Donald John Trump: 2016 President-Elect

[Toomuchsoap]

14 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

Sorry Kurt, hate to say it, but you're screaming into a void.  My girlfriend just showed me a Facebook post w/ at least 5 dozen responses about this.  To a person, each Trump supporter is believing Trump's claims of massive fraud.  What fucking world are we living in???  I just can't fathom this.  How in the world can so many people be so deluded???

https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/803042582423109632

They WISH to be, that's why. It's not true and they know it's not true, but claiming it is supports and legitimizes it in their twisted logic. No argument, no amount of irrefutabe, concrete, tangible evidence laid before them will change their argument. Not all among the group of about 47 percent of tRump voters is a staunch rethug loyalist. They only have a core "base" of about 35 percent of the electorate. The people that broke from Dems for tRump in the rust belt/boondocks are not all true believers in this whack job. They're wrung out and need a break. They drank the koolaid this time because they wanted to believe he was going to move some of his manufacturing plants to their neck of the woods and all would be rosy again and they'd have $40 an hour blue collar jobs again. I HEARD one of these people say this in an interview on NPR's the World a day after the infiltration. When those jobs fail to materialize - and they will- these people will be calling for his head. 

Unfortunately, that will be too late. In one hour he and the rethug party will do permanent damage to the US. It will result in permanent white control of this country. If he does make it to the inauguration dais, look for a legislative tightening of gun ownership and public display BY THE RETHUGS because they know that an armed populace is dangerous to rule by fiat, and look for restrictions on the legitimate media and the internet and free speech. It's already starting and he's not even been officially installed yet.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Toomuchsoap

[potatoradio]

4 minutes ago, Toomuchsoap said:

They WISH to be, that's why.

Yep. The Tubby supporter I know wants to believe that she voted to "change" and "shake things up" because she "wasn't happy" and didn't like Hillary. Go ahead, ask her what, specifically, she was unhappy about and she'll list your basic conservative issues (education is in the crapper cos they don't teach respect for religion, health care expensive, more mass shootings in America mean we need to be scared to go the mall and that sucks and Black Lives Matter wants to kill police and that means people of color are bad and scary, blah blah blah, fearmongering, ignorant, privileged claptrap, blah blah blah).

She thinks Tubby exaggerated his racism and is essentially a blowhard on the teevee, but a pragmatic businessman who understands jobs and "how to get things done." She won't say it, but I'm convinced she's rather taken by his bullying bullshit and is a bit out for blood. You cannot reason with the deluded. You can only keep repeating the truth. 

I'll be sure to ask her, though, how safe and happy she is under a fascist regime. 

So, yeah, Tubby's Tweetertantrum is pretty rich, but I'm of the opinion that he's trying to fake us out to something important. Here's one thing he might be trying to bury: NYT publishes detailed story on Trump's global business conflicts of interest. Notice that his tweet specifically whines about media coverage? 

His "unpredictability" will become predictable soon enough. Even psychopaths have patterns. 

[SoSueMe]

11 hours ago, backformore said:

Keep in mind that some of the thundering applause he gets on twitter and facebook is paid for.  they're not all real people. 

There are businesses who make a living selling followers.  Contestants on Reality tv were the first I heard of using a service to buy a social media presence.  A singing competition, for example.  if one singer has more followers, they look like they are popular, they're the "next big thing", and the perceived popularity  increases their actual popularity.  Social media played a part on the Celeb Apprentice shows.  Trump comes from the world of Reality TV - a world where you pay to create the reality that suits you. 

Wow, I guess  am really naive. I never heard of that before but I would not put it past Trump. After all he wasn't above calling himself John Miller or John Barron to plant flattering stories about himself.

[SoSueMe]

13 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

***Sincere question:  Has anyone encountered any Trump supporter who is openly displaying regret for supporting him?  any Trump supporter who is calling him out for his b.s. since election day?

On the other boards I frequent, none at all. No buyers' remorse just plenty of slack being cut on the most obvious stupidity. And major spin on the equivocal stuff. It is infuriating and heart breaking. It is like a major mass hypnosis or mass insanity has occurred. 

[Guest]

In case anyone was wondering if the broadcast media will save us from Trump, please let go of that notion right now. 

Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: "It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS"

Quote

Leslie Moonves can appreciate a Donald Trump candidacy.

Not that the CBS executive chairman and CEO might vote for the Republican presidential frontrunner, but he likes the ad money Trump and his competitors are bringing to the network.

"It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS," he said of the presidential race.

Moonves called the campaign for president a "circus" full of "bomb throwing," and he hopes it continues.

"Most of the ads are not about issues. They're sort of like the debates," he said.

"Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ... The money's rolling in and this is fun," he said.

"I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going," said Moonves.

"Donald's place in this election is a good thing," he said Monday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco.

"There's a lot of money in the marketplace," the exec said of political advertising so far this presidential season.

That was a pre-election interview. But, it remains: It's always about the money. These rich fucks just want to get richer and they don't give one damn about anyone standing between them and their fleet of Leer jets. They don't care about you, they don't care about me, and they don't care about democracy. 

