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EvC Forum Side Orders Coffee House The Trump Presidency

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Author Topic:   The Trump Presidency
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2527 of 4573 (841216)
10-09-2018 1:33 PM


...And Paul Krugman
From the New York Times:
The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics
Paul Krugman has long been commenting on the anti-democratic nature of the Republican party and the threat they pose to the Republic. In today's column, he writes how the conspiracy theories espoused by prominent Republicans about the Kavanaugh hearings fit into a recognizable authoritarian pattern.
When people on the political fringe blame shadowy forces often, as it happens, sinister Jewish financiers for their frustrations, you can write it off as delusional. When people who hold most of the levers of power do the same thing, their fantasizing isn’t a delusion, it’s a tool: a way to delegitimize opposition, to create excuses not just for disregarding but for punishing anyone who dares to criticize their actions.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2544 of 4573 (841596)
10-16-2018 7:40 AM


Kai Wright on the context of the Kavanaugh fiasco
From The Nation:
White Men Have Good Reason to Be Scared
Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much.
Kai Wright, a regular columnist at The Nation has an opinion piece that puts the fight over Kavanaugh's confirmation in the context of white men's fears of losing their privileges.
We’ve told ourselves that our most bitter conflict is conservative versus liberal, free enterprise versus big government. Maybe now we are finally ready to be honest about the real point of contention: We are, as we have always been, a nation divided on the topic of white-male power.
Warning: this essay is polemics. If that's not your cup of tea, then you're allowed to give it a miss.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 2545 of 4573 (841649)
10-17-2018 12:59 PM
Reply to: Message 2538 by marc9000
10-14-2018 4:19 PM


Re: The Kavanaugh Nomination
It's been fairly customary in the past, for a new Supreme Court Justice to have views similar to the Justice he or she is replacing.
Seriously? marc9000 says this on a thread discussing Kavanaugh replacing Kennedy?

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2538 by marc9000, posted 10-14-2018 4:19 PM marc9000 has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 2548 by marc9000, posted 10-17-2018 8:28 PM Chiroptera has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2552 of 4573 (841679)
10-18-2018 7:37 PM
Reply to: Message 2551 by Percy
10-18-2018 6:40 PM


Re: The Kavanaugh Nomination
Taq may have been asking for examples of decisions based on "whims" as opposed to more or less consistent principles that marc disagrees with.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2551 by Percy, posted 10-18-2018 6:40 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2555 of 4573 (841691)
10-19-2018 10:00 AM


Trump praises violence against journalists
From The Guardian:
'He's my guy': Trump praises Gianforte for assault on Guardian reporter
At a rally in Montana Trump appears to have praised Greg Gianforte's assault on Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs.
We endorsed Greg very early. But I heard that he body-slammed a reporter. This was the day of the election or just before, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is terrible! He’s going to lose the election.’
Trump continued: And then I said, ‘Wait a minute, I know Montana pretty well, I think it might help him.’ And it did.
The line prompted another huge cheer from the Montana crowd.
The US president finished his account of the physical assault by saying of Gianforte: He’s a great guy. Tough cookie.
In a statement, the Guardian US editor, John Mulholland, said: The president of the United States tonight applauded the assault on an American journalist who works for the Guardian. To celebrate an attack on a journalist who was simply doing his job is an attack on the first amendment by someone who has taken an oath to defend it.
In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the president will see fit to apologize for them.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2557 of 4573 (841702)
10-19-2018 2:02 PM
Reply to: Message 2556 by Taq
10-19-2018 12:41 PM


Re: The Kavanaugh Nomination
They did, and I imagine the conversation went like this:
Donald Trump: I will nominate Brett Kavanaugh because he is the perfect ideological match for Justice Kennedy, which is the traditional way that Supreme Court justices are chosen.
Mitch McConnell: Kavanaugh is the ideological match for Kennedy? Then I will make sure that he is confirmed because it would be untraditional to try to get a right wing conservative to replace Kennedy.
Chuck Grassley: The Judiciary Committee will certainly support Kavanaugh's confirmation because if there is one thing this Committee has always done it's respect tradition.
-
In the future:
Brett Kavanaugh for the majority: It should be no surprise that I am voting to require bakers to create wedding cakes for same sex marriages, because I am an ideological match for Kennedy. Oh, and Roe v Wade is settled law, 'cause that's the way Kennedy would have decided as well.
Republicans every where: We did it! Hurrah for tradition!

