like LBJ, have declined to do), or what? Heaven help us!

Eight years my voluminous smokin' ass. WHATH (We Here At The House) don't think he'll make it to Jan. (We can dream)

Something's going to happen. IDK what. The universe intervening... IDK.... karma.... something. If he could blame his wife or young son's fabricated ill health he could wimp out and use it as an excuse   to step down since . I'd take it.

[SoSueMe]

9 hours ago, Padma said:

Here's an open letter to Trump supporters from the Op-Ed section of the L.A. Times.

It's bitter.

I liked it.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-me-richmond-20161118-story.html

I loved it. I'm bitter too. I might get over it a little quicker if I could read about one or two Trump people with buyer's remorse. Hasn't happened yet at other places I frequent, RL and cyber. 

[partofme]

4 hours ago, inkworks said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38076763

Activists call for recount in battleground states.

Just sore losers?

I want a recount, I think it should be automatic and that Hillary's camp shouldn't have to or need to request it.

[MulletorHater]

9 hours ago, Padma said:

Here's an open letter to Trump supporters from the Op-Ed section of the L.A. Times.

It's bitter.

I liked it.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-me-richmond-20161118-story.html

That letter is fucking awesome!  It perfectly states how I've been feeling; the bile rises in my throat every time I think about the Grifter-in-Chief and his boorish family in the White House.

Just by virtue of their presence they cheapen everything they come into contact with.  Just because a turd is rolled in glitter and spritzed with expensive cologne, it doesn't conceal what that turd really is:. A piece of shit.

[ari333]

9 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

That letter is fucking awesome!  It perfectly states how I've been feeling; the bile rises in my throat every time I think about the Grifter-in-Chief and his boorish family in the White House.

Just by virtue of their presence they cheapen everything they come into contact with.  Just because a turd is rolled in glitter and spritzed with expensive cologne, it doesn't conceal what that turd really is:. A piece of shit.

Can you tell me some of the best parts of the letter. ? (Cant open the link) TIA (Sorry I'm a pain)

[Cupid Stunt]

15 hours ago, Padma said:

Does it seem weird to anyone else that Trump had to bring four people with him to the NYT luncheon/interview?

15 hours ago, izabella said:

He needs someone with him at all times who is quick enough to speak for him, or stop him from blundering too badly.  That's why he chooses YouTube and Twitter as his methods of communication, and why he won't be having any press conferences any time soon.  He doesn't know enough about any specific issue to answer questions intelligently or deftly, but Kellyanne speaks for him quite well on all the media outlets.  She's not going anywhere as long as she can stand being in that job.

 

This is from a Twitter exchange 11/22/2016 between Pema Levy and Dana Houle, discussing the NYTimes and Hair Gropenführer's public fracas trying to organize an on-the-record interview:

Pema: A lesson to the press: Trump team says one thing to the media, waits for favorable coverage, then hours later winks at his base

Dana: There’s some of this, sure, maybe a lot. But don’t dismiss likely cognitive decline, either. He can’t remember shit

Dana: I think Trump has Kushner or 1 of his kids w him at all times so they can confer on what he did, bc he can’t remember/keep things straight

Dana: So this makes the job _harder_ for the press. Because then they have to try to figure out when he’s lying, when he’s confused. And who…speaks for what he did, if he can’t remember or keep it straight? Who corrects Trump? Not everyone he says wrong will be to his advantage

Dana: And if he is suffering cognitive decline, another question is, when is he confused, & when is he being a dick? Often both will be plausible

Dana: Several people making Reagan comparisons. What those comparisons miss, though, is that Reagan probably entered the White House more lucid…than Trump is. Plus, Reagan had been a two-term governor of California, and he had a cadre of experienced and skill aides around him…

Dana: …and Nancy was ruthless in protecting him from manipulative aides, or at least tried to be. Trump’s got no governing team, just his kids…and unlike Nancy Reagan, Melania probably will be barely engaged.

 

Dana Houle is an engaging political read, if you're so inclined.

[sistermagpie]

7 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

I'm curious as to whether he did it unprompted or only in response to a question. Of course either way, I'm sure his next meeting with his nazi advisor(s) he'll be back-pedalling again. 