[khyber]

14 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Because we live in a country that has made opinions carry the same weight as facts. Actual facts no longer matter. All that matters is how you feel about the situation and how many other people also feel that way. It's all the Republican's part of the dumbing down of America. Cutting the sciences has created a generation of unintentionally ignorant, uneducated adults. People have not developed critical thinking skills, they haven't been given basics in science.

I have 7 nieces and nephews. 2 are critical thinkers, 2 are dopes and the other 3 could develop critical thinking skills but aren't geared toward being educated.

[backformore]

51 minutes ago, SoSueMe said:

Wow, I guess  am really naive. I never heard of that before but I would not put it past Trump. After all he wasn't above calling himself John Miller or John Barron to plant flattering stories about himself.

Do Google search for something like "buy Twitter followers" and you'll find companies and articles about it.   Bloggers use it to artificially inflated their stats so they can sell more advertising.  

http://m.blogs.christianpost.com/tech-entertainment-health-news/did-donald-trump-buy-twitter-followers-why-28237/

 

ETA:  Here is a better explanation, from Vanity Fair:Trumps biggest lie - the size of his twitter following

Edited November 28, 2016 by backformore

[Duke Silver]

Trump's continued extolling of conspiracy theories & those who perpetrate them remains as deeply concerning as a number of other things about him.  The daughter of a Sandy Hook victim implores Trump to quit legitimizing the crazies....too bad he's one of them, so it isn't going happen, but it's worth reading because it highlights something I & others have mentioned here:  Alex Jones, purveyor of trash and lies.

Mr. Trump, Denounce Alex Jones

Quote

We cannot normalize fact-denying behavior. We cannot shrug our shoulders and chalk it up to “Trump being Trump,” yet do nothing about it.

Quote

Deep down, I do not want to believe that the Jones and the trolls who constantly bombard me with hate on Twitter are reflective of conservatives. But if mainstream conservatives won’t disavow fringe thinkers such as Alex Jones, how on earth can they claim the moral high ground?

[DollEyes]

Regarding Melania & Barron staying in NYC while Barron completes the school year, more special treatment, as in yet another example of Trump thinking that rules shouldn't apply to him nor his family, as is his wanting the Secret Service to crash at Trump Tower at the taxpayers' expense. If President Obama had even suggested that Michelle, Sasha and Malia stay in Chicago for the first year and the SS stay at their house while the taxpayers picked up the check, the Republicans in general and Trump in particular would have tried their damnedest to have him & his family arrested, if not deported.

  As for Trump's calling Jill Stein's recount efforts " a scam," since he just paid $25 million dollars to the victims of Trump University-one of his scams-his questioning her motives stinks like a shit house in Hell. If the shoe were on the other foot and Trump had won the popular vote while Hillary won the Electoral College, Trump would have screamed/tweeted bloody murder if there wasn't a recount. I've never had any use for Jill Stein before, but if this recount is her way of atoning for the deep-fried fuckery that was her Presidential campaign, then I've got one thing to say: apology accepted.

 Re Trump's unsubstantiated claim, aka lie, that "millions voted illegally," the Orange-Tinted Turd saying something stupid, racist and batshit crazy is about as shocking as President Obama doing the exact opposite. #IMissHimAlready.

Edited December 4, 2016 by DollEyes

[backformore]

Trump's latest tweet:

Quote

Donald J. TrumpVerified account ‏@realDonaldTrump 3h3 hours ago

If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal.

Retweets 11,145

Likes 33,914

 

OK - 33,000 people "LIKE"  it - but does anyone UNDERSTAND it?  

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, SoSueMe said:

14 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

***Sincere question:  Has anyone encountered any Trump supporter who is openly displaying regret for supporting him?  any Trump supporter who is calling him out for his b.s. since election day?

On the other boards I frequent, none at all. No buyers' remorse just plenty of slack being cut on the most obvious stupidity. And major spin on the equivocal stuff. It is infuriating and heart breaking. It is like a major mass hypnosis or mass insanity has occurred. 

A guy on my timeline just posted, apropos of nothing, that he was so grateful that Trump was president because he brings so much "genuine hope" to our great nation and he's practical and realistic. He's a true leader.

So yeah, that's his reaction to Trump hiring white supremacists, having petty tantrums against his enemies on Twitter and already using his position to make money for himself.  Trump represents him and therefore he is The Best. I've no idea if he's even following the actual events going on.

[Duke Silver]

Texas Elector Who Criticized Trump Resigns

Quote

“This will allow the remaining body of Electors to fill my vacancy when they convene on Dec 19 with someone that can vote for Trump. The people will get their vote … I will sleep well at night knowing I neither gave in to their demands nor caved to my convictions. I will also mourn the loss of our republic.”

Edited November 28, 2016 by Duke Silver

[MulletorHater]

14 hours ago, Pixel said:

Every morning I wake up and think, "Maybe today will be the day someone steps up and puts an end to this farce," but every day it doesn't happen. I have no faith that anyone will stand up to this buffoon. For reasons I cannot fathom, everyone is happy to step aside and watch him burn the motherfucker down. 

