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Author | Topic: The Trump Presidency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ringo Member (Idle past 439 days) Posts: 20940 From: frozen wasteland Joined: |
Diomedes writes:
It's mostly about giving Trump something he can crow about and take credit for - another "disaster" fixed by Trump. Maybe we can use the same con that Kim Jong Junior used. I am wondering if Trump will corner Trudeau and Freeland and force a deal that won't be as beneficial for Canada.And our geese will blot out the sun.
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dwise1 Member Posts: 5951 Joined: Member Rating: 5.2
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Interesting how so many of the disasters that Trump "fixes" are ones that he had created himself. Does he also suffer from "Mnchhausen by proxy" syndrome where he creates emergencies just so he can "fix" it and get praised as a hero?
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Phat Member Posts: 18343 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
There was an interesting article on Trump at NPR which I will share:
For President Trump, Life Is Just Not Fair And What That Means For The Rest Of Us The title caught my attention because I myself often say the same thing---life isn't fair to me. Of course, I never grew up like Trump did---I am middle-lower middle class, aging, with sleep apnea and diabetes and caught between an aggressive upper middle class and a hungry lower class that domestically and globally hungers for success. Nevertheless, these points in the article resonated with me:
Since he announced he was running for president, he has used the word "unfair" 69 times in tweets, and since becoming president, 40 times. If it's negative news, Trump dubs it "fake" news.
"Twentieth-century dictators notably, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao had all denounced their critics, especially the press, as 'enemies of the people.' Their goal was to delegitimize the work of the press as 'fake news' and create confusion in the public mind about what's real and what isn't; what can be trusted and what can't be. That, it seems, is also Trump's goal."Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9
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i'd like to focus on the very recent words of a senator of integrity. I almost called this post "A Republican of Integrity", but that would have been wrong. Trump sycophants are not true Republicans (and should probably be considered unAmerican for the way they allow American institutions and ideals to be effaced and impugned), so when you refer to someone as a Republican are you calling them a genuine Republican or a just another liar for Trump. To call this senator a Republican would have invited confusion.
On Monday night Trump tweeted about the indictment of one Republican congressmen (Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) for improper use of campaign funds) and the arrest of another (Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) for insider trading):
quote: Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded with this statement:
quote: Would that more senators and congressmen would stand up to Trump in this way, speaking truth to lies. By the way, of course Trump's tweet contains inaccuracies - what Trump tweet would be complete without them? Trump says both investigations began under the Obama administration, but the Collins improprieties were committed under Trump, and so of course the investigation also began under Trump. --Percy
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9 |
The biggest troubling development, and also the biggest surprise, has been how quickly Republicans in the House and Senate became complicit in the Trump takeover of government. Many either remained silently complicit while Trump attacked and coerced American institutions and eroded America's ideals and image abroard, others actively supported his actions and agenda. Those Republicans who have overtly stood against Trump deserve a Wall of Honor:
There are no representatives on that list, perhaps because it's harder to stand out in the much larger house, perhaps because of my own ignorance, but more likely because House Republicans have larger covered themselves in obeisant slime for Trump, beginning with Speaker Paul Ryan at the top. Here's what Democrats might look into were they to take control of the House:
When Trump fires Sessions that can be added to the list. --Percy
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9 |
Past my bedtime, keeping this short. Today an anonymous senior official in the Trump administration published an op-ed piece in the New York Times, here’s an article about the Trump White House reaction: Trump Aides Seek Out Traitor in the White House
Percy
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Minnemooseus Member Posts: 3945 From: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. (West end of Lake Superior) Joined: Member Rating: 10.0 |
The best of the feeble resistance to bad Trump. And I file Flake and Corker under "rather quit than fight", which seems to be the case for a fair number of Republican Congressmen (and women?). What would have more impressed me, would for the above to switched parties to the Democratic party. Now that would be making a statement.
