Trump

[Trigon]

Looks like Trump's laobor nominee has decided to withdraw his nomination: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/now-6-republicans-are-on-the-fence-about-andrew-puzder/2017/02/15/e34cada6-f38b-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.4c7f8ff721fd

First Flynn, and now Puzder... Hopefully his administration falls apart before he can do any more damage!

[Mithlomwen]

And it just gets worse. 

High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/index.html

[TheGlyphstone]

Alienating his own spy agencies really was the worst thing Trump could have done in terms of keeping stuff secret. They see EVERYTHING, especially in D.C.

[Verasaille]

What I cannot understand is why they have not started impeachment proceedings on this yet? I mean come on, what the hell else you need? The whole Republican party to have calls from Russia to validate it?

[MiraMirror]

What I cannot understand is why they have not started impeachment proceedings on this yet? I mean come on, what the hell else you need? The whole Republican party to have calls from Russia to validate it?

Supporters will always come up with some reality-warped reason as to why he's right and anything he does is justified and correct.

[Verasaille]

It was ok for him to be talking to Putin before the election. It was important that he get security briefings. It was important that he actually read the executive orders he is signing...but...

US intelligence claiming the Russians interfered with the election, not good.

He admitted he did not read the whole briefing papers they sent him.  Not good.

The fact several of his advisors are totally incompetent or just wierd.

Calling the judges out for not giving him the powers he thought he had? Come on...that is just idiotic. He has a hard time reading, how is he going to even come close to doing a good job if he cannot comprehend the things he is told? He was warned that the calls to the Russian Embassy would be called into question, he did not care.

Edit to add this:

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/08/14/trump-prison-continues-solicit-illegal-foreign-donations.html

In short, he thinks he is KING or DICTATOR or something. And the worst part of it is the GOP is supporting him!

[TheGlyphstone]

He's a means to an end. The unholy trinity of a single party dominating all three branches of government is a rare, rare opportunity for them to push through all sorts of legislation to advance their agenda, get it signed into law, and have a court inclined to support them in any challenges. Trump is the weak link in that trinity, but they only really need him until he's done signing the bills they want. If the cost of that is letting him run rampant with incompetence in the meantime...they can always clean house when Pence takes office, in their minds.

[Valerian]

Here's a legal maneuver regarding emoluments that states where DT does business might be able to use.

In an article last week, [Jed] Shugerman laid out the theory that corporations are creatures of state law and that attorneys general have the authority to bring actions against corporations that are acting against the public interest. As he put it, “State attorneys general can bring quo warranto proceedings to access information about whether the entities are conduits for illegal emoluments.” By asking state attorneys general in the states Trump businesses are incorporated to sue, the standing problem disappears. As Shugerman puts it: “Instead of private parties suing the public official (Trump), public officials can sue the private parties (the Trump hotels and other business entities). Corporations are a creature of state law, and state attorneys general have a special role in making sure that corporations adhere to federal and state law.” Not only does the standing problem disappear but because standing requirements are lower in state court than in federal court, the state AGs will be more likely to be allowed to proceed.

This solves the problem previously encountered by lawsuits -- the person or organization suing has to be able to prove they suffered concrete injury through DT's acceptance of emoluments, and that's tricky.  So if places like New York and California actually go through with this, it might at the least force Trump to create a true blind trust.  It might also reveal some interesting facts, since uncovering the tangle of his business interests overseas would be a necessary step.

[gaggedLouise]

His first full-length press conference since he was sworn in seems to have been.., can we say: rambling? He's recycling lots of talking points from the campaign, Hillary Clinton got many mentions from Trump although she isn't really part pf his battle with Washington anymore...And Trump said on the one hand "I haven't talked to the Russians in years" and on the other hand: sure, I've been talking on the phone to Putin recently.  ::) Uh-huh.

[Trigon]

His first full-length press conference since he was sworn in seems to have been.., can we say: rambling? He's recycling lots of talking points from the campaign, Hillary Clinton got many mentions from Trump although she isn't really part pf his battle with Washington anymore...And Trump said on the one hand "I haven't talked to the Russians in years" and on the other hand: sure, I've been talking on the phone to Putin recently.  ::) Uh-huh.

Details of press conference right here  ;D ;D ;D

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58a5ea16e4b07602ad529bb7?

He spent 77 full minutes rambling about how he thinks the press treats him "unfairly", the leaks, and so on.


