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EvC Forum Side Orders Coffee House The Trump Presidency

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Author Topic:   The Trump Presidency
Percy
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Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1576 of 4573 (826047)
12-21-2017 7:39 AM


Trump's Jerusalem Mistake
No one captures the depth of folly of Trump's willful and ill-considered blunder of recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel by moving the American Embassy there from Tel Aviv better than Samantee Bee of Full Frontal. Enjoy.
--Percy

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(2)
Message 1577 of 4573 (826094)
12-22-2017 7:41 AM


Summary of Trump "Accomplishments"
This editorial from the Washington Post, Trump’s successes are thanks to Republicans. His failures are thanks to Trump, is kind of mundane, except for these two paragraphs near the end that briefly yet thoroughly enumerate the many Trump "accomplishments":
quote:
The war against terrorism has been rebooted on the basis of anti-Muslim bigotry, which undermines domestic law enforcement and anti-radicalization efforts. Authoritarian regimes around the world now shielded from human rights criticism feel more secure. Dissidents and democratic activists feel more lonely and abandoned. Fleeing refugees feel more desperate and friendless. The president is conducting delicate nuclear negotiations with demeaning pet names. Morale at the State Department is in collapse, leading to the hemorrhaging of diplomatic talent and experience. Trump has alienated important allies with demands for protection money. The United States has stepped back from effective economic competition in Asia, leaving China a more dominant regional power. Russia, in all likelihood, has helped elect a favorable U.S. president in the largest intelligence coup of modern history.
Trump has tried to undermine the credibility of important institutions the courts, the FBI, intelligence agencies, the media that check his power and expose his duplicity. He has used his office (and Twitter account) to target individual Americans for harm without due process. He attacks the very idea of truth in a daily torrent of despicable lies. The moral authority of the presidency is in tatters. He has made our common life more vulgar and brutal, and complicated the moral education of children. Racists are emboldened and included in the GOP coalition. He has caused a large portion of Republicans to live in an alternate reality of resentment and hatred, which complicates the possibility of governing and is likely to discredit the party among the young, minorities, women and college-educated voters for decades to come.
I hear attacks on Social Security and Medicare are next, because the tax cuts must be paid for, and the money has to come from somewhere. If it hurts somebody, damages a cherished institution, ruins relationships with allies, or just causes general chaos, Trump wants to do it. I can't help but see parallels of those complicit in Trump's government to those in Hitler's. It isn't like the evil is subtle.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1578 of 4573 (826095)
12-22-2017 8:06 AM


If This Is America
Many will like this somewhat poetic New York Times editorial on what we have lost over the past year:
I post a lot of editorials, those I think that best express with clarity our political predicament in this time of Trump. I hope people enjoy them.
Or can even read them. The NYT allows non-subscribers 10 free articles or columns per month for free, while the Washington Post allows no access to non-subscribers. You can get around this if you know how to disable Javascript for individual websites. Do this for the Post and you'll be able to read most of their content, though some things, like images and videos, can't be viewed.
By the way, I'm against stealing content, I'd like to pay for what I read, but there are many news websites out there and I, like many others I'm sure, cannot afford to subscribe to more than a couple of them. I wish there was a news consolidator site that provided access to all or at least many major newspapers for a single monthly fee.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 1586 by nwr, posted 12-22-2017 9:37 PM Percy has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1579 of 4573 (826098)
12-22-2017 9:20 AM