That's why I'm having a very difficult time guarding my tongue and not cussing out those Progressives who said a Hillary loss would be a good thing and that their third party (including gorillas) or non-votes would be "teaching the Democrats a lesson."  What lesson would that be, pray tell? Lessons on how to be such a sore loser because Bernie didn't secure the nomination that in your selfishness and self-righteous anger, you screwed the rest of us over?  What say you, now?  I only ask because your silence is deafening now that you've gotten what you said you wanted.  

It's as if they have gone scurrying like roaches when the lights are turned on in the middle of the night.  The Democrats have a miserable history of rolling over, playing dead and always going on the defensive and folding like a deck of cards.  The only person I can think of in the GOP who hasn't backed down is Senator Graham, but he's like that lone voice crying in the wilderness.

Edited November 28, 2016 by MulletorHater
One "would" too many

[potatoradio]

15 minutes ago, backformore said:

OK - 33,000 people "LIKE"  it - but does anyone UNDERSTAND it?  

Well, yeah, obviously, if Tubby can't build a Trump tower in Havana, that's sad and he'll cancel "the deal." (I'm just going to ignore the painful semantics of referring to diplomatic and trade relations as a business deal). 

By all means, Cuba, please show your dedication to 'Murrca by letting Tubby build whatever the f*ck he wants down there, ok? That's our new diplomacy. It'll make you bigly happy. 

If there are any environmentally sensitive areas, please let him know what those are, too. Bonus points for the direct smackdown of those stoooopid scientists and their climate conspiracy. Fake! Lies! 

Seriously, Twitter, I dare you to black out for a day until you've had a chance to restore your brand and remove any posts that don't cohere with your policy regarding abuse: 

We believe in freedom of expression and in speaking truth to power, but that means little as an underlying philosophy if voices are silenced because people are afraid to speak up. In order to ensure that people feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs, we do not tolerate behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user’s voice.

[KerleyQ]

14 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

***Sincere question:  Has anyone encountered any Trump supporter who is openly displaying regret for supporting him?  any Trump supporter who is calling him out for his b.s. since election day?

The ones I encounter seem to be split into two camps.  None will admit, outright, that this was a huge old mistake.  Half just simply don't talk about it at all.  They ignore all news items about him, they've stopped responding to argue if you post anything negative about him.  They've just shut down.  I think they do have some buyer's remorse, but they will never admit it.  The other half are the obsessive fans of Trump.  They're still out there slugging away for him, using cognitive dissonance to explain away anything and everything.  Present actual facts to them, and it's merely "liberal spin."  There is nothing he can do to lose their support.  That whole "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" thing?  That's them.  

12 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

His imagination. Or Putin.

Alex Jones.  It blows my mind that we have a P-E who treats whatever comes out of Alex Jones's fevered imagination as fact.  

2 hours ago, stormy said:

On January 20th shit for brains will takeover the presidential twitter account.  I'm guessing that's the only twitter account will be allowed to use?

Does this imbecile realize he won't be able to stay up all night tweeting crazy, immature rantings?

Oh, I don't believe for a second that the ranting will stop.  He'll keep having hidden phones that he hasn't told staff about, no matter how many they find and take away.  He'll never stop.  He can't.  He has a pathological need for it.  

1 hour ago, potatoradio said:

Yep. The Tubby supporter I know wants to believe that she voted to "change" and "shake things up" because she "wasn't happy" and didn't like Hillary. Go ahead, ask her what, specifically, she was unhappy about and she'll list your basic conservative issues (education is in the crapper cos they don't teach respect for religion, health care expensive, more mass shootings in America mean we need to be scared to go the mall and that sucks and Black Lives Matter wants to kill police and that means people of color are bad and scary, blah blah blah, fearmongering, ignorant, privileged claptrap, blah blah blah).

She thinks Tubby exaggerated his racism and is essentially a blowhard on the teevee, but a pragmatic businessman who understands jobs and "how to get things done." She won't say it, but I'm convinced she's rather taken by his bullying bullshit and is a bit out for blood. You cannot reason with the deluded. You can only keep repeating the truth. 

I'll be sure to ask her, though, how safe and happy she is under a fascist regime. 

My brother is a Trump supporter (one who seems to have fallen in the first camp I discussed above - he basically hasn't said a word about Trump since the election, he just keeps ranting about Hillary).  He spewed the same kind of "the country is a disaster, the economy sucks, etc, stuff that Trump fear mongered.  I said to my Mom once "exactly what is so bad in his life that he keeps ranting about what a disaster the country is?"  He and his wife both have very high paying jobs, and his requires very few actual hours in the office.  He's at work less in a week, generally, than my kid is in school.  They have a huge, like 5,000 square foot house for the two of them.  They take a minimum of two week long vacations each year (I think it's 3 or 4 they've taken this year) to place like Hawaii and the Bahamas.  They both drive expensive luxury cars.  They're not drowning in debt for any of this stuff, either.  So, I fail to get what he's talking about when he rants about the economy and how miserable life is in this country.  And you can't get a straight answer if you ask him, unless he decides to honor you with one of his rants about Muslims.  Explain to him that more deaths in the past 15 years (post 9/11) have occurred from home grown white Christian terrorists than Islamic terrorists, and he just rants at you about being anti-Christian.  Trump managed to fear monger tens of millions of people, because he found a way to convince them that anything that goes wrong, either in their own lives, or around them, is someone else's fault, and, if only those people were stopped, life in this country would be for all of us like it is for him (or as they envision it is for him) - living in tacky gold leafed palaces, with super model wives, beautiful, successful family, jetting all over the globe in a private plane, etc.  They don't get that that's not how any of this works.  He's told them that life sucks in this country, and only he can make it better, and, for whatever reason, they bought into it, hook, line, and sinker.  