EDIT: CNN has posted a list of the most memorable quotes from the press conference here: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/politics/most-memorable-lines-donald-trump/index.html?sr=fbCNN021617most-memorable-lines-donald-trump0858PMStoryLink&linkId=34586954

[Trigon]

Oh yeah, he's also already starting to run for reelection in 2020: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-kicks-off-his-2020-reelection-campaign-on-saturday/516909/

[Serephino]

Just about every morning when I check my email there is something about him on the Yahoo home page.  Today it was in regards to China.  I don't see the article anymore, and I can't remember a few specific details.  But um, basically the last ten years or so, he's been trying to get the rights to his own name brand to things in China.  I guess some other dude has been building stuff with his name on it in China.  But then the Chinese government just decided everything in his favor.  They are swearing up and down it has nothing to do with his office, but that this has been in the works for years.  And yet, I swear I saw a Yahoo news article just a few days ago about him playing golf with the Chinese Emperor dude.  The timing is very interesting, and one has got to wonder if any back room deals were made.  If so, what did Trump bring to the table?  What is this going to cost the country? 

Okay, not the article I read this morning, but...  http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/17/news/companies/trump-china-trademark/

Is it bad of me to seriously hope the stupid fucker gets impeached over this?

[HannibalBarca]

This man is an idiot.  The press is not doing its job of pushing home the obvious.  He is a danger to our country and the world, and I don't even have to go as far as wars or nuclear exchanges to make my point.  Just watching him sitting with other world leaders leaves me wondering how those other world leaders are seeing this turn of events in our country.  He is obviously weak, and has nowhere near the skills or knowledge to run a backwater colony from three centuries ago, let alone a free nation with the most powerful military in the world and countless treaties.

I can't stand the thought of Mike Pence as President, but shit--at least he's functional as a government leader.  Let the Republicans show what they can or can't do with four years of complete governmental control.  I expect it will turn out much as it did the last time this happened--6 years of full Republican control during Dubya's Presidency.  Then, I hope everyone who sat on their ass and didn't vote this last election will get it through their fucking heads that you can't pass on democracy and keep your cushy existence.

[Oniya]

I have to admit, it's sort of like the difference between Lex Luthor and The Joker at this point.  You know that you aren't going to like what Lex does, but you can at least predict it.

[Iniquitous]

Just about every morning when I check my email there is something about him on the Yahoo home page.  Today it was in regards to China.  I don't see the article anymore, and I can't remember a few specific details.  But um, basically the last ten years or so, he's been trying to get the rights to his own name brand to things in China.  I guess some other dude has been building stuff with his name on it in China.  But then the Chinese government just decided everything in his favor.  They are swearing up and down it has nothing to do with his office, but that this has been in the works for years.  And yet, I swear I saw a Yahoo news article just a few days ago about him playing golf with the Chinese Emperor dude.  The timing is very interesting, and one has got to wonder if any back room deals were made.  If so, what did Trump bring to the table?  What is this going to cost the country? 

Okay, not the article I read this morning, but...  http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/17/news/companies/trump-china-trademark/

Is it bad of me to seriously hope the stupid fucker gets impeached over this?

For reference, he did not play golf with the Chinese emperor... he played golf with the prime minister of Japan.

[gaggedLouise]

For reference, he did not play golf with the Chinese emperor... he played golf with the prime minister of Japan.

Maybe it was a touch of irony...there hasn't been a Chinese imperial throne for the last century.  :D

[Serephino]

For reference, he did not play golf with the Chinese emperor... he played golf with the prime minister of Japan.

Oh, I mis-remembered.  Still, like the news guy in the video of my link says, gotta wonder what China is going to want in return for suddenly changing their tune.  Something is seriously rotten in the state of Denmark. 

Like my roommate and I were discussing earlier, there isn't a rule book for a president owning businesses because as far as I know it has never happened before, or at least hasn't been an issue to this degree.  From what we've seen, the giant orange toddler has done nothing but help big business and the wealthy, except for his Muslim ban, which got thrown out by the courts because of being seriously unconstitutional.  My roommate heard something about him trying to take the matter all the way to the Supreme Court and them refusing to even waste their time hearing an argument for it because they already know the outcome. 

Yesterday I read an article that he submitted legislation that would break apart the Dodd-Frank law that does a little bit at least to keep banks from doing the shit they did to crash the economy in the ditch when Bush was in office.  Yeah, because de-regulation of big banks worked so well before /sarcasm.  As the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

One of my roommate's co workers and friends said he voted for Trump solely because he believed in the guy's pro-life stance on abortion.  Now said co worker is watching this train wreck unfold and admitting voting for that man was a huge mistake.  A lot of people seem to be having voter's regret here.  The lesson to take away from this is to think much more carefully when standing in front of that ballot machine.  The warning signs were there, but people chose to ignore them because either they didn't like the fact that Hillary was a woman, or they thought her sins were too great.  Yeah, she did some things that weren't cool, but so haven't most of the politicians in Washington.  It just doesn't seem to get talked about as much when a Republican does the same damn shit.