Fawning Praise of Trump
What magical powers does Trump possess that turns normal human beings into sycophants. Here's the embarrassing list of Mike Pence's praise from yesterday's cabinet meeting, taken from In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight:
  1. Thank you for seeing, through the course of this year, an agenda that truly is restoring this country.
  2. You described it very well, Mr. President.
  3. You've restored American credibility on the world stage.
  4. You've signed more bills rolling back federal red tape than any president in American history.
  5. You've unleashed American energy.
  6. You've spurred an optimism in this country that's setting records.
  7. You promised the American people in that campaign a year ago that you would deliver historic tax cuts, and it would be a 'middle-class miracle.' And in just a short period of time, that promise will be fulfilled.
  8. I’m deeply humbled, as your vice president, to be able to be here."
  9. Because of your leadership, Mr. President, and because of the strong support of the leadership in the Congress of the United States, you're delivering on that middle-class miracle.
  10. You've actually got the Congress to do, as you said, what they couldn’t do with [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska] for 40 years.
  11. You got the Congress to do, with tax cuts for working families and American businesses, what they haven’t been able to do for 31 years.
  12. And you got Congress to do what they couldn’t do for seven years, in repealing the individual mandate in Obamacare.
  13. Mostly, Mr. President, I’ll end where I began and just tell you, I want to thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank you for speaking on behalf of and fighting every day for the forgotten men and women of America.
  14. Because of your determination, because of your leadership, the forgotten men and women of America are forgotten no more. And we are making America great again.
But wait, there's more! These are comments made at a celebration outside the White House with House and Senate Republicans and is condensed from Republicans celebrate their tax bill and heap praise on Trump
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky): "You made the case for the tax bill. This has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the Trump administration." He praised the president for tackling the "overregulation of the American economy." He went on, "You hold the record. Thank you, Mr. President, for all you’re doing."
  • Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis): Trump has "exquisite presidential leadership."
  • House Majority Leader Keven McCarthy (R-Calif): "We would not be standing here if it were not for you."
  • Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex): "But for your leadership we would not be here today."
  • Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah): "Mr. President, I have to say that you’re living up to everything I thought you would, Hatch said. You’re one heck of a leader, and we’re all benefiting from it. . . . You stop and think about it, this president hasn’t even been in office for a year, and look at all the things that he’s been able to get done, by sheer will in many ways."
  • Vice President Pence: "I truly do believe, Mr. President, that this will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the life of our nation, a day when the Congress answered your call and made history. But honestly, I would say to the American people, President Trump has been making history since the first day of this administration."
  • Housing Secretary Ben Carson: Thanked God for "a president and for Cabinet members who are courageous, who are willing to face the winds of controversy in order to provide a better future for those who come behind us."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un must be looking on in envy and contemplating a shakeup in his leadership cadre to fill it's rolls with those who can exceed the fawning sycophantry of Trump's bootlickers. Well, I guess better a groveler's race than a nuclear one.
--Percy

  
caffeine
Member (Idle past 1024 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


(1)
Message 1580 of 4573 (826110)
12-22-2017 12:41 PM
Reply to: Message 1577 by Percy
12-22-2017 7:41 AM


A view from abroad
You mentioned the alienation of allies, but it's worth noting that some allies are quite satisfied with Trump (not that this is a good thing). Populists and nationalists have come to power in several Central European countries in the last few years. These were countries which, due to the communist legacy, were generally very strongly in favour of the Atlantic alliance throughout the nineties and early 21st century. With the rise of the populist right at the same time that Obama was President in the US, however, this relationship became more strained. They would complain about the 'liberal multicultural agenda' being forced on them by the West.
A pathetically childish example of this strain is shown by the Presidential office here in Czech Republic, which publicly claimed that the (former) American ambassador (an Obama appointee who considered the promotion of human rights and democratic values as part of his role) did not attend the St Wenceslas' Day celebrations. This would be a bit like skipping the 4th of July in the US. This was a barefaced lie, as easily demonstrated by this new-fangled technology of 'video'.
The Trump administration, however, has shown no interest in criticising European nations over institutional racism or the undermining of democratic institutions. Even better, he's served to distract foreign attention from this process. The Polish government is busy abolishing the independence of the judiciary at the moment; a process in which the White House has shown no interest, and which I think is getting less coverage internationally than it would if the news wasn't so busy with Trump's Twitter.
So, in conclusion, there are a few US allies very happy with Trump's administration so far.
Edited by caffeine, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1577 by Percy, posted 12-22-2017 7:41 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

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PaulK
Member
Posts: 17822
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.2


(1)
Message 1581 of 4573 (826111)
12-22-2017 12:49 PM
Reply to: Message 1580 by caffeine
12-22-2017 12:41 PM


Re: A view from abroad
quote:
The Polish government is busy abolishing the independence of the judiciary at the moment; a process in which the White House has shown no interest, and which I think is getting less coverage internationally than it would if the news wasn't so busy with Trump's Twitter.
The Republican Congress is busy appointing judges whose main qualification for the job is their political leanings. Why would the Trump administration object to another state bringing the courts under government control ? They’re more upset about their own courts not being under government control

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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1582 of 4573 (826112)
12-22-2017 1:16 PM


