Trump

[Trigon]

Just an FYI, the DHS has released an internal report which estimates the cost of the border wall, a cost that will most likely be passed onto the American tax payer: http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKBN15O2ZZ

$21.6 Billion dollars and 3.5 years to build! Of course, any project of this nature will inevitably have delays, cost overruns, etc.

[Valerian]

Just an FYI, the DHS has released an internal report which estimates the cost of the border wall, a cost that will most likely be passed onto the American tax payer: http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKBN15O2ZZ

$21.6 Billion dollars and 3.5 years to build! Of course, any project of this nature will inevitably have delays, cost overruns, etc.

My dad was a civil and structural engineer for many years.  He always had a rule of thumb that anytime you had to deal with water or other rough terrain, you should add on at least another 25% to your estimate.  So yeah, there's no way that $21.6 billion is anything but far, far too low.

On another note, a fun image

[Verasaille]

I would like to post this, because I think the human rights issue is important.

http://www.leadertelegram.com/Opinion/Commentary/2017/02/05/lt-div-class-libPageBodyLinebreak-gt-What-young-women-may-not-know-lt-div-gt.html

Edited to add this, because I am scratching my head trying to figure out what he is saying? Anyone know how to interpret this?

https://scontent.fsnc1-5.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16387320_1243805502375472_6243462443634586712_n.png?oh=31cf2c81efa9ec2d82a16a02891ad8f7&oe=58FF04D1

[Nachtmahr]

Edited to add this, because I am scratching my head trying to figure out what he is saying? Anyone know how to interpret this?

https://scontent.fsnc1-5.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16387320_1243805502375472_6243462443634586712_n.png?oh=31cf2c81efa9ec2d82a16a02891ad8f7&oe=58FF04D1

I think what he's trying to say is that he's going to hire people to find out what he's saying, so that this doesn't happen again? If that's not it, I'm really not sure.

[Verasaille]

Ok this is satire, but so funny I had to share:

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-says-he-has-been-treated-very-unfairly-by-people-who-wrote-constitution?mbid=social_facebook

Plus this one that is not funny but very worrying:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/flynn-trump-washington-post-russia

[Oniya]

I think what he's trying to say is that he's going to hire people to find out what he's saying, so that this doesn't happen again? If that's not it, I'm really not sure.

I think I need to hire someone to figure out what he's saying.  The phrase 'sound and fury, signifying nothing' comes to mind.  (For you Shakespeare fans, the bit before that phrase is also relevant.  ;) ;D )

[Iniquitous]

Ok so, first... a video that popped up on facebook. 

Today, the Japanese PM met with Trump.  The video below is the press portion for all the pictures and such - you have to watch to the end to see the Japanese PM actually roll his eyes.  Trump refused to wear the headphones to hear the translation from Japanese to English.  Instead, he tried to pretend he could understand Japanese.  Right up until the photographer asked him to do something - he then asked the Japanese PM what she was saying.  He translated the phrase "look at me" ... and Trump looked at the PM instead of the photographer.  And he didn't get it even after the PM pointed to the photographer to try and indicate where Trump should be looking.

https://www.facebook.com/shaunking/videos/1299243193447929/


And on to the next thing.  Trump claimed that he has divested himself of his business interests so that there will be no conflict of interests.  What he has done is created a revocable trust fund that is directly linked to his social security number and he is the sole beneficiary of the trust fund.  Sure, his son Donald Jr. and his CFO Allen Weisselberg are the trustees, but Trump can revoke that at any ole time he wants.

The trust documents note that "all beneficial ownership in the licensee previously held by Donald J. Trump, personally, now is held derivatively and beneficially by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust."

In colloquial terms, this gives the appearance that Trump no longer owns and operates the luxury hotel located in the capital's Old Post Office Building.

But, Sitkoff noted, since the hotel would be controlled by the "revocable trust" — and Trump himself is the only beneficiary of said trust — very little, if anything, has actually changed.

source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-deep-ties-business-empire-remain-trust-documents-article-1.2964043

[Verasaille]

Vote to IMPEACH now, before it is too late and we are in WW3!!