11 minutes ago, backformore said:

Trump's latest tweet:

OK - 33,000 people "LIKE"  it - but does anyone UNDERSTAND it?  

Nope.  They don't need to understand it.  They just trust that he knows best.  So if he's saying it, it's gotta be wise.  

[Nysha]

15 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

***Sincere question:  Has anyone encountered any Trump supporter who is openly displaying regret for supporting him?  any Trump supporter who is calling him out for his b.s. since election day?

No, I have a few complain that he has back down on prosecuting Hillary & killing Obamacare, one concerned about his continued association with Banner, and everyone else justifying his opinions or posting "unify America" crap.

[windsprints]

Too bad the elector didn't do what is right - stay and vote for the person they thought was qualified.  Coward.

Quote

Has anyone encountered any Trump supporter who is openly displaying regret for supporting him?  any Trump supporter who is calling him out for his b.s. since election day?

No, the cult-like following continues - the press is evil for saying anything bad about him, everything is HRC's fault and people who don't like Trump are stupid.  And the gems like this continue on FB:

 

 

[MulletorHater]

13 hours ago, Duke Silver said:

Putin is licking his lips, watching American democracy implode at the hands of conspiracy theories & fake news.  The U.S. won't have the will to stand up to Russian expansionism.  Merkel is on her own.  Meanwhile, we're at the mercy of a madman, counseled by sniveling enablers.  Will anyone (national politician or a media outlet, for example) make a stand?

That's why as unhinged as Drumpf is, he's also crazy like a fox.  He knows exactly what he's doing with this Twitter bombs.  Once again, he's changed the narrative and deflected attention away from the mounting evidence of his (and his family's) corruption and conflicts of interest.  In addition, Putin's recent claim that Russia has no borders should terrify everyone in the region.  Angela Merkel is the last (wo)man standing against Russian aggression.

Anytime this is mentioned in print media, the Russian bots immediately come out to ridicule the notion.  Even some Progressives during the election season dismissed the concerns of the Clinton campaign about Russia influencing our election, including its hacking and releasing faked documents.  Such concerns were basically discounted as whining and trying to gin up the Cold War again.  That canard was put out there despite the repeated warnings of the intelligence agencies (except the FBI).  Where are those Progressive voices now?  Does it bother them in the least that fuhrer-select openly dismissed these warnings by the intelligence community, while getting intelligence from several other sources (according to the Crypt Mistress)?  Crickets chirping...

Meanwhile, Putin's bitch will do his bidding and will undoubtedly look the other way in exchange for the Russian oligarchs (i.e., Putin) not calling in their debt.

[KerleyQ]

13 minutes ago, windsprints said:

Too bad the elector didn't do what is right - stay and vote for the person they thought was qualified.  Coward.

My thoughts exactly.  You didn't really do anything by stepping down.  You just stepped aside and let it happen, even knowing it is a disaster for this nation.  People have become awfully snowflake-y about their "conscience" when exercising their conscience amounts to throwing their hands up in the air and letting someone else decide for them.  That's what all the "I'm going to vote third party because I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils" people did three weeks ago, and it's what this guy is doing now.  Apparently their conscience tells them to step back and just let bad shit happen to their fellow citizens.  

[Pixel]

30 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

My thoughts exactly.  You didn't really do anything by stepping down.  You just stepped aside and let it happen, even knowing it is a disaster for this nation.  People have become awfully snowflake-y about their "conscience" when exercising their conscience amounts to throwing their hands up in the air and letting someone else decide for them.  That's what all the "I'm going to vote third party because I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils" people did three weeks ago, and it's what this guy is doing now.  Apparently their conscience tells them to step back and just let bad shit happen to their fellow citizens.  

Right? If he really had a conscience, he'd have sucked it up and paid the $1000 fine to cast his vote for someone else.

[Maximum Taco]

8 minutes ago, Pixel said:

Right? If he really had a conscience, he'd have sucked it up and paid the $1000 fine to cast his vote for someone else.

Actually in Texas (and Georgia) there is no fine or any punishment at all for being a faithless elector.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Maximum Taco

[Padma]

I wonder if part of the reason I don't understand Tubby's supporters and their (imo insane) level of loyalty no matter what he says or does is that I've never fallen in love with a presidential candidate. I might have done so for the Kennedys, but that wasn't my time. And even then, it would have been the combination of personality + sincerity + competence/intelligence + idealism.

Maybe that's what they see in Tubby that they like--his unquestioning, confident personality that says "leadership" to them (and a man who never backs down or equivocates and is aggressive on the attack, especially when he's at fault. Strong!)  Obviously, where we see "pathological liar", they see "sincere".

