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You've been Trumped!

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Frelga
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 4:45 pm
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NYT is reporting that Trump told his aids he's going to fire Bannon. I may have said Yessss! a bit too loudly in the office.

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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 5:32 pm
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fingers crossed... and with any luck, Miller and Gorka will follow.

And Trump, before he's in a position where he might launch a nuclear war or start WWIII. I saw a hilarious comment on some U.K. newspaper where someone suggested that we swap out the real "nuclear launch button" with a fake one, like giving a kid a toy steering wheel so he/she can pretend to drive the family car.

The ACLU drives me nuts sometimes, but at the same time, I'm glad they exist.

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Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 6:17 pm
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Trump is considering turning the war in Afghanistan over to mercenaries paid by the U.S. He, Pence and others are meeting in Camp David today to consider this proposal and other options.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... id/537324/
Quote:
Plans to privatize the war proposed by two businessmen with ties to the White House have become a linchpin of the debate. Prince is proposing to send private contractors to Afghanistan instead of U.S. troops, and have the entire operation overseen by a “viceroy.” The billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg has also submitted a proposal using contractors. Both have met with top administration officials on the matter. ... And Trump is said to favor using at least some of Prince and Feinberg’s proposals.
The plan is favored by Bannon and Kushner, but not the military or Tillerson:
Quote:
According to officials familiar with the proposals, Mattis, McMaster, Tillerson, and others in the administration have two main objections to the Prince plan: One is that they believe Prince is downplaying how much it will truly cost, and the other is that they assume allies will ditch the U.S.-led effort once a switch is made to contractors instead of uniformed troops.

From The Atlantic,
Quote:
Trump's Faux Breakup With His Manufacturing Council
The president is getting along just fine with big business.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/ar ... il/537156/
Quote:
Both the manufacturing council and the strategic and policy forum—a group of top executives from a broad range of industries, representing Boeing, General Electric, and JPMorgan Chase, among other firms—were launched with significant fanfare

.... But it was never clear exactly what the councils were doing other than providing photo opportunities. There has been little to show from their meetings, and from the start, virtually all of the news about the councils involved controversy, with various members quitting in protest
Quote:
...But after [Trump] promised to drain the swamp, he has installed dozens of lobbyists across the government: lobbyists for insurers and the pharmaceutical industry in the Department of Health and Human Services, lobbyists for defense contractors at the Pentagon, lobbyists for the construction industry at the Labor Department, and on and on. A lawyer who built a career helping banks skirt regulations now manages one of the country’s most powerful financial regulators.
Quote:
Indeed, regulatory policy might be the arena where Trump’s pro-business tilt has been most apparent. His White House has quit enforcing a policy that stopped telecom businesses from charging prisoners and their families exorbitant rates for phone calls. It stopped pursuing loan relief for students defrauded by educational institutions, and made it easier for mining companies to pollute public waterways. It is gearing up to allow drilling on public lands, and trying to make it easier for businesses to stash profits overseas. It has promised to go after Dodd-Frank, the most substantial piece of legislation to be passed in the wake of the financial crisis. Even as Trump bashed Frazier and Merck for high drug prices, a leaked draft order suggests that the administration plans to strip back pharmaceutical regulations—something that would likely boost industry profits, potentially without lowering prices for consumers.

This “systemic”—to use the administration’s own word—war on regulations will in many industries slash the cost of doing business and buoy profits.

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Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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Dave_LF
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 6:46 pm
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aninkling wrote:
I saw a hilarious comment on some U.K. newspaper where someone suggested that we swap out the real "nuclear launch button" with a fake one, like giving a kid a toy steering wheel so he/she can pretend to drive the family car.
Can we do that with his Twitter account too?


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Frelga
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 7:11 pm
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Actually, can we just build a fake White House for him?

Bannon's ouster is official.

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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 10:26 pm
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Quote:
Actually, can we just build a fake White House for him?
:D

Apparently, Jimmy Kimmel suggested something like that. He proposed that we promote Trump to a honorary position (with no power) as king, send him to Mar-a-Lago, lock the door and throw away the key. Everyone can address him as "your majesty" and he'll be happy. And so would we.