[Cassandra LeMay]

Edited to add this, because I am scratching my head trying to figure out what he is saying? Anyone know how to interpret this?

https://scontent.fsnc1-5.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16387320_1243805502375472_6243462443634586712_n.png?oh=31cf2c81efa9ec2d82a16a02891ad8f7&oe=58FF04D1

I assume he is talking about imigration and 'extreme vetting'? In that case I guess he either just forgot to say - or thought it was implied - "under the old rules" when he talks about not finding out what a number of people did. If you read it like that it makes some meassure of sense, namely that the old government was weak on imigration and therefore we lack information on a large number of people, but that his 'better system' will change that.

[Verasaille]

I assume he is talking about imigration and 'extreme vetting'? In that case I guess he either just forgot to say - or thought it was implied - "under the old rules" when he talks about not finding out what a number of people did. If you read it like that it makes some meassure of sense, namely that the old government was weak on imigration and therefore we lack information on a large number of people, but that his 'better system' will change that.

I was really making fun of him and his atrocious wording. He really is illiterate.

[Nachtmahr]

This is heartening.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/republican-town-halls-obamacare/

At least I think so.

I kid you not, at the bottom I got an ad for: "5 compelling reasons to immigrate to the US from Europe"

That's going to be a very hard case to make at the moment. >.>

[Cassandra LeMay]

I was really making fun of him and his atrocious wording. He really is illiterate.

Okay. The way the guy talks it's not always easy to say if someone actually might require a translation into plain English or not.  ;D

[Oniya]

Okay. The way the guy talks it's not always easy to say if someone actually might require a translation into plain English or not.  ;D

I think he subscribes to the school of 'If you can't dazzle them with detail, baffle them with b_______.'

[Trigon]

I think that's the least of our worries actually. I'm worried about 3 principle things:

1) That he'll actually try to build the wall, and thereby bankrupt the economy.

2) His gutting of the EPA and funding for climate change mitigation (which essentially means that we are certain to return the planet back to the Mesozoic era).

And above all

3) War with China, and possibly also Mexico while we are at it. If it goes nuclear, I predict it would flare up in the Korean Peninsula.


The more I think about it, the more it sinks in just how badly our political system has blundered...

*Original post detailing my predictions here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=258478.msg12770710#msg12770710

Alright, we are now three weeks in, and this is the story so far:

1) As stated before, an internal memo by the DHS has already been released, detailing the costs of the border wall: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN15O2ZN?il=0

21.5 billion dollars (and 3.5 years) at minimum. Predictably, we already have Trump promising to bring the costs "way down": https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/11/trump-insists-he-can-bring-the-cost-of-21-6-billion-border-wall-way-down/?utm_term=.2a63082bc934

No details given, as is standard for Trump  ::)

2) Scott Pruitt, Trump's pick to head the EPA, is already facing a lawsuit even before the confirmation: https://thinkprogress.org/cmd-sues-for-pruitt-letters-8ec696b2ffe9#.qkpwdd6ow

That Pruitt is a shill for fossil fuel interests is already well known. But even without this, his Administration is already considering shutting down its enforcement branch: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_589b9593e4b0c1284f2a7ab3

And there are signs that his hostile attitude towards the EPA is impacting the ability of its scientists to attend conferences, in particular the most recent environmental conference in Alaska: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0211/EPA-scientists-held-back-from-conference-Cost-cutting-or-something-more


3) Here we are getting some mixed signals. On the one hand, Trump appears to be backing down on his idea of scrapping the One China policy: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/world/asia/donald-trump-china-xi-jinping-letter.html?_r=0&referer=https://amp-slate-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/amp.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/02/caving_on_one_china_shows_that_trump_is_a_terrible_deal_maker.html?amp_js_v=7

But it is unclear whether or not this is just merely a tactical political maneuver. Steve Bannon otherwise seems dead set on antagonizing China (and the Middle East): https://www.thenation.com/article/steve-bannon-wants-to-start-world-war-iii/

Bannon is looking to have that confrontation happen in the South China Sea: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt

Personally I am going to continue to bet that it will actually erupt on the Korean Peninsula. After all, North Korea is pressing onwards with its ICBM program, the most recent ballistic missile test being just today: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38947451

As for Mexico, Trump did make a veiled threat of a possible military invasion in response to their refusal to "pay" for the border wall: http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/01/trump-threatening-mexico-military-invasion-deal-bad-hombres.html

However I still don't think it is very likely that he'll actually send troops down there. My money is still on a war with China...