I've certainly heard them say "he's a great businessman" so they surely think he's capable and smart. And I guess there's a (bizarre) sort of ideals in dreaming of an America where white Christians are economically and politically "great (i.e. dominant) again".  Plus, many seem to take his candidacy personally, like he's giving up so much to "help America". And they also hate Hillary, both as a woman, and as a "Clinton" who can be the symbol for everything they hate about liberalism (abortion, gun control, appreciation for diversity and a tolerant attitude of "live and let live" that doesn't conform to their ideas of the Bible (in some cases. Many apparently don't really care about the Bible as much as I thought, at least not when it comes to Tubby.)

I've never fallen in love with a candidate and been carried along by my emotions for him. But that's what I think Tubby's followers feel and, like someone with a vulgar, abusive boyfriend, they aren't even willing to look at his faults.  I don't know how you can fight that, when people are responding from emotion (which he manipulates very well).

Edited November 28, 2016 by Padma

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, windsprints said:

Too bad the elector didn't do what is right - stay and vote for the person they thought was qualified.  Coward.

No, the cult-like following continues - the press is evil for saying anything bad about him, everything is HRC's fault and people who don't like Trump are stupid.  And the gems like this continue on FB:

 

 

That seriously makes it look like he died. (I will avoid editorializing further about how I'd feel about that.)

[Chicken Wing]

Heh. WaPo has compiled a list of all 282 of Trumpelstiltskin's campaign promises. Aaaand it's going right into a spreadsheet so I can check them off as he breaks them -- assuming he's even in office long enough to even attempt to fulfill them one way or the other.

[bittersweet4149]

3 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

In case anyone was wondering if the broadcast media will save us from Trump, please let go of that notion right now. 

Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: "It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS"

That was a pre-election interview. But, it remains: It's always about the money. These rich fucks just want to get richer and they don't give one damn about anyone standing between them and their fleet of Leer jets. They don't care about you, they don't care about me, and they don't care about democracy. 

I didn't expect anything less from a man that divorced a wife of 26 years to marry someone else a mere 13 days later. Money hungry and dishonest: he and rump have a lot in common. *rme*

Quote

That's why as unhinged as Drumpf is, he's also crazy like a fox.  He knows exactly what he's doing with this Twitter bombs.  Once again, he's changed the narrative and deflected attention away from the mounting evidence of his (and his family's) corruption and conflicts of interest.

@MulletorHater, I totally agree. What's so crazy is if you listen to the madman, he totally tells you what he's up to, yet the media still gives him and his crew the type of non-investigative coverage that hides their misdeeds in plain site. It's disgusting.

Edited November 28, 2016 by bittersweet4149

[AntiBeeSpray]

3 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

In case anyone was wondering if the broadcast media will save us from Trump, please let go of that notion right now. 

Leslie Moonves on Donald Trump: "It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS"

That was a pre-election interview. But, it remains: It's always about the money. These rich fucks just want to get richer and they don't give one damn about anyone standing between them and their fleet of Leer jets. They don't care about you, they don't care about me, and they don't care about democracy. 

Well bless your heart, Leslie Moonves. And no it doesn't literally mean 'bless' ;).

Yep. It's all about the all mighty dollar.

The money changers of all stripes are thrilled right now.

[Padma]

Keith Olbermann offers hope of getting rid of him soon, even without impeachment, through the 25th amendment:  http://theweek.com/speedreads/664168/keith-olbermann-offers-surprisingly-easy-constitutional-way-fire-donald-trump 

[AntiBeeSpray]

1 minute ago, Padma said:

Keith Olbermann offers hope of getting rid of him soon, even without impeachment, through the 25th amendment:  http://theweek.com/speedreads/664168/keith-olbermann-offers-surprisingly-easy-constitutional-way-fire-donald-trump 

The problem with that is that we'd be stuck with Pence.

[potatoradio]

Quote

Keith Olbermann offers hope of getting rid of him soon, even without impeachment, through the 25th amendment:

Interesting - I had seen the 25th surfaced a few times, but hadn't yet read much about it (note to self: nothing like the threat of losing your democracy to suddenly realize how ignorant you really are about government checks and balances). 

I think it'll be interesting to see if the cabinet or Pence actually use their power of "instant impeachment" as a check against Tubby and, if so, what they'll use it for. Tubby will no doubt try to threaten them into loyal submission, but somewhere in his psychotic brain, he must know they have this power and he must hate it. It must drive him even crazier. 

Also, an interesting piece from Ezra Klein on how Republicans need to choose, long term, to save their party from what they pretend to hate (crony capitalism): Senate Repubs should trust their suspicions

Whether or not any of this will actually happen? I'm doubtful, but there are glimmers of checks and balances and power struggles starting to surface and pretty soon it'll be clear who, if anyone, is going to give Tubby a much-needed time out.

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, potatoradio said:

Well, yeah, obviously, if Tubby can't build a Trump tower in Havana, that's sad and he'll cancel "the deal." (I'm just going to ignore the painful semantics of referring to diplomatic and trade relations as a business deal). 

He definitely wants to bring back the whorehouses.

1 hour ago, Pixel said:

Right? If he really had a conscience, he'd have sucked it up and paid the $1000 fine to cast his vote for someone else.