And guess where Bannon has gone? Back to Breitbart immediately. He's planning to "go to war" with propaganda on Trump's behalf. No surprise there.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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Frelga
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 18 Aug , 2017 11:53 pm
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Bannon is making like the Necromancer - fleeing to the shadows whence he plots to emerge stronger than ever. He also is reported to menace war onto the Drudge Report.
opcorn:

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Jude
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Sat 19 Aug , 2017 2:24 am
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aninkling wrote:
Quote:
Actually, can we just build a fake White House for him?
:D

Apparently, Jimmy Kimmel suggested something like that. He proposed that we promote Trump to a honorary position (with no power) as king, send him to Mar-a-Lago, lock the door and throw away the key. Everyone can address him as "your majesty" and he'll be happy. And so would we.
It's like right out of a Pratchett novel.

Eric, to be precise.

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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Mon 21 Aug , 2017 1:26 pm
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Frelga wrote:
Bannon is making like the Necromancer - fleeing to the shadows whence he plots to emerge stronger than ever.
Or like an antisocial brat fleeing back to his parents basement to nurse his wounds and plot revenge. He really is an immature little twerp, isn't he? I've never heard of an ousted government official behaving like this. Though I've read that Bannon's security clearance may hinder him, as he's obligated to follow its provisions for the rest of his life.


Brietbart might not be doing so well. It's losing advertisers:
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/34731 ... ers-report
Quote:
Nearly 2,600 advertisers have cut ties with Breitbart News in recent months, according a Twitter account that tracks advertisers for the controversial conservative outlet.
What we're paying for Trump's security, and his family's, is unusually high:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... ting-trump
Quote:
The Secret Service is nearing its spending limit for protecting President Trump and his family, the agency's director told USA Today.

Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex'' Alles said that 1,000 agents have already hit their annual salary and overtime limits. Alles added that he is in discussions with lawmakers to increase the pay caps for agents from $160,000 to $187,000 per year.

The increased spending is due in part to Trump's frequent travel from the White House to his properties along the East coast.

...Trump's family also is a factor... The Secret Service protects 42 members of the Trump administration, according to USA Today, including 18 members of the president's family.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... nge-report
Quote:
The Trump administration will push ahead with disbanding a federal advisory panel that reported on climate change, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

...The group worked on the National Climate Assessment, the mandated quadrennial report that was leaked last month as a draft. The report is due to be released in 2018, but The New York Times reported that scientists working on it worried the Trump administration would try to bury some or all of its conclusions and may have leaked it for that reason.

...The White House is in the process of reviewing a final version of the assessment.

The administration seems to be lying low. Apparently no one appeared on Sunday talk shows this week.
Also, yet another charity pulled its fund-raising event out of Mar-a-Lago. It's obvious that everyone knows how closely linked the president and Trump's businesses are, when the way to signal disapproval is to stop using his golf course properties.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Mon 21 Aug , 2017 7:19 pm
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http://thehill.com/policy/energy-enviro ... moval-coal
Quote:
The Trump administration has ordered researchers to stop work on an independent evaluation of potential health effects from mountaintop removal coal mining.

The Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM) last year, under then-President Obama, had commissioned the research into the possible connections between certain health risks and living near current or former surface mining sites in Appalachia. The OSM committed $1 million to the two-year effort after West Virginia officials requested it in 2015.

But the agency sent a letter Friday to the National Academy of Sciences, which it had contracted to do the independent review, asking it to stop its work immediately.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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Frelga
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Wed 23 Aug , 2017 4:34 am
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Trump making a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, despite the Mayor telling him he shouldn't come. Among other lovely things, he claimed that the major news stations like CNN turned off their cameras. While he was live. On CNN. Like, what, he thought... how did he think that was going to work out for him?

http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... e-coverage

I have invested a considerable effort into coming up with something to say other than "what the actual f*ck?", but I failed.