...beginning with Speaker Paul Ryan at the top. Another "rather quit than fight". Moose Edited by Minnemooseus, : Add Paul Ryan bit.Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment. "Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith "Yesterday on Fox News, commentator Glenn Beck said that he believes President Obama is a racist. To be fair, every time you watch Glenn Beck, it does get a little easier to hate white people." - Conan O'Brien "I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose
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marc9000 Member Posts: 1522 From: Ky U.S. Joined: Member Rating: 1.3
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Veteran journalist Marvin Kalb has written a forthcoming book called, "Enemy of the People." He warns that this kind of targeting of the press is familiar: Hello Phat, I haven't read this book, but let me put fourth a few factual events from the past that I'd bet aren't contained in it.
Four times since June, Trump has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people" on Twitter. His press secretary on Thursday refused to say the press wasn't and instead ticked off a list of grievances and perceived slights. I've seen the you-tube vid from Thursday, Jim Acosta was pressing Sanders to renounce the "enemy of the people" claim. She obviously keeps some things prepared to pull out and fire off when the situation demands it, understandably so. These reporters have hours, even days, to think up carefully crafted "gotcha" questions for her, and she has to answer them right off the top of her head, knowing that the press will then take several days or weeks to analyze, and of course, twist and distort anything they possibly can. If she'd have had more time to think about it, she possibly could have said the following; "Jim, if you're completely comfortable that the news media is absolutely never the enemy of the people, why are you worried about it? The saying "people don't get angry when lies are told about them - they get angry when the truth is told about them" has never been more relevant." Peter Jennings, you probably remember him, an ABC news anchor from 1983 until shortly before his death from lung cancer in 2005. He smoked like chimney much of his life, and when he got lung cancer, he blamed the tobacco companies for it. While many of "the people" don't agree with that mindset, lets look at one of his quotes from 1994. (this was right after the Republican take-over of both houses of congress after 2 years of the Clinton administration)
quote: Best of Notable Quotables 1994 -- Media Research Center He was calling those who voted in a way that he didn't agree with as having a "temper tantrum", those who simply wanted a change from the big government policies of Democrats who controlled the presidency and both houses of congress. Not only does that show zero respect for that political viewpoint, it can be argued that that statement shows that he had little respect for the U.S. election process. That's not really a surprise, because Jennings WASN'T A U.S. CITIZEN AT THAT TIME. He didn't become a citizen of the U.S. until 2003. So most of his reporting was done as a non-U.S. citizen, and there were, and clearly still are, no requirements of U.S. citizenship for any level of U.S. news reporters. I'd guess that little fact is probably nowhere to be found in Kalb's book. Jennings received little, or no high level criticism for his "temper tantrum" comments above. Yet no one in the news media today seems to be labeling as temper tantrums what we're all seeing from todays news media. How about the interruptions in the Kavanaugh hearings? Would you consider those to be temper tantrums? How about Jim Acosta's whinings in the press room on an almost daily basis? To apply Jennings above words to today, we don't have to "imagine" a news media full of uncontrolled 2 year old rage, we see it every day. Today's news media ratings among the general public are very low - criticism of the news media has been made into dirty words by today's left.
If it's negative news, Trump dubs it "fake" news. And if it actually is fake news, the news media thinks the first amendment shields them from criticism. This is the first time they've had a president stand up to them, and they don't know exactly what to do yet, except have temper tantrums.
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9
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marc9000 writes: Yet no one in the news media today seems to be labeling as temper tantrums what we're all seeing from todays news media. How about the interruptions in the Kavanaugh hearings? What press interruptions of the Kavanaugh hearings?