From what I read I would not even say he disavowed them. He was pressured to do so, even said, "Wow, you guys are really obsessed with this" to dismiss the importance of it, claimed that the criticism of Steve Bannon was hurtful to him because that wasn't "who he is" and said he never would have hired Bannon if he thought he was a white supremacist. In other words, he was saying that since he hired him, he's not to be called a white supremacist. His disavowal was basically him saying, "Okay, okay. I disavow Nazis. You happy now? Fine." There was no statement of conviction against the idea, just denial that anyone had anything to be worried about. And of course, he's not making a move to get rid of these people now that these shocking facts have been brought to his attention.

[stormy]

Melania will barely be engaged?  WTF.   How's she going to promote her anti-bullying campaign she promised to advocate as FLOTUS?

[KerleyQ]

I've been saying for a while that I think he's got some level of dementia. I fully agree that it's the likely reason for him having Jared or one of the kids with him at all times, even when it's wildly inappropriate.  It's also why he's pushing so hard for Jared to have a role in his administration.  Since Jared isn't a biological relation, an he's not directly involved in Trump's companies (he has his own business interests), he's the most likely to eventually be approved as some kind of aide or something.  He's still a longshot, given that son-in-law is specifically spelled out in the rule, but since Humpty Trumpty seems to get away with bending and breaking all kinds of ethical boundaries and flat out rules, he has no reason to think that he won't get his way on this one, too.  

That also might explain why Ivanka and Melania seemed not so over the top thrilled with his win.  I think the two of them likely figured this was just some little lark he was going to go on, and then it would be over, he would have gotten more attention for his company, and life would go on.  Now he's really opened himself up to people figuring out what's going on with him.  Junior and Eric, I think, are more ruthless and just want the power that comes with Dad being the POTUS.  I think it's likely that Ivanka, Jared, and the kids will move into the White House with him, precisely for this reason - they want to be there 24/7 to protect his image.  Melania, on the other hand, is, I think, more concerned with distancing her son from the whole shit show.  

15 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I loved seeing Obama enjoying giving out the Medals of Freedom...and the honorees so thrilled to be honored.  Obama is just so cool & knows just what to say, its Great watching him, makes me feel good.  I was thinking what in the world would tRump be saying about honorees?!  He would make it all about himself, and the people would be looking embarrassed.

The first thing that came to mind when I read this was the statement he made about Kelly Preston, when she and John lost their son.  Instead of being able to focus on them, he had to make it about him, and how he tried to get her into bed once.  Obviously, not every Medal of Freedom winner will be someone he tried to get into bed, but he will undoubtedly have some bullshit personal anecdote about himself that he feels relates to each recipient, and that is what the focus of his speech would be.  Where President Obama managed to personalize all of the recipients, while still keeping the focus on them, with a great blend of humor and respect, Trump has exactly zero clue how to do that.  Your entire worth in his world is based on two things - your looks, and whether you're nice to him.  It's all he retains about anyone.  The rest is just noise to him.  

6 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

From what I read I would not even say he disavowed them. He was pressured to do so, even said, "Wow, you guys are really obsessed with this" to dismiss the importance of it, claimed that the criticism of Steve Bannon was hurtful to him because that wasn't "who he is" and said he never would have hired Bannon if he thought he was a white supremacist. In other words, he was saying that since he hired him, he's not to be called a white supremacist. His disavowal was basically him saying, "Okay, okay. I disavow Nazis. You happy now? Fine." There was no statement of conviction against the idea, just denial that anyone had anything to be worried about. And of course, he's not making a move to get rid of these people now that these shocking facts have been brought to his attention.

The man has time to tweet about the NY Times, Hamilton, the mean protesters, etc, but he can't spare one tweet to call the people painting Nazi symbols all over "losers"?  It's absurd that we have to go to Twitter as a barometer of how our Pres-Elect really feels about an issue, but that's the situation we're in now, and the fact is that he doesn't call out those committing the hate crimes like he does someone who hurts his delicate feelings.  And that should tell everyone all we need to know about how his Presidency is going to go.  

[sistermagpie]

I don't even think he even does have any sort of cognitive problems. I think this is the way he's always been. He says whatever he needs to say in the moment and doesn't think it means anything so why not contradict it afterward? There's a podcast called Trumpcast and they have a thing called Trump's razor where the rule is that if you're wondering what's going on, the stupidest reason is probably the right one. There's not going to be any strategy or plot, it's just the stupidest reason. Like when they were asking about some weird thing Trump said where he seemed to contradict himself mid-sentence (I think this was about him reassuring everyone he wouldn't cause any international incidents by pointing to the international incident he'd just caused in Mexico) the guy said he just didn't think through what he was saying as far ahead as the end of the sentence.