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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Wed 23 Aug , 2017 1:52 pm
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It sounds like he was his usual charming, reasonable presidential self at his "campaign rally." ;)

btw, what sort of normal person continues having campaign rallies after he won? You'd think the president would be busy enough with governing... oh, wait....

He threatened to shut down the government if his favorite wall doesn't get built, attacked the media and Democrats, attacked the Arizona members of Congress who haven't supported him in everything, defended his Charlottesville response, suggested that he's going to pardon Arapaio again (who, by the way, also promoted the "birther" nonsense about Obama)...
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... ona-speech
Quote:
"Build that wall. Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," Trump said Tuesday during a rally in Phoenix.
Quote:
He repeatedly mentioned that Senate legislation aimed at hollowing out the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, had failed by one vote.... “One vote away! I will not mention any names. Very presidential, isn’t it?” Trump asked.
Quote:
"Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?” he asked, before going on to promise that “he’s going to be just fine, okay?”Apparently alluding to a pardon, Trump added, “I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy. But Sheriff Joe should feel good.”
But even his rabid supporters may be getting bored with his rants:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... y-thinned/
Quote:
But as the night dragged on, many in the crowd lost interest in what the president was saying.

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors. After waiting for hours in 107-degree heat to get into the rally hall — where their water bottles were confiscated by security — people were tired and dehydrated and the president just wasn't keeping their attention. Although Trump has long been the master of reading the mood of a room and quickly adjusting his message to satisfy as many of his fans as possible, his rage seemed to cloud his senses.

Trump also claims that the white supremacists' main reason for holding a heavily armed rally in Charlottesville and marching through UVA with torches, chanting racist and anti-Jewish messages, is that they want to preserve U.S. history. And he's attacking state and local leaders who are now removing statues in response to Charlottesville. Contrary to what he implies, it's not just focused on the universities - big cities like Baltimore are doing it too:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... e-away-our
Quote:
In the wake of the mayhem, Trump defended the white nationalist protesters, saying they were there to oppose the removal of a "very, very important" statue.
Quote:
President Trump reaffirmed once again Tuesday his claim that activists are trying to "take away" U.S. history and culture by calling for the removal of Confederate statues. "They’re trying to take away our culture. They’re trying to take away our history," Trump said at a rally in Phoenix, Ariz. "And our weak leaders, they do it overnight. These things have been there for 150 years, for a hundred years. You go back to a university and it's gone. Weak, weak people."
Before Charlottesville, I had mixed feelings about removing statues of Lee and some other historical figures (as opposed to adding explanatory plaques or other methods to put them into context) because it smacked of revisionism. Especially after reading an article in The Atlantic about someone in Charlottesville (the mayor?) who voted not to remove them, and his discussions with the community. Even some African American leaders seemed to be opposed to the removal of Lee, for the same reason - some felt it was a move to ignore the history of slavery.

And also because certain people are acting as if removing a statue is some sort of noble act that's going to make racism go away. I suspect that it's more likely to gratuitously antagonize some people in the South who feel Lee is part of their heritage, but don't necessarily admire his slave owning (and he was apparently one of the nastier sorts of slave owners, certainly not someone who tried to be halfway decent to the people he owned).

But when Nazis and the KKK defend a statue and the president makes remarks supporting them, then I completely support removing statues in defiance. My position may not be logical, but that's how I feel. Apparently, I'm not the only one. Gov. Hogan of Maryland abruptly reversed his opposition to removing statues after the Charlottesville rally.


The Dept of Justice's very questionable request for the IP addresses of people who may have protested Trump has been dropped. Shining a light on this seems to have worked:
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity ... resistance
Quote:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is dropping its controversial request for visitor IP addresses related to an anti-Trump website.