And if it actually is fake news, the news media thinks the first amendment shields them from criticism. This is the first time they've had a president stand up to them, and they don't know exactly what to do yet, except have temper tantrums. Fake news is a fake allegation invented by the right to avoid responding meaningfully to fact-based reporting. --Percy
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marc9000 Member Posts: 1522 From: Ky U.S. Joined: Member Rating: 1.3 |
marc9000 writes: Yet no one in the news media today seems to be labeling as temper tantrums what we're all seeing from todays news media. How about the interruptions in the Kavanaugh hearings? What press interruptions of the Kavanaugh hearings? I was referring to the lack of labeling of all of todays leftist temper tantrums. There were none that I know of by the press at the Kavanaugh hearings, those were done by Democrat senators and paid protesters. Yet they were very similar in nature to the anger put fourth by the press in the press briefing room on a daily basis. I didn't post here this time to try to convince any of you that today's angry outbursts by the press / Democrat senators / paid protesters etc are better labeled as temper tantrums than the actions of voters who decided to vote Republican in 1994, because I know my attempts at that would be futile. But I will go a little further to attempt to enlighten you on one thing that seems to be a false assumption by those on the left in general, that the news media being an "enemy of the people" isn't a view of only Trump and a small handful of his mind-numbed followers, that there is some evidence involved. As a non U.S. citizen, Jennings wouldn't have been allowed to vote in U.S. elections. (well, back then anyway, he probably could today) Yet with his handsome studly good looks and smooth, charming demeanor, he clearly had the ability to influence countless thousands of votes. Many rational thinking constitutionalists can easily find that troubling. I wonder how many past and current members of the editorial boards at the NY Times or Washington Post are not U.S. citizens? That they would even consider hiring non-citizens for any level of U.S. news reporting is something that a lot of people wouldn't agree with. I personally don't think there should be a law against it - I believe that, in time, the free markets will correct it. Fox News and Newsmax were founded in the 1990's largely because of the arrogance of reporters like Jennings. He got by with the statement I quoted of him above a lot easier in 1994 than...Jim Acosta, for example, would today. Judge Kavanaugh is no more radical than any other conservative justice, past or present, any informed person knows that. He would have been an understandable choice for any Republican president. Yet the paid protestors at his hearing are far more numerous and disruptive than ever before. If individuals like George Soros are involved in hiring them, what's to stop him from also dangling a lot of money in front of the news media, offering a really big prize to the first one who initiates a Trump removal from office? I suspect it's happened. It might even be legal, but it's not ethical. Not in the best interests of the people. Obama even broke with the tradition of past, mature presidents, and had a temper tantrum, 20 months out of office. Doesn't seem like the news media has referred to past, mature presidents, or tradition, concerning his outburst
Fake news is a fake allegation invented by the right to avoid responding meaningfully to fact-based reporting. Yes you and I have already covered fake news earlier in this thread, I have no more to say about your denial of the obvious..
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Coragyps Member (Idle past 762 days) Posts: 5553 From: Snyder, Texas, USA Joined:
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When you find any actual evidence of paid left-wing protesters at one of these events, drag it out here for us to see. Something similar to the $15 per hour for folks to attend Trump rallies that showed up on Craigslist for the rally where the checkered-shirt kid got moved off stage the other day.
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9
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marc9000 writes: marc9000 writes:
What press interruptions of the Kavanaugh hearings? Yet no one in the news media today seems to be labeling as temper tantrums what we're all seeing from todays news media. How about the interruptions in the Kavanaugh hearings? I was referring to the lack of labeling of all of todays leftist temper tantrums. I actually didn't comment on that first sentence. Why would the news media label their own reporting as temper tantrums? I can see Fox News making this criticism of more moderate outlets.
There were none that I know of by the press at the Kavanaugh hearings, those were done by Democrat senators and paid protesters. Yes, this is true, the proceedings were interrupted and impeded by Democratic senators and protesters. What makes you think the protesters were paid?
Yet they were very similar in nature to the anger put fourth by the press in the press briefing room on a daily basis. Do you have any videos of press anger being displayed during press briefings? Given that there were only three White House press briefings in the month of August, for example, how is it possible for this anger to be displayed (quoting you) "on a daily basis"?
I didn't post here this time to try to convince any of you that today's angry outbursts by the press / Democrat senators / paid protesters etc are better labeled as temper tantrums than the actions of voters who decided to vote Republican in 1994, because I know my attempts at that would be futile. Such attempts would not only be futile but stupid, especially for someone paid to post Trump propaganda to EvC (you see, anyone can make stuff up).
But I will go a little further to attempt to enlighten you on one thing that seems to be a false assumption by those on the left in general, that the news media being an "enemy of the people" isn't a view of only Trump and a small handful of his mind-numbed followers, that there is some evidence involved. No one is asserting that the belief that the press is the "enemy of the people" is unique to Trump and his cronies and followers. Dictators and authoritarian rulers have denounced, shut down and put the press under state control since there was a press and long before Trump. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost," and when he referred to "our liberty" he meant everyone's liberty, not just those of a particular political party.