[Oniya]

Someone needs to talk Tom Lehrer into coming out of retirement.

[Callie Del Noire]

Every time I hear this president.. I flash back to this..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQCU36pkH7c

[gaggedLouise]

Trump and his family are clearly trying to break the envelope of the White House and Washington, the whole state routine, in their daily lives. Fun and revealing article - I think this is something we'll be seeing much more of through his term in office.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/319050-trump-seeks-to-break-dc-bubble

[Verasaille]

This is troubling.

http://observer.com/2017/02/donald-trump-administration-mike-flynn-russian-embassy/

[Valerian]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-insults-elizabeth-warren-awkward-white-house-meeting-article-1.2969770

Apparently after a couple of questions and some photos, the press were escorted out of the meeting and that's when DT really started talking.

As soon as photographers and reporters had filed out of the Roosevelt Room, Trump jeered at the gathered Democrats, "Pocahontas is now the face of your party," according to officials familiar with what was discussed. The pejorative was in reference to Warren's rebuke of newly instated Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this week, which triggered Senate Republicans to formally silence her, and left-leaning Americans to celebrate her.

Also at the meeting, Trump apparently brought up his completely unsubstantiated claim that millions of people voted illegally for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. A person familiar with what was discussed said the mood among attendants was "completely awkward."

I keep thinking that one of these days he'll have a meltdown so severe and so public that his enablers will be forced to acknowledge it, but that keeps not happening.  His progressively weirder behavior ends up seeming almost normal, because it isn't that strange compared to what he did last week or last month.  :/

[gaggedLouise]

The White House Correspondents' Dinner, normally a witty, jovial occasion where the media, top politicians and some major celebrities get to show a bit of distance from the normal limitations of their roles, is looking to be...different this year, after the ongoing war between Trump's people and the news media. "They're going to have hard time finding any celebrities and tv stars wanting to appear there" a hotel manager in Washington DC told The Hill tbe other day. Forget about Tina Fey or anyone from SNL, and forget about Trump joking abiut himself.  :P

[Trigon]

After just three weeks, Trump is continuing to break the record for being the worst president of all time. His already abysmal approval ratings are now even lower than ever before: http://www.gallup.com/poll/201617/gallup-daily-trump-job-approval.aspx

Imagine that!

[Valerian]

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/319209-trump-abe-discuss-north-korea-missile-test-in-public

News of North Korea's weekend missile test sent President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrambling during their retreat at Trump's Florida club, prompting the two world leaders to work on a response while sitting at a public table in the club's crowded dining room.

The network also added that aides used cellphone camera lights to illuminate various documents brought to the tables. If the staffers didn't use secure phones, the practice could spark national security concerns since cell phones are connected to the internet and could presumably have their cameras hacked.

Emphasis mine.  Can you imagine a crisis happening while DT is down there, and he just summons everyone to talk about it while standing in the middle of a hallway or the lobby?   :o

[Verasaille]

Was browsing some music and I think this fits the situation. We already have one down. Flynn is resigning!

https://www.facebook.com/groopspeak/videos/1115660201895061/

I think we need to celebrate!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEjUQ15lyzk

[gaggedLouise]

Was browsing some music and I think this fits the situation. We already have one down. Flynn is resigning!

https://www.facebook.com/groopspeak/videos/1115660201895061/

I think we need to celebrate!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEjUQ15lyzk

Good one, also someone really needs to do a parody setting new lyrics to Suffragette City to portray Trump groping around, coaxing people, acting the super stud, getting chummy with his friends and refusing phone calls to people he doesn't want to talk to: "Ah, don't lean on me man, you know just where you oughta stick it /We're back in Trumpington City!" etc.  :D

[Oniya]

Good one, also someone really needs to do a parody setting new lyrics to Suffragette City to portray Trump groping around, coaxing people, acting the super stud, getting chummy with his friends and refusing phone calls to people he doesn't want to talk to: "Ah, don't lean on me man, you know just where you oughta stick it /We're back in Trumpington City!" etc.  :D

Not a whole lot of changes, though...

Original lyrics

Maybe just some appropriate stills


'Hey man - oh leave me alone, you know,
Hey man - oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta
Hey man -  I gotta straighten my face'

I'm not sure who I'd want to put in as the 'mellow thighed chick' who's got his 'spine out of place'...