The Coup on Truth
In Wednesday's New York Times columnist Yascha Mounk wrote an opinion piece titled The Real Coup Plot Is Trump’s. It takes as an example of the Trumpian assault on truth the recent attempts to discredit the Mueller investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. I've excerpted some of the high points:
quote:
The Republican Party is no longer just obfuscating the truth or defending the president when he is accused of wrongdoing. Rather, Mr. Trump, Fox News and Republicans in Congress seem to be actively using falsehoods to prepare an assault on the institutions that allow American democracy to function.
...
But the construction of an alternate reality that obviates the very possibility of conducting politics on the basis of truth is a novelty in this country. And it is increasingly becoming obvious that it will serve a clear purpose: to prepare the ground for egregious violations of basic democratic norms.
...
The basic playbook is now familiar. At first, the most extreme partisans like Mr. Watters of Fox News float an outlandish idea. Then, supporters of the president who affect an air of moderation debate whether this idea is true in a seemingly evenhanded manner. Before long, Mr. Trump himself is spreading the claim, saying something like many people are asking questions about it.
One person telling one lie is easily shown to be a liar. But a hundred people telling a thousand lies quickly exhaust the ability of news outlets to disprove each claim, and of citizens to keep track of all the real and invented scandals. Overwhelmed by the noise, they take refuge in believing whatever their own team tells them. As a result, the public sphere quickly degenerates into a battleground in which opposing tribes string together words to wield as a weapon.
...
The only effective way to stop the creation of an alternative reality that justifies any action whatsoever is for politicians who are trusted by their own side to call out shameless falsehoods. That is precisely what most mainstream conservatives are failing to do.
--Percy

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1583 of 4573 (826123)
12-22-2017 4:35 PM


A Visit to Holland
In the new American ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, Trump may have met his match when it comes to layering lie upon lie. Here's an approximation of a reporter's interview with Hoekstra that I pieced together from Trump’s ambassador to the Netherlands just got caught lying about the Dutch:
Reporter: "Why in a 2015 conference did you say there are 'no go' areas in the Netherlands where radical Muslims are setting cars and politicians on fire?"
Hoekstra: "That's fake news."
Reporter: [plays video clip where Hoekstra says, "The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos. Chaos in the Netherlands, there are cars being burned, there are politicians that are being burned....And yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands."]
Reporter: "So why did you call it fake news."
Hoekstra: "I didn't call that fake news. I didn't use the words today. I don't think I did."
Needless to say this isn't going over very well in the Netherlands. Sample headline: "The new Trump Ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, lies about his own lies."
Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands but was raised in the US. From the article I linked to at the top:
quote:
Of the appointment, liberal politician Sophie in ’t Veld said: We are looking forward with interest to cooperating with Mr. Hoekstra. We will certainly remind him his roots lie in a country that values tolerance, equality and inclusion. We expect the representative of our friend and ally the United States to fully and wholly respect our values and to show that respect in all his acts and words.
Sounds like the Dutch are direct and to the point. I like them!
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 1584 by jar, posted 12-22-2017 6:36 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 1584 of 4573 (826126)
12-22-2017 6:36 PM
Reply to: Message 1583 by Percy
12-22-2017 4:35 PM


Re: A Visit to Holland
When the Ambassador to a Nation is shown to be a liar, why should that Nation place any value in anything the Ambassador, or the Ambassador's boss says?

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill Studios My Website: My Website

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NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 1585 of 4573 (826130)
12-22-2017 9:35 PM
Reply to: Message 1584 by jar
12-22-2017 6:36 PM


Re: A Visit to Holland
When the Ambassador to a Nation is shown to be a liar, why should that Nation place any value in anything the Ambassador, or the Ambassador's boss says?
Lol! So you are suggesting that the lying ambassador to the Netherlands might be giving his boss a bad name? Let's recall that this is the same lying boss that retweeted a "Britain First" video with fake Muslim crap in it. Remember what president's spokesperson said in defense of that lie:
quote:
Sanders also downplayed questions about whether the videos were authentic, because "the threat is real."
How can you embarrass a liar by lying? Hoekstra seems to be representing Trump extremely well.
If there is a single aspect of Trump's administration that is a complete and utter failure, it is the in the area of international diplomacy. Whatever allies we still have right now would seem to be hanging despite Trump's best efforts. In the UN vote, it appears that Canada actually abstained rather than appear to be US toadies after Haley's speech.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
I was thinking as long as I have my hands up they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking they’re not going to shoot me. Wow, was I wrong. -- Charles Kinsey
We got a thousand points of light for the homeless man. We've got a kinder, gentler, machine gun hand. Neil Young, Rockin' in the Free World.
Worrying about the "browning of America" is not racism. -- Faith
I hate you all, you hate me -- Faith