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. -- John McCain

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2556 by Taq, posted 10-19-2018 12:41 PM Taq has not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2609 of 4573 (843238)
11-15-2018 7:52 AM
Reply to: Message 2607 by Taq
11-14-2018 6:04 PM


A correction
The US Constitution (as amended) requires a majority in the electoral college to be elected President.
If no candidate gets a majority, then the US House of Representatives chooses the President. In that case, each state gets one vote, and a majority of the states is required to become President.
In the two times that the House had to choose the President, it took a lot of votes and a lot of politics before a candidate got a majority of the states.
But 48 of the fifty states award all their electoral votes to the candidate who receives a plurality of votes in that state, so the shenanigans you point out are possible.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2607 by Taq, posted 11-14-2018 6:04 PM Taq has not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2631 of 4573 (843871)
11-22-2018 10:17 AM
Reply to: Message 2625 by Minnemooseus
11-21-2018 9:52 PM


Different venues, different standards
I have to agree with several other responses, which is a sentiment I've felt since #MeToo became a thing.
Innocent until proven guilty is appropriate for a criminal trial when the accused is facing the loss of most of their civil liberties. We want to be as certain as we can that a person is guilty so that the state doesn't inflict such extreme punishments on an innocent person.
On the other hand, when it comes to holding an office of authority and trust, then I as a citizen have a duty to make sure the candidate is the person I want in that position. Remember, no one has a right to be a president, a senator, or a Supreme Court justice. In fact, I will say that it's not unreasonable to expect the candidate to "prove" that they deserve our trust and respect.
Edited by Chiroptera, : Rewrote the last sentence.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2625 by Minnemooseus, posted 11-21-2018 9:52 PM Minnemooseus has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


(5)
Message 2850 of 4573 (851420)
04-24-2019 10:33 AM
Reply to: Message 2849 by Percy
04-24-2019 10:23 AM


Re: Trump Ignores Russian Threat to 2020 Election
Failing to protect the country from foreign threats also seems like a treasonable and impeachable offense.
On the other hand, they understood the threat to US security posed by mothers with children, so there's that.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2849 by Percy, posted 04-24-2019 10:23 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2851 of 4573 (851681)
04-30-2019 4:34 PM


Republicans' Tax Relief For Ordinary Americans...
... never happened,
From the Guardian: Workers barely benefited from Trump’s sweeping tax cut, investigation shows
The 2017 Tax and Jobs Act - the Trump administration’s one major piece of enacted legislation - did deliver the biggest corporate tax cut in US history, but ultimately workers benefited almost not at all.
That big fat ol' tax cut turned out to be a big gift to the large corporations which failed to pass much at all to their employees, and was full of additional loopholes and mistake since it was rushed through with little to no chance of adequate debate.
None of which is a surprise to the people who were warning of exactly this at the time.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate's confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2863 of 4573 (852585)
05-14-2019 10:03 AM
Reply to: Message 2862 by Percy
05-14-2019 7:52 AM