At least I can say that I marched my ass down to the county office building on election day and voted for Hillary.  She may be flawed, but I'm thinking she has at least read and understands the Constitution and knows how politics and the government should work.  Now we are stuck with a giant orange toddler who I would very much like to see take a long walk off a short pier.  I watch a show called 'The View', and it was said on there one day as a joke that maybe everyone should buy a little pocket copy of the Constitution and mail it to the White House so he can read it.  I've actually thought about really doing just that.

[Trigon]

At least I can say that I marched my ass down to the county office building on election day and voted for Hillary.  She may be flawed, but I'm thinking she has at least read and understands the Constitution and knows how politics and the government should work.  Now we are stuck with a giant orange toddler who I would very much like to see take a long walk off a short pier.  I watch a show called 'The View', and it was said on there one day as a joke that maybe everyone should buy a little pocket copy of the Constitution and mail it to the White House so he can read it.  I've actually thought about really doing just that. [/color]

Same here, I was a Hillary voter too. Personally I'm not sure what is worse though; those who were actually stupid enough to vote for Trump, or the large number of people who decided not to vote at all on election day...

[Serephino]

I fully agree with my high school Democracy teacher.  Those that didn't vote, if they don't like what's happening, they don't have the right to bitch because their asses let others decide for them.  I voted, so I have the right to bitch till I'm blue in the face, and with this ass clown in office, I'm going to.  I guess before he was teacher he was a bartender, and when he'd hear people complaining about politics he'd ask them in they voted.  If they said no he'd tell them to shut it, and if they really didn't like it, next election they should get off their asses and vote.  Then they can bitch. 

[Twisted Crow]

Same here, I was a Hillary voter too. Personally I'm not sure what is worse though; those who were actually stupid enough to vote for Trump, or the large number of people who decided not to vote at all on election day...

I fully agree with my high school Democracy teacher.  Those that didn't vote, if they don't like what's happening, they don't have the right to bitch because their asses let others decide for them.  I voted, so I have the right to bitch till I'm blue in the face, and with this ass clown in office, I'm going to.  I guess before he was teacher he was a bartender, and when he'd hear people complaining about politics he'd ask them in they voted.  If they said no he'd tell them to shut it, and if they really didn't like it, next election they should get off their asses and vote.  Then they can bitch. 

And here I am...  an Army Veteran that didn't vote on that day for a multitude of reasons.

So by that logic... are my protected human rights to be denied, then? Human rights are human rights. So, with all due respect, I just can't get behind that mode of logic. It's a slap in my face after what I've had to go through and it's like telling me that my service was in vain. I will politely say that that is your opinion and your right to it. Just as it is my right to respectfully disagree with it. That's what makes Freedom of Speech so wonderful (at least, on paper, anyway).

[TheGlyphstone]

Service to the country's absolutely admirable, but not really relevant to what they were saying - or at least what they meant, if I read intent correctly. Not voting is only a problem if you could have done so but just chose to stay home instead, then turn around and complain about the results of the election that you declined to participate in. That sort of person is disrespecting veterans in far greater fashion by intentionally squandering the right you've defended for them.

[Serephino]

And here I am...  an Army Veteran that didn't vote on that day for a multitude of reasons.

So by that logic... are my protected human rights to be denied, then? Human rights are human rights. So, with all due respect, I just can't get behind that mode of logic. It's a slap in my face after what I've had to go through and it's like telling me that my service was in vain. I will politely say that that is your opinion and your right to it. Just as it is my right to respectfully disagree with it. That's what makes Freedom of Speech so wonderful (at least, on paper, anyway).

I'm not saying you don't have human rights.  I'm saying you sat back on your ass, so uh, don't like the outcome, you ain't got much of a leg to stand on.  You did nothing and LET this happen.  You said you're an army vet?  Okay, I've heard that many vets did not vote in protest to the things Trump said about veterans.  I get the frustration.  Hell, as a supporter of our serving troops and vets I was pretty outraged myself.  What good did it do?  The fucktard is now Commander in Chief, thank you very much. 