Of course this still requires people watching him who do think he's going to be held accountable for what he says, but at this point what would he even have to do to ruin his image? Ignoring whatever seems wonky in what he says seems to be the first rule of Trump club. There's a lot of people who seem to seriously think he's got some plan for Syria. He's done so many things already that are the things you'd be worried about him doing if he had cognitive problems it seems like as long as he maybe keeps his pants on he's fine (and I'm honestly not sure that would be a dealbreaker either). He could insult all the people who voted for him and I'm not sure it would be enough.

Edited November 23, 2016 by sistermagpie

[fishcakes]

I feel a bit sorry for Melania. Part of me thinks that, well, you marry a dessicated Halloween Peep for his money, you take the consequences, but she couldn't have predicted this level of scrutiny. She was humiliated more than a few times during the campaign, some of it due to her own past and lies, but most of it due to Trump being a sex pest. It's a pretty good bet that had he lost the election, she would have divorced him, but it would be so much of a scandal now that I'm sure he's threatening her with all manner of punishment if she tried to leave, probably mostly monetary but it wouldn't be beyond him to threaten to take her son from her, even though he's on the record as not caring about any of his kids until they're adults (or, in Tiffany's case, ever).

2 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

I've been saying for a while that I think he's got some level of dementia.

I think so too. It's not just that he seems to have a bad memory (which is debatable as he could just be lying about what he does or doesn't remember), but also that if you look at interviews he gave even six or seven years ago, he sounds so much more rational -- not in the content of what he's saying necessarily -- but just in his ability to form sentences. Now he can barely get through a sentence without making a bizarre grammatical or logical detour, or he'll start talking to himself in the midst of talking to someone else. It's easier to follow if you're listening to him, but to read a transcript is painful.

Edited November 23, 2016 by fishcakes

[numbnut]

14 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

7 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

I'm curious as to whether he did it unprompted or only in response to a question. Of course either way, I'm sure his next meeting with his nazi advisor(s) he'll be back-pedalling again. 

From what I read I would not even say he disavowed them. He was pressured to do so, even said, "Wow, you guys are really obsessed with this" to dismiss the importance of it, claimed that the criticism of Steve Bannon was hurtful to him because that wasn't "who he is" and said he never would have hired Bannon if he thought he was a white supremacist. In other words, he was saying that since he hired him, he's not to be called a white supremacist. His disavowal was basically him saying, "Okay, okay. I disavow Nazis. You happy now? Fine." There was no statement of conviction against the idea, just denial that anyone had anything to be worried about. And of course, he's not making a move to get rid of these people now that these shocking facts have been brought to his attention.

ITA. Trump is clearly not making any effort to address his white supremacist base because he doesn't give a shit about racism. Also, Bannon is his puppetmaster. ("No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet.") Bannon positioned himself to empower his base and he's avoiding the press to focus on doing just that. His base is panicked because they now live in a world where a black man served as President and their nightmare of whites becoming a minority is actually happening. If racists want to return to the 1950s or the slavery era, Trump isn't going to get them there. They should look into building a time machine.

[SoSueMe]

1 hour ago, ari333 said:

Can you tell me some of the best parts of the letter. ? (Cant open the link) TIA (Sorry I'm a pain)

Hope copy and paste is allowed. I couldn't pick out "best", it's all awesome.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-me-richmond-20161118-story.html

Read On: An open letter to Trump voters

Dear Person Whose Voice Was Heard:

Well, you got your way. The people have spoken. And your guy won. I mean, he won by attracting support from well below half of those who actually voted — long live the electoral college — but still. A win is a win. No shutting down of a freeway in protest is gonna change that. So congratulations.

I have never been more wrong in my life than I was in predicting this election. I didn't think there was a chance in holy heck that Donald Trump could actually become president of the United States. Life will surprise you, though rarely like this.

It will probably come as little shock that I'm pretty upset about this whole thing. Actually, crushingly depressed is a better way to describe it. You know, I'm one of those arrogant liberal elites blinded inside my blue bubble who likes my presidents classy and competent. Crazy, right?

But I digress.

My purpose of this letter is merely to give you a heads up as to what exactly you have voted for here in going with your gut rather than your rational mind. To my mind, you have sided with unvarnished stupidity and hatred.

You've chosen a man who applied for a demanding job he knew nothing about and had never served in political office. Go back to when you were 16 working your first gig at Carl's Jr. and recall all of the mistakes you made. Now magnify that times 50 million in terms of pressure and difficulty and with the entire world watching. It's on-the-job training with the country serving as your shake machine.