Re: Barr Appoints Prosecutor to Investigate Russia Probe Origins
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't object to the examination of a law enforcement agency's investigation of a political campaign. As those of us who remember COINTELPRO will point out, investigation opposition campaigns can have a "chilling effect" on the democratic process and can be open to abuse. Government officials need to be ready to explain to the public openly and cleary how their actions were fair and appropriate.
On the other hand, we also have ample evidence that the Trumpistas themselves can't be trusted to be fair or appropriate and that "chilling" any process that opposes them is the actual intent of this.
Here is an additional New York Times article on this:
Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry
I haven't yet read anything that John Durham, the one who will conduct this investigation, will be a political hack for the Administration. But I agree with Percy that the real danger is that the Administration will twist and mischaracterize any result from this investigation, especially if there does turn out to be any impropriety however minor.
But what worries me more is how this is going to be used in the meantime in the propoganda war. The Democrats are going to need to be careful to stay focused and on topic during their campaigns and not get sucked into an unnecessary distraction.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate's confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2862 by Percy, posted 05-14-2019 7:52 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 2864 by Theodoric, posted 05-14-2019 10:17 AM Chiroptera has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2866 of 4573 (852589)
05-14-2019 11:32 AM
Reply to: Message 2865 by 1.61803
05-14-2019 10:35 AM


Re: Barr Appoints Prosecutor to Investigate Russia Probe Origins
And no one has yet mentioned how Durham's report will undoubtably be strategically redacted.

Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. If you take nothing else from the Senate's confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, take that much. -- Kai Wright

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2865 by 1.61803, posted 05-14-2019 10:35 AM 1.61803 has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 2867 by dwise1, posted 05-14-2019 1:31 PM Chiroptera has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 2869 of 4573 (853192)
05-23-2019 11:15 AM


Pelosi and impeachment
From this morning's New York Times.
Pelosi Pushes Go-Slow Strategy on Impeachment as She Goads Trump
Nothing new in this article, but sometimes it's nice to get a quick summary to remind us where we stand at the moment.
Basically, Pelosi has been trying to prevent impeachment proceedings from proceeding at the moment, preferring to let the current investigations run their course.
Pelosi wants instead to trumpet the Democratic legislative initiatives that the House has been passing. However, it's the Trump cult that has been crowding out that news from the media by focusing on the investigations.
She is also concerned about the newer members of the House that were elected from marginal districts. But some of these have been saying that they, too, are open to impeachment.
In fact, even some members of Pelosi 's moderate coalition are starting to move toward supporting impeachment as a reaction of Trump's "scorched earth" refusal to cooperate in any way.
Me, it's hard to say which would be strategically better for the Democrats, impeachment or not. However much I disagree with Pelosi on a lot of policy matters, I do have to recognize that she is highly skilled in the politics game, so I'm willing to trust she may know what she's doing here.

If this was a witch hunt, it found a lot of witches. -- David Cole, writing about the Mueller investigation.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2870 by Theodoric, posted 05-23-2019 11:40 AM Chiroptera has seen this message but not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2871 of 4573 (853328)
05-26-2019 11:15 AM


Paul Krugman on Trump's last tantrum
From The New York Times:
Trump Tantrums the Dems Out of a Trap
Krugman explains how it had appeared that Trump was finally ready to discuss an actual infrastructure policy, which posed a danger to the Democrats since we do need to invest in infrastructure -- desperately! -- so the Democrats would probably have to give him a policy win.
Fortunately (in Krugman's opinion -- I don't think it's so fortunate) Trump himself torpedoed the meeting, confirming once again how unfit he is for any public office.
Most notable quote:
And the attempt to portray Pelosi as out of control is so ludicrous that only totally deluded people - i.e., around a third of the country - could possibly believe it.

If this was a witch hunt, it found a lot of witches. -- David Cole, writing about the Mueller investigation.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2872 by jar, posted 05-27-2019 10:33 AM Chiroptera has replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 2874 of 4573 (853406)
05-27-2019 10:49 AM
Reply to: Message 2872 by jar
05-27-2019 10:33 AM


Re: Paul Krugman on Trump's last tantrum
Yeah, since 2016 I've been thinking of another quote by Mencken:
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

If this was a witch hunt, it found a lot of witches. -- David Cole, writing about the Mueller investigation.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2872 by jar, posted 05-27-2019 10:33 AM jar has not replied

  
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