How about a GoFundMe to pay for all GOP Electors to change their vote -- even if it's to Romney.

[KerleyQ]

39 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

Interesting - I had seen the 25th surfaced a few times, but hadn't yet read much about it (note to self: nothing like the threat of losing your democracy to suddenly realize how ignorant you really are about government checks and balances). 

I think it'll be interesting to see if the cabinet or Pence actually use their power of "instant impeachment" as a check against Tubby and, if so, what they'll use it for. Tubby will no doubt try to threaten them into loyal submission, but somewhere in his psychotic brain, he must know they have this power and he must hate it. It must drive him even crazier. 

Also, an interesting piece from Ezra Klein on how Republicans need to choose, long term, to save their party from what they pretend to hate (crony capitalism): Senate Repubs should trust their suspicions

Whether or not any of this will actually happen? I'm doubtful, but there are glimmers of checks and balances and power struggles starting to surface and pretty soon it'll be clear who, if anyone, is going to give Tubby a much-needed time out.

I highly doubt he knows enough about the Constitution to know they have this power.  

[Duke Silver]

I know for many people, slippery slope-type arguments are akin to hysterical rantings, but when white supremacists look upon one's agenda favorably as a sort of precursor to more fully-formed policies furthering racist ends, then IMO it's concerning in the very least:

What the Alt-Right Actually Wants from President Trump
 

Quote

 

But alt-rightists’ ambitions for Trump go beyond mere policy. They want him to rewrite the boundaries of the politically possible.

The alt-right believes, at its core, that the American government has been poisoned. Poisoned, specifically, by the ideology of tolerance and multiculturalism. So long as the United States is officially committed to the idea that all people should be treated equally, regardless of race or creed, then it cannot take the steps necessary to make America a nation for whites.

.........

Undoing this means going further than shifting immigration policy, even dramatically. It means shifting the lens through which Americans see politics — ushering in a new, racially polarized discourse in which openly racist arguments once again become acceptable to make.

 

***Note the linkage to anti-PC thought.  I won't get into a full discourse of that subject here because it is simply so nuanced and I can't do it justice, but generally-speaking, whenever someone utters "oh, quit whining about needing safe spaces to protect you from words you can't handle" I hear instead a call to chip away at equal rights.  YMMV about political correctness, but keep in mind, attacks on it can lead to an environment where discourse is reduced to name-calling and prejudice.  Racists using anti-PC arguments to "flip the script" and put equal rights advocates on the defensive are so prevalent these days.  Take care to see it for what it is.

[KerleyQ]

It's really a statement on how much the GOP has pissed me off over the past 8 years that I genuinely can't decide if I want him impeached or not.  It would almost be rewarding them, to impeach him and let Pence take the job.  And Pence is his own kind of mess that won't be as blatantly obvious to many voters when it comes time for re-election in 2020.  Trump may be an unmitigated disaster, or he may be just enough of a disaster to make it so that they lose big in 2018 and 2020.  And who knows how much they would actually be able to get done in 2-4 years of his lead, vs. 4 years of Pence.  

I'm honestly, genuinely stumped here.  If his VP had been Kasich, Romney, someone like that, I'd be all for impeachment.  Pence, though?  Pence is the exact nightmare they've been trying to give us for years.  

[Danny Franks]

14 hours ago, Padma said:

This is also an interesting Trump-related documentary about the failed effort to start a football league that would offer something different from the NFL: "Small Potatoes: Who Destroyed The USFL"?

[Spoiler alert: It was Tubby.] 

https://www.amazon.com/ESPN-Films-30-Potatoes-Killed/dp/B0039YAL8A/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1480316936&sr=1-1&keywords=USFL

Yeah, that documentary is an excellent summation of who the man is. He saw other people create something that looked like it had real potential  (as the USFL had while it was a summer alternative to the NFL) and bought his way in.  Then, because of his ego and staggering inferiority complex, he attempted to use the USFL as direct competition with the NFL, hoping to emulate the NFL/AFL merger and become an NFL owner (because the NFL wanted nothing to do with him and this was the only way he could see of getting in.

He tried to throw his weight around, bragged his usual brags, and threatened to sue when things weren't working out. He forced the USFL owners to overspend and burn their profits trying to compete, and killed the league. Then he did sue, was awarded $1 in damages (because clearly the judge thought he was a dickhead too), and promptly pretended he didn't care, hence the dismissive "small potatoes" quote.

To sum it up, he's a pathetic man, rampaging around hurting people and not caring about anything but his own image.

[Duke Silver]

https://twitter.com/KellyannePolls/status/803336493469204481

 

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/803351590342131712

[Padma]

25 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Yeah, that documentary is an excellent summation of who the man is. He saw other people create something that looked like it had real potential  (as the USFL had while it was a summer alternative to the NFL) and bought his way in.  Then, because of his ego and staggering inferiority complex, he attempted to use the USFL as direct competition with the NFL, hoping to emulate the NFL/AFL merger and become an NFL owner (because the NFL wanted nothing to do with him and this was the only way he could see of getting in.