Another thing you did is vote into office a person who flaunts without an ounce of self-awareness or irony the most buffoonish, disgusting trappings of American consumption and conspicuous wealth, a man who believes everything can be made exquisite if encrusted in solid gold. The world's enduring image of America is now Richie Rich.

While you can feel secure in the knowledge that you voted in lock-step with the evangelical community, it seems the purportedly devout have profoundly lowered their standards in backing a xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic, racist, fear-mongering, hate-spewing serial violator of women. But hey, nobody's perfect, right?

The thing is, you too knew all of this stuff and voted for Trump anyway. You rationalized it with every fiber of your being. You figured the media had it out for him and did everything it could to make him look bad. Plus, all of those women who accused him of sexual harassment and worse were making it up, weren't they?

Your guy may have said he could grab females by the you-know-where, but come on, can't a guy joke around? Anyone who objected was just being politically correct, which in this case meant overly supportive of diplomacy and decency.

You voted for a guy who promised to build walls rather than bridges and launch immigration squads to cleanse the United States of imaginary Muslim terrorists. Because there are already too many foreigners here anyhow, right? And they're taking our jobs, dammit!

So let's again just be clear about what you've elected: A middle-school bully with no respect for humanity or tolerance for anyone who isn't white. You chose to conveniently, willfully ignore — or perhaps applaud — Trump's belief that it's virtuous to use loopholes to avoid paying taxes and even more righteous to entirely shield your returns from public view.

Your choice for president was transparent in his embrace of a fascist dictator named Vladimir Putin and supportive of Putin's influence on the election through hacking and leaks. And here is another news flash: If you're working class, your hero has no use for you. In fact, he thinks you're a sucker.

You know what you've done? You've rolled the dice and endangered all of the social progress we've made in this country over the past 50 years. Congratulations.

Sore loser? Oh you bet I'm a sore loser. The sorest loser ever. So let's get a few things straight:

I'm not interested in unifying for the good of the country any more than you were for President Obama.

I don't want to hear your complaints when your revolution flops on arrival, given how you've chosen the worst imaginable man to lead it.

Don't ask me to heal, accept, embrace, reassess or chill. It's you who screwed up. It isn't my responsibility to cushion the blow.

Good luck. We're all going to need it.

Ray

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

From what I read I would not even say he disavowed them. He was pressured to do so, even said, "Wow, you guys are really obsessed with this" to dismiss the importance of it, claimed that the criticism of Steve Bannon was hurtful to him because that wasn't "who he is" and said he never would have hired Bannon if he thought he was a white supremacist. In other words, he was saying that since he hired him, he's not to be called a white supremacist. His disavowal was basically him saying, "Okay, okay. I disavow Nazis. You happy now? Fine." There was no statement of conviction against the idea, just denial that anyone had anything to be worried about. And of course, he's not making a move to get rid of these people now that these shocking facts have been brought to his attention.

It's reminiscent of the attitude he had when he had to "disavow" his "birther" lie.  He was pressured into it by his campaign people because they knew it would come up during the first debate.  So they had to get in front of it, hoping their statement would make the whole matter go away.

Too bad it didn't work because Lester Holt did address that issue in the debate and sat back and allowed the Fanta Fucker to run his mouth unscripted.  By then, I suspect whatever meds he was on to keep him calm had worn off.  I still don't know if it was Quaaludes or some other sedative drug, but they seem to wear off after 20 minutes.  Apparently, his keepers haven't mastered a time release formula as of yet, which probably explains why the Crypt Mistress is still in the mix.

Despite his "walking back" the "birther" lie, the Fanta Fucker has yet to apologize to President Obama and his family, or admit that he knew it was a lie which he kept going for 5+ years.  He even incredibly tried to take credit for doing the American people a service by forcing the president to address the issue and produce his birth certificate.  Meanwhile, we haven't seen hair nor hide of his tax returns or medical reports.

[Kromm]

On 11/21/2016 at 2:43 PM, Padma said:

I must be slow this morning. But what is wrong with Bondi being part of the transition team? She's a Republican AG. (Of course, the earlier corruption re: $25k to back off investigating Trump U, I totally get.  I also wonder if she intervened re: Lewandowski and Michelle Fields. ) 

But for this, isn't that just like Christie et al being involved?