The government said in a brief released Tuesday that it has "no interest" in the 1.3 million IP addresses related to the website disruptj20.org. It says it is solely focused on information that could constitute evidence related to criminal rioting on Inauguration Day.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Wed 23 Aug , 2017 2:42 pm
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Trump is going after the filibuster again. He really doesn't seem to give a damn that it serves as a check for the minority in Congress, including times in the future when the GOP will be in the minority - he just wants it gone now, so he and the current GOP leaders can get their way without compromise.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... filibuster
Quote:
"If Republican Senate doesn't get rid of the Filibuster Rule & go to a simple majority, which the Dems would do, they are just wasting time!" Trump tweeted Wednesday.

At least ousted communications director Scaramucci seems to have a healthy sense of humor.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... hite-house
Quote:
Scaramucci tweeted out an image of a T-shirt that read, “I was communications director for 10 days and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”
Can't help contrasting his self-mockery, since his removal, with Bannon's self-importance and outrage.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Wed 23 Aug , 2017 6:19 pm
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... don-report
Quote:
The paperwork has reportedly been prepared for President Trump to pardon controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The White House ... has also put together talking points for surrogates, CNN reported.

The talking points include emphasizing that Arpaio should not be put in prison for "enforcing the law" and "working to keep people safe."

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/t ... -an-arpaio
Quote:
Some aspects of this now likely decision are no surprise. Others are worth noting, as they challenge traditional understandings of the clemency power.

... if Arpaio becomes the first recipient of Trump’s presidential mercy, he would not be, as has often been the case recently, a relatively anonymous person who committed a non-violent offense many years ago. Arpaio is a celebrity, and his federal conviction is fresh. Clemency under these circumstances is unusual ...

... The president may, but does not have to, follow Justice Department guidelines that, on their face, require applicants for a pardon to wait five years from the date of their conviction to even apply.

...Finally, perhaps the most unusual aspect of the Arpaio pardon concerns Trump’s likely reasons for pardoning him in the first place. Traditionally, two broad rationales have motivated most clemency decisions: showing an “act of grace” toward an individual...

At 85 years old, the former lawman seems unlikely to actually go to jail. It is possible that an Arpaio pardon could be rooted primarily in a concern for mercy. ... another interpretation would be that the pardon is really aimed at rallying Trump’s supporters.

The other rationale for clemency is that it somehow served the “public welfare” by, for example, defusing societal unrest with an offer of forgiveness. ... In the wake of Charlottesville, President Trump must carefully consider whether an Arpaio pardon .. would do the opposite.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... nformation
Quote:
The Secret Service on Tuesday said it will stop deleting White House visitor log data temporarily while a court determines whether the data is subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

...The lawsuit, brought by watchdog group Public Citizen last week, seeks access to visitor logs to four agencies: The Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Thu 24 Aug , 2017 8:07 pm
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Interior under Zinke [paraphrased]: "I'm recommending that Trump make a 'handful' of national monuments smaller - but we're not going to release my recommendations to the public." i.e., because we figure you probably won't like it. Oh, and by the way, the visitor experience will remain the same - sure, you might run into clearcut areas, mines and oil wells on your hike, but that's all part of the fun, isn't it?"

I don't know why I'm so disgusted - it was obvious Zinke and Trump were going to do this, despite the extremely large number of public comments on the monument proposal, the vast majority of them saying that we want to keep them unchanged. But it feels like all that was pointless.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-enviro ... -monuments
Quote:
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday he's asking President Trump to shrink “a handful” of national monuments that previous presidents designated to protect land and water.

...Interior did not publicly release the report Zinke sent to Trump, nor any details of the recommendations. Instead, Interior published a two-page summary of the process the Interior secretary took to review the monument designations.

“Adherence to the [Antiquities] Act’s definition of an ‘object’ and ‘smallest area compatible’ clause on some monuments were either arbitrary or likely politically motivated or boundaries could not be supported by science or reasons of practical resource management,” the summary reads.

Zinke said in a statement that the recommendations “will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation.”
Emphasis on the economic development and "traditional uses" (mining, drilling, oil and gas, commercial fishing, logging). Probably unrestricted hunting, off-road vehicle use, livestock grazing, etc. as well. Never mind that some of the sites removed from the monuments may contain sensitive environmental areas or native American artifacts...