He tried to throw his weight around, bragged his usual brags, and threatened to sue when things weren't working out. He forced the USFL owners to overspend and burn their profits trying to compete, and killed the league. Then he did sue, was awarded $1 in damages (because clearly the judge thought he was a dickhead too), and promptly pretended he didn't care, hence the dismissive "small potatoes" quote.

To sum it up, he's a pathetic man, rampaging around hurting people and not caring about anything but his own image.

Yep, in a nutshell.  The story about destroying the USFL is particularly sad. Because the man who started it had to wait a long time before enough owners came on board for the concept.  He really wanted to do a lower-budget, off season, football league with a few more "fun" rules--that would give professional careers to solid players who didn't quite make it into the NFL. (Trump's team--the NJ Generals--which he always called "the NY Generals"--had Hershell Walker among others.)  There was actually a dream of sorts behind starting--and keeping--a new football league. 

Trump bought into it for a few million and with one goal: to use it as "leverage" to get into the NFL on the cheap. He didn't care about the owners, the players, all the people who had USFL-related  jobs.  He just wanted easy money and power of owning an NFL team.  He used his charisma to persuade all the other owners but one (who had the personality to stand up to him successfully but was dying from a brain tumor) to sue the NFL under anti-trust laws.

So... his shitty personality was full on display here--thinking only about making money, and getting other people--even some real tough guys--to follow along.  Trump had them use HIS lawyer and decided only HE would testify for the USFL owners because he thought he could bamboozle everyone the best.

I read an interesting interviews with one juror on the all-woman jury. She described Trump glaring at her intimidatingly during his testimony and also when he walked past the jury box. She also thought his "fancy" lawyer seemed like a conman and a sleaze ball.   Maybe others felt the same, which led to the judgment in the USFLs favor--but a monetary compensation of only $1.   That pretty much screwed up Trump's plan because he was planning to use a big settlement as leverage to force the NFL to let the USFL merge with them.  That would give Trump a New York ... New Jersey ... big time football team for only about $6 million.

Instead, his suit against the NFL wound up destroying the USFL--the jobs of the "little people", the players who were happy to be "pros" even at lower salaries, the other owners, the fans. There is a LOT of bitterness toward him from many who were involved.   Does Trump feel bad at all? A little remorse? Some guilt? Responsibility?

Eh, why am I asking that here?  Y'all know the answer.

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, Duke Silver said:

I know for many people, slippery slope-type arguments are akin to hysterical rantings, but when white supremacists look upon one's agenda favorably as a sort of precursor to more fully-formed policies furthering racist ends, then IMO it's concerning in the very least:

What the Alt-Right Actually Wants from President Trump
 

***Note the linkage to anti-PC thought.  I won't get into a full discourse of that subject here because it is simply so nuanced and I can't do it justice, but generally-speaking, whenever someone utters "oh, quit whining about needing safe spaces to protect you from words you can't handle" I hear instead a call to chip away at equal rights.  YMMV about political correctness, but keep in mind, attacks on it can lead to an environment where discourse is reduced to name-calling and prejudice.  Racists using anti-PC arguments to "flip the script" and put equal rights advocates on the defensive are so prevalent these days.  Take care to see it for what it is.

And, speaking of slippery slopes.  This is what happens when monsters like Steve Bannon are legitimized.  Drumpf has now put him in a position of actually seeking press credentials for Breibart.  See Media Matters' open letter to the Senate Press Gallery, asking that it reject Breibart's application:  Open Letter to Senate Press Gallery

The implications are truly frightening.  Given that Drumpf has declared open war on the rest of media, it should come as no surprise that he wants to grant access to those who are more closely in line with his thinking.  What's next?  Press credentials to the KKK's official newspaper?  

This opinion piece in The Washington Post is exactly why I will continue to support my hometown newspaper.  Thank you, Ms. Nuzzi, for calling a spade a spade when it comes to the "alt-right" and the pernicious lie that Drumpf doesn't agree with what it stands for.  

Five Myths About the Alt-Right

[Duke Silver]

Even knowing why he does things when he does them, it's difficult keeping my eye on what's really important.  The sheer volume of "stupid Trump tricks" is hard to keep up with.  I can understand why the average person's eyes have glazed over at this point.

https://twitter.com/creynoldsnc/status/803233894313009152

[tenativelyyours]

Yeah I think pretty much anything he does at this point is smoke and mirrors to hide what he actually is trying to do as a "business man"*.  He knows before January 20th he has to have all his cons and grifts lined up so they are already "done".  Problem is he is determined that all the smoke needed has to come from actual fires and his mirrors are apparently being bought by others.  I'm thinking that this round of acts is once again his projection.  He accused Clinton of being part of a wicked cabal of international billionaires including George Soros.  At the time it seemed like nothing more than another in a flurry of ridiculous accusations that also serve as a dog whistle to the racist sector that sees international as anything that is trying to take away the privilege of White America.  But more and more it looks like he is the one answering to and being overly cozy with an international moneyed set.  Maybe a new nickname for him can be Despots' Favorite Whore.

 

*line his pockets with whatever he can squeeze out of this, I'm betting in four or *shudder* eight years time, we need to have the White House silver counted and weighed.  I wonder how much he is going to charge for sleeping in the White House?  I'm guessing state dinners will come with an attending price tag as well.  I'm really hoping the entertainment elite can resist the lure of fame and stand on the principles they claimed up to the election.  I can't wait for the reviews of the Greg Gutfeld four year hosting gig at the Washington Press Club Dinners.