The bastard offended and scared the crap out of me every time he opened his mouth.  So, I did the only thing I could do.  I voted against him.  If you are one of the ones that did not vote in protest, congratulations on the most ineffective protest ever.  The fact of the matter is if people who were offended by him had just used their voice and voted against him he would not be in office right now.  My half Hispanic and former Marine friend made damn sure he voted against the bastard as well because he was getting insulted from multiple angles.

[Cassandra LeMay]

What's done is done. Part of me wants to agree, strongly actually, that a lot of people who now complain or feel regrets about Trump should not have wasted their opportunity to vote. But I think what is really important is not how - or if - someone voted in the last election. What's important is if they will smell the coffee, now that they had a shock to their system, and vote in the next elections.

For now, Trump is the president. Making certain he will remain president no longer than one term is the important thing. And that will take voters to turn out and vote against him in 2020. Those potential voters are also needed for the midterm elections in 2018 to make a difference, just as they are needed for local elections in between.  Blaming people who did not vote in 2016 for the Trump presidency is tempting, but it will not help turn out those people for all the elections where their vote can make a difference to the Trump presidency. Anger, frustration, and assigning blame will not help with that, but rather run the risk of alienating potential allies.

[Twisted Crow]

I'm not saying you don't have human rights.  I'm saying you sat back on your ass, so uh, don't like the outcome, you ain't got much of a leg to stand on.  You did nothing and LET this happen.  You said you're an army vet?  Okay, I've heard that many vets did not vote in protest to the things Trump said about veterans.  I get the frustration.  Hell, as a supporter of our serving troops and vets I was pretty outraged myself.  What good did it do?  The fucktard is now Commander in Chief, thank you very much. 

The bastard offended and scared the crap out of me every time he opened his mouth.  So, I did the only thing I could do.  I voted against him.  If you are one of the ones that did not vote in protest, congratulations on the most ineffective protest ever.  The fact of the matter is if people who were offended by him had just used their voice and voted against him he would not be in office right now.  My half Hispanic and former Marine friend made damn sure he voted against the bastard as well because he was getting insulted from multiple angles.

If you are going to hold me accountable in a state where my vote literally would not matter (in several different ways) even without gerrymandering, rather than listen or not even attempt to understand as to why I didn't vote that day... then I won't bother trying to get you to understand. My personal life and reasons buried, I submit only a logical standpoint.

One, are we still talking about the popular vote, here? Are we talking people that don't use that vote against the people that "vote" on POTUS and call it another 4 years? The one that Hillary won? And even if I voted for Trump in my very Red State... Hillary would have still won the Popular Vote and still lose the election. I know how my government operates.

Because if that 'right' is being squandered (just speaking for myself here, and not on behalf of all Vets)... I don't really see how it matters to me or why I should feel like it would. I mean, given what should already be evident about the popular vote, by now... I would think people would be more understanding of why some have no faith in the POTUS election process. And I'm not even going to go off into the weeds about gerrymandering, right now (although, to be fair, it always seems like 'breaking news' to damn near everyone that I talk to concerning that in particular).

Now... as for the people getting involved elsewhere, the people focusing on the real things that could make a dent (in a Newton's Third Law sort of way)? In that pursuit? Sure. Go vote (on things that one actually has control over), go get active and go care about who is directly representing you in your state. Educating oneself on what is really happening (part of what I am still doing, whilst still being demonized by people that are only looking at what is directly in front of them)? Hell, I'd even say dig in and care about who is mayor in whatever city one lives in.

Edit: All I am saying is... I am not to blame. I am sorry that you feel this way, however. Take care.

[Kythia]

I do feel the discussion of the popular vote is a distraction.  That's not the system the US had at the 2016 election and both candidates were well aware of that fact.  Sure, try to change that.  And absolutely complain if the Electoral College had been sprung on you half way through with no warning.  But it wasn't.  Had Trump been campaigning for the popular vote, he might well have done some things different, we'll simply never know.  The 2016 popular vote is utterly meaningless, it says nothing about who will become president and almost nothing about who the US wanted to be president (Dallas didn't vote for Hilary, so there's at least one person who wanted her to win that wasn't included in the popular vote.  I guarantee there is at least one Trump supporter in a solidly democratic state who didn't vote for similar reasons).

If you think the EC should go then by all means that's a battle that's worth fighting.  But it's not important to the 2016 election.  Hilary won that, Trump won the "which candidate wore black shoes the most often" contest.  So it's 1-1 in the "utterly irrelevant competition that neither candidate was attempting to win because it has no bearing on the presidential election" stakes.