At the very least, it's a total visible "fuck you" to the idea that Trump will EVER be held accountable for ANY crime he has, or likely WILL commit. It means he's not even afraid of the possibility of a formal bribery investigation--that he's been willing to court publicity that in theory would scare a normal person into having the specter of bribery and corruption brought up, but he already knows he's "won" and nobody will do anything about it.  That he can take people who a normal politician would hide away for fear of scandal and feels comfortable flaunting them instead. 

It's a sign that neither the law or public accountability matters--and that he's going to do whatever he wants. That he has no fear of consequences (which means we should all be pissing our pants now).

Edited November 23, 2016 by Kromm

[ari333]

22 minutes ago, SoSueMe said:

Hope copy and paste is allowed. I couldn't pick out "best", it's all awesome.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/opinion/tn-gnp-me-richmond-20161118-story.html

Read On: An open letter to Trump voters

Dear Person Whose Voice Was Heard:

Well, you got your way. The people have spoken. And your guy won. I mean, he won by attracting support from well below half of those who actually voted — long live the electoral college — but still. A win is a win. No shutting down of a freeway in protest is gonna change that. So congratulations.

I have never been more wrong in my life than I was in predicting this election. I didn't think there was a chance in holy heck that Donald Trump could actually become president of the United States. Life will surprise you, though rarely like this.

It will probably come as little shock that I'm pretty upset about this whole thing. Actually, crushingly depressed is a better way to describe it. You know, I'm one of those arrogant liberal elites blinded inside my blue bubble who likes my presidents classy and competent. Crazy, right?

But I digress.

My purpose of this letter is merely to give you a heads up as to what exactly you have voted for here in going with your gut rather than your rational mind. To my mind, you have sided with unvarnished stupidity and hatred.

You'vTe chosen a man who applied for a demanding job he knew nothing about and had never served in political office. Go back to when you were 16 working your first gig at Carl's Jr. and recall all of the mistakes you made. Now magnify that times 50 million in terms of pressure and difficulty and with the entire world watching. It's on-the-job training with the country serving as your shake machine.

Another thing you did is vote into office a person who flaunts without an ounce of self-awareness or irony the most buffoonish, disgusting trappings of American consumption and conspicuous wealth, a man who believes everything can be made exquisite if encrusted in solid gold. The world's enduring image of America is now Richie Rich.

While you can feel secure in the knowledge that you voted in lock-step with the evangelical community, it seems the purportedly devout have profoundly lowered their standards in backing a xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic, racist, fear-mongering, hate-spewing serial violator of women. But hey, nobody's perfect, right?

The thing is, you too knew all of this stuff and voted for Trump anyway. You rationalized it with every fiber of your being. You figured the media had it out for him and did everything it could to make him look bad. Plus, all of those women who accused him of sexual harassment and worse were making it up, weren't they?

Your guy may have said he could grab females by the you-know-where, but come on, can't a guy joke around? Anyone who objected was just being politically correct, which in this case meant overly supportive of diplomacy and decency.

You voted for a guy who promised to build walls rather than bridges and launch immigration squads to cleanse the United States of imaginary Muslim terrorists. Because there are already too many foreigners here anyhow, right? And they're taking our jobs, dammit!

So let's again just be clear about what you've elected: A middle-school bully with no respect for humanity or tolerance for anyone who isn't white. You chose to conveniently, willfully ignore — or perhaps applaud — Trump's belief that it's virtuous to use loopholes to avoid paying taxes and even more righteous to entirely shield your returns from public view.

Your choice for president was transparent in his embrace of a fascist dictator named Vladimir Putin and supportive of Putin's influence on the election through hacking and leaks. And here is another news flash: If you're working class, your hero has no use for you. In fact, he thinks you're a sucker.

You know what you've done? You've rolled the dice and endangered all of the social progress we've made in this country over the past 50 years. Congratulations.

Sore loser? Oh you bet I'm a sore loser. The sorest loser ever. So let's get a few things straight:

I'm not interested in unifying for the good of the country any more than you were for President Obama.

I don't want to hear your complaints when your revolution flops on arrival, given how you've chosen the worst imaginable man to lead it.

Don't ask me to heal, accept, embrace, reassess or chill. It's you who screwed up. It isn't my responsibility to cushion the blow.

Good luck. We're all going to need it.

Ray

Thank you!!!!