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nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 1586 of 4573 (826131)
12-22-2017 9:37 PM
Reply to: Message 1578 by Percy
12-22-2017 8:06 AM


Re: If This Is America
The NYT allows non-subscribers 10 free articles or columns per month for free, while the Washington Post allows no access to non-subscribers.
Odd. I have never had a problem accessing Washington Post.
You can get around this if you know how to disable Javascript for individual websites.
Okay. It must be because I use "noscript" with firefox.
By the way, I'm against stealing content, I'd like to pay for what I read, but there are many news websites out there and I, like many others I'm sure, cannot afford to subscribe to more than a couple of them.
Yes, my view is similar.
I would really like to see nytimes, wapo, and several other papers get together and form a consortium. The idea would be that you could be a paid subscriber to the consortium, and then pick and choose which articles you want to read.

Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1578 by Percy, posted 12-22-2017 8:06 AM Percy has replied

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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1587 of 4573 (826149)
12-23-2017 9:41 AM
Reply to: Message 1586 by nwr
12-22-2017 9:37 PM


Re: If This Is America
nwr writes:
Odd. I have never had a problem accessing Washington Post.
You can get around this if you know how to disable Javascript for individual websites.
Okay. It must be because I use "noscript" with firefox.
Even with Javascript is enabled (I can't figure out how to disable Javascript in Chrome on my iPad - it may not be possible), any Washington Post article listed by Google News is accessible, so you can access any of the other Washington Post articles by taking the headline from the Washington Post site, searching for that title in Google News, then clicking on the link that comes up. You can also "spoof" the system and read any article at the Washington Post by replacing the Washington Post URL in the Google News URL with the URL of the Washington Post article you want to read.
I should add that lately, occasionally this doesn't work some days. The Washington Post may be working on disabling this loophole.
The Wall Street Journal is locked up tight. I haven't figured out a way to get in.
After the 10 free articles the New York Times appears to be locked up tight, too. Disabling Javascript used to work, but they closed that loophole a couple years ago.
I would really like to see nytimes, wapo, and several other papers get together and form a consortium. The idea would be that you could be a paid subscriber to the consortium, and then pick and choose which articles you want to read.
This is my wish, too, anything along these lines.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1588 of 4573 (826150)
12-23-2017 9:57 AM


The Truth About the New Tax Plan
Trump signed the tax bill yesterday. ABC News has a short and very readable summary of what is true about the tax plan: AP FACT CHECK: Facts about the tax bill. Summary:
  • It is not, as Trump claims, the biggest tax cut in history. It is the eighth biggest since 1918.
  • Middle class incomes below say $150,000 will average a 1.6% tax cut. The tax cut for these earners will average around $930 for the 2018 tax year. Tax cuts for higher wage earners are much higher, 3.4% for those in the $308,000 to $733,000 range.
  • Obamacare has not been repealed. Fines for people who don't carry health insurance end for the 2019 tax year. They're still in force for 2018.
  • Only $3 billion of the funding for Obamacare comes from the fines. The rest, $117 billion, comes from the government. Eliminating the mandate should have only a small effect on insurance rates.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 1589 of 4573 (826151)
12-23-2017 10:22 AM
Reply to: Message 1587 by Percy
12-23-2017 9:41 AM


NYT
After the 10 free articles the New York Times appears to be locked up tight, too.
Try deleting the cookies. That seems to work for me. Also, I seem to have a five article limit, but maybe that's device dependent.
By the way, I do subscribe to the NYT, but I'm too lazy sometimes to log in.


Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing. - George Orwell

This message is a reply to:
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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 1590 of 4573 (826152)
12-23-2017 10:27 AM
Reply to: Message 1588 by Percy
12-23-2017 9:57 AM


Re: The Truth About the New Tax Plan
Eliminating the mandate should have only a small effect on insurance rates.
Maybe in the short term. But if healthy people quit signing up for insurance in droves, leaving the insurance companies to pay for the sick customers, premiums will definitely go up. That's the purpose of the mandates.


Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing. - George Orwell

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1588 by Percy, posted 12-23-2017 9:57 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
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