Judge Kavanaugh is no more radical than any other conservative justice,... Conservative judges span the range from mainstream to radical. Kavanaugh seems to lean a bit toward the radical side given his writings on Roe v. Wade (not settled law) and the powers of the presidency (unlimited). Were 60 votes required in the Senate for confirmation, as has been the case throughout the history of the republic until Republicans changed the rules in this most recent Congress, Kavanaugh would not have been nominated because he could not have garnered the necessary votes. Kavanaugh was added to the list of potential nominees and then gradually rose to the top as Trump's legal and constitutional problems worsened.
Yet the paid protestors at his hearing are far more numerous and disruptive than ever before. How much are you being paid to lie about this?
If individuals like George Soros are involved in hiring them, what's to stop him from also dangling a lot of money in front of the news media, offering a really big prize to the first one who initiates a Trump removal from office? I'm unable to parse this as saying anything other than something absurd. You just said that someone rich could offer a prize to the first news outlet to initiate a Trump removal from office. How would a news outlet do that exactly?
I suspect it's happened. Uh, no.
Obama even broke with the tradition of past, mature presidents, and had a temper tantrum, 20 months out of office. Here's a video of Obama's "temper tantrum". Please tell us where in the video this "temper tantrum" happens:
You are correct (for the first time in your post) to note that it is not common for past presidents to take an active role in campaigning.
Fake news is a fake allegation invented by the right to avoid responding meaningfully to fact-based reporting. Yes you and I have already covered fake news earlier in this thread, I have no more to say about your denial of the obvious. How can you "have no more to say" when you never had anything to say in the first place? Provide some examples of actual fake news from the mainstream press and maybe people will start listening to you. Until now you've just been blowing smoke. There's an old thread where a discussion of so-called fake news might be more appropriate: Fake polls, fake news --Percy
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caffeine Member (Idle past 1052 days) Posts: 1800 From: Prague, Czech Republic Joined:
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He was calling those who voted in a way that he didn't agree with as having a "temper tantrum", those who simply wanted a change from the big government policies of Democrats who controlled the presidency and both houses of congress. Not only does that show zero respect for that political viewpoint, it can be argued that that statement shows that he had little respect for the U.S. election process. That's not really a surprise, because Jennings WASN'T A U.S. CITIZEN AT THAT TIME. He didn't become a citizen of the U.S. until 2003. So most of his reporting was done as a non-U.S. citizen, and there were, and clearly still are, no requirements of U.S. citizenship for any level of U.S. news reporters. I'd guess that little fact is probably nowhere to be found in Kalb's book. Why on earth would anyone care about the citizenship of a journalist? It's 2018, for crying out loud. The cheapest cable TV package here includes news stations from the US, UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, France, Germany and Qatar. I don't watch any TV news, but I have the internet. I can read news from anywhere. I find it odd that you're obsessing about something a journalist said slightly before I was born; but either he made a good point or he didn't. His citizenship status isn't really relevant in assessing that.
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9 |
caffeine writes: I find it odd that you're obsessing about something a journalist said slightly before I was born; but either he made a good point or he didn't. His citizenship status isn't really relevant in assessing that. Years ago we used to watch the nightly news with Peter Jennings. That he was Canadian was just an interesting fact that made no difference at all, and I didn't even know he was Canadian until we'd been watching him for a couple years. Like Marc I disagree (then and now) with Jenning's commentary about the 1994 midterm elections, otherwise known as the Republican Revolution where Republicans took over the House and Senate and many state legislatures, largely campaigning on a Newt Gingrich platform called the Contract with America. But many liberal commentators of the time agreed with Jennings. The reality is that for some reason Americans like divided government, and the first midterm after a president is elected is usually most unkind to his party. I don't know that this phenomenon has ever been adequately explained. --Percy
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Percy Member Posts: 22499 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 4.9 |
Last night Stephen Colbert interviewed Beta O'Rourke who is running against Ted Cruz for Senator from Texas. Polls indicate the race is tied within the margin of error. In this interview O'Rourke indicates his opposition to many Trump policies. The interview is short and well worth watching:
I think he might have a chance. --Percy
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