[windsprints]

Will he look to block the recount? If he is so confident he's won fair and square then why hire lawyers, etc?

Official: Trump could object to Michigan recount request

(Source for screen shot below: http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/28/michigan-presidential-recount-heres-what-we-know/94548274/)

Edited November 28, 2016 by windsprints

[fishcakes]

I don't think I agree with the theory that he's tweeting insane conspiracy theories to distract from all the corruption. Distraction is the end result, but I don't give him credit for that level of deliberate strategy. I think the GRANDPA IS YELLING CRAZY SHIT AGAIN tweets are just who he is. Right now, it's because he feels threatened by the recount and his ego can't handle the fact that even if the recount changes nothing, he still will have lost the popular vote by a yuge bigly margin, so he's having a very public tantrum about it. Next month, it will be something else that gets under his skin. Now, I wouldn't discount the possibility that Kellyanne or Reince or, hell, maybe even Ivanka are ramping up his insecurity, knowing that he'll go scooters and say something idiotic to make people look away from the fact that he's trading political influence for yet another of his towers full of gold-plated bidets in Manila or Ankara or wherever, but I kind of doubt that Trump is smart enough to do this on his own. As Hillary famously pointed out, he's a puppet and ridiculously easy to bait.

[ruby24]

I agree with that. He's a moron and a five year old child. That's pretty much it. 

[windsprints]

Quote

he's a puppet

(sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm just kidding fishcakes)

Edited November 29, 2016 by windsprints

[Dresdengirl]

On 11/12/2016 at 7:49 PM, inkworks said:

Reading news from here in the UK, our government seems very concerned about Trump and his ties to Russia and Putin. They're saying it could spark a diplomatic crisis.

How the feck has this been allowed to happen? President Trump and his special relationship with Vladimir Putin!

What's to stop him from making promises that the American government can't keep?

I don't see this ending well.

You're not the only one. 

[PatsyandEddie]

5 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

That seriously makes it look like he died. (I will avoid editorializing further about how I'd feel about that.)

Actually it makes me nauseous and angry at the same time. A moronic titty baby walking on water a lá Jesus? Really? Talk about poor taste! 

[Jediknight]

4 hours ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

The problem with that is that we'd be stuck with Pence.

I'll take a Pence presidency over a Trump presidency.  There's no fear of Pence of getting America into World War 3 because somebody made fun of him on Twitter.  Also Pence wants to be W, Trump on the other hand wants to be Putin.

[AntiBeeSpray]

1 minute ago, Jediknight said:

I'll take a Pence presidency over a Trump presidency.  There's no fear of Pence of getting America into World War 3 because somebody made fun of him on Twitter.  Also Pence wants to be W, Trump on the other hand wants to be Putin.

I wouldn't. Given his extremist views on LGBTQ people, Jewish people, and others. But to be honest, both him and Trump are bad.

[KerleyQ]

59 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I don't think I agree with the theory that he's tweeting insane conspiracy theories to distract from all the corruption. Distraction is the end result, but I don't give him credit for that level of deliberate strategy. I think the GRANDPA IS YELLING CRAZY SHIT AGAIN tweets are just who he is. Right now, it's because he feels threatened by the recount and his ego can't handle the fact that even if the recount changes nothing, he still will have lost the popular vote by a yuge bigly margin, so he's having a very public tantrum about it. Next month, it will be something else that gets under his skin. Now, I wouldn't discount the possibility that Kellyanne or Reince or, hell, maybe even Ivanka are ramping up his insecurity, knowing that he'll go scooters and say something idiotic to make people look away from the fact that he's trading political influence for yet another of his towers full of gold-plated bidets in Manila or Ankara or wherever, but I kind of doubt that Trump is smart enough to do this on his own. As Hillary famously pointed out, he's a puppet and ridiculously easy to bait.

That's my thought - someone in his camp gets him riled up about something whenever they determine a distraction is needed.  Then they just hand him his phone and let him do his thing.  

[debbie311]

I cried bitter tears for days after this election.  Now, I really WANT to be able to respect Trump, but I can't!  I don't like feeling this way about the President.  There have been Presidents I didn't care for, but this guy is off the charts. He continues to make an ass out of himself.  He is not going to change.  He has no class and no impulse control.  He's an idiot!  I just can't believe this is happening to this country.  He is going to continue to run his businesses, living part-time in Trump tower and pretty much do whatever else he wants to do.  There is nobody to tell him NO!  I would take Pence any day over this fool.  Thanks for letting me vent.  I think my husband is starting to worry about me, thinks I am obsessing (although he hates Trump too). I don't want our country to fail, but I CANNOT wait for the time when the ignorant (m)asses who voted for him find out they are not going to get the stuff he promised and that they have been conned.

[Dresdengirl]

On 11/26/2016 at 2:46 PM, SoSueMe said:

I agree. As pointed out on the news, the exclamation point made it appear celebratory. Not very statesmanlike.

Trump and statesmanlike does not compute.