[SoSueMe]

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

From what I read I would not even say he disavowed them. He was pressured to do so, even said, "Wow, you guys are really obsessed with this" to dismiss the importance of it, claimed that the criticism of Steve Bannon was hurtful to him because that wasn't "who he is" and said he never would have hired Bannon if he thought he was a white supremacist. In other words, he was saying that since he hired him, he's not to be called a white supremacist. His disavowal was basically him saying, "Okay, okay. I disavow Nazis. You happy now? Fine." There was no statement of conviction against the idea, just denial that anyone had anything to be worried about. And of course, he's not making a move to get rid of these people now that these shocking facts have been brought to his attention.

It has been repeatedly stressed on cable news that he is way more preoccupied with Pence being called out by 'Hamilton' than the hate group cheering him a few blocks from the White House. 

[windsprints]

Quote

Is this for real? Did he really take this picture? Or did someone put his head on top of some other body?

Its real. You can read about what the person who wrote the Playboy piece it appeared in had to say about him last Dec. here.

[potatoradio]

We have one senator, Elizabeth Warren, not letting any of this bullshit go without at least demanding some investigation: E.W. asks federal agency for review of Trump mess

Go, Elizabeth Warren. The sky will never be green in your world, thank g-d.

[Kromm]

Just now, potatoradio said:

We have one senator, Elizabeth Warren, not letting any of this bullshit go without at least demanding some investigation: E.W. asks federal agency for review of Trump mess

Go, Elizabeth Warren. The sky will never be green in your world, thank g-d.

I'm not joking now. I hope Warren has good bodyguards the next few years. That said, that won't stop a Trump dirty tricks machine from doing other stuff, like plating evidence against her about something, or creating fake scandals around her, etc.

That's the place we are in. I honestly am fearing that voices of opposition will be silenced one way or the other soon.

I also hope Ruth Ginsburg also has some kind of protection.

This is insane. Government isn't supposed to make you fear this kind of stuff. At worst, you're supposed to be annoyed by them.

[Padma]

I'm fuming!!!! (And a big thank  you to people here. Without reading y'alls posts I think my head would explode from the frustration!)  This time it's not just Trump-the-chameleon. It's --again-- the press and the Democrats.

The Press.  It just doesn't stop, does it?  Trump is Trump, people. He's a liar.  He manipulates by saying what he thinks people want to hear if it serves his purposes.  In particular, he manipulates the press (esp. tv) and it's sickening how unaware they still are.  Stop normalizing him just because he was "calm and charming and reasonable (ish) Donald" during the NYT interview!!! It's an ACT!!!  Hearing the NYT room laughing supportively at one of his jokes (maybe how the GOP loves him now but they didn't before) was sickening. "We don't need a relationship. We don't need to like each other. This is impersonal, reporting on you, like a machine devoted to one thing only: good journalism." That's what I wanted to hear. And didn't.

Then the tv plays the clips where he's now so "moderate"--on Clinton, Bannon, global warming, torture..."He sounds so calm and even self aware...i'ts not going to be that bad, after all...he's moderating, learning, and he's an outsider, remember, someone fresh and new, maybe he'll work with Democrats!  Look, it's Nikki Haley for UN, Carson. Maybe Romney.  It's a Team of Rivals!!!!"  Blech.

The Democrats. They're the worst. Here a "team of election scholars and computer scientists" said results in Wisc. Michigan and Pennsylvania might have been hacked, that the electronic voting was 7% off of paper votes for Hillary and they thought she should ask for a recount.  Ed Rendell comes on and says, weakly, "maybe look at a small sample just to rule it out".  Then Andrea Mitchell says, "Weren't people glad it was all over?" and he says, "Yes, they really were." And they decide that "Even though there 'might' have been hacking into DNC and Podesta to influence the election, that doesn't mean anything else happened."  Well, no, it wasn't a "might". They WERE HACKED. And by Russia.  In order to throw the election for Trump.  Hillary received over 2 million more votes than Trump nationwide.  All the polls said she was winning in Mich. Wisc. and Penn. -- even the RNC's OWN poll said Trump was going to lose, decisively.

But he still won those three states, in an election in which a foreign government was cheating for him--and the media was playing right along with them in spreading the information (some which was false.) 

Damn right I want to know if there was cheating via computer voting, too!!!  Where's your fire Democrats?  Geez. What a bunch of weak-willed wimps. If the situation was reversed and Trump had decisively won the popular vote--with Hillary winning electoral college by taking NC, Iowa and Florida with some shady computer numbers--you can be SURE -- absolutely POSTIIVE -- that Trump and his people would be talking it UP and insisting on a recount!!!!

Arrrggghhhh!!!!

[windsprints]

Ken Burns: Trump is using Nazi playbook