And the site organizing Trump protests has again been ordered to hand over information on its visitors. Seems the Dept of Justice lied when it claimed to have dropped the request.
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity ... trump-site
Quote:
A court in the District of Columbia on Thursday ordered web hosting company DreamHost to produce data and information requested by the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to an anti-President Trump website.

Chief Judge Robert Morin of the Superior Court of D.C. ruled from the bench that the government, under the court’s supervision, can proceed with an amended search warrant for data requested from DreamHost on the website disruptj20.org, which was used to organize protests against Trump on Inauguration Day.

However, Morin outlined what he described as “added protections” to guard the data of innocent visitors to the website. He directed the government to submit information to the court about its method for searching through the data and minimizing data on innocent third-party visitors to the site.

Last edited by aninkling on Thu 24 Aug , 2017 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Thu 24 Aug , 2017 8:28 pm
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An opinion piece discussing some suspicious activities that suggest Trump is looking for ways to avoid recertifying the deal with Iran, even if the U.N. says they are:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/ ... an-nuclear
Trump’s suspicious scheme to discredit the Iran nuclear deal
Quote:
President Trump’s United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley met yesterday with the top officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog that conducts monitoring and inspections inside Iran to ensure Iran is in compliance with the stipulations of the nuclear deal.

The stated reason for the visit was for Ambassador Haley to press the IAEA to inspect Iran’s secret military sites, although there is nothing to suggest Iran is engaging in any illicit nuclear research, enrichment or development. Indeed, the IAEA has certified seven separate times that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal, a judgement shared by all of the signatory countries along with the U.S. intelligence community.

...So, are Haley’s concerns to the IAEA genuine? Or are they part of a scheme to abolish a nuclear deal that is working and that Iran is abiding by? The former possibility would be more credible had President Trump not explicitly stated his intention to destroy the deal regardless of Iranian compliance.

The diplomatic and security implications of a deliberate and disingenuous unraveling of the JCPOA would be dire. Not only will it signal to other nuclear proliferators (e.g. North Korea) that the United States cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments, but it will also put the United States and Iran back on the path to conflict.
But hey, this agreement was made under President Obama, and Trump is pretty obviously trying to undo everything Obama touched.



Politics, the NIH and climate change deniers:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... ate-change
Quote:
References to "climate change" have been wiped from parts of The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Environmental Health Science division website, according to a report by the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative.

In one of the changes, for example, an article formerly titled "Climate Change and Human Health," now reads, "Climate and Human Health." Another drop-down menu now reads "Climate and Children's Health," instead of "Climate Change and Children's Health."


http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... ago-resort
Quote:
A Florida hospital foundation is canceling a fundraiser luncheon at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, becoming the 18th charity to do so after Trump’s comments on the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Thu 24 Aug , 2017 8:52 pm
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... ump-rally/
Quote:
Following Trump’s Phoenix rally Tuesday evening, a picture started circulating on Twitter purporting to show massive crowds at the president’s campaign-style event.

...The Daily Beast said Wednesday that conservative pundit Ann Coulter and other right-wing personalities retweeted the item.

... But here’s the problem: The image was not from the Phoenix Trump event — or any Trump event.

... In reality, the massive crowd was photographed on June 22, 2016, in Cleveland, where fans came out to celebrate the Cavaliers’ NBA Championship.
btw, I heard one reason that Trump may be holding these rallies as campaign events: as president, he has restrictions on who he may exclude from events, but as a candidate, he doesn't. So it sounds like he can freely kick out any protesters and people who don't adore him. Disgusting, really, that there's a mechanism where the U.S. president can hold rallies where he can allow only his followers to attend.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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Frelga
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Fri 25 Aug , 2017 4:28 pm
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Trump tweeted that Kelly is doing a fantastic job, which usually means time to start a countdown to resignation.

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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Mon 28 Aug , 2017 1:22 pm
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:) Just being in Trump's administration is a countdown to being fired...


Well, Trump went ahead and pardoned Arpaio. This columnist is blunt, but I agree with him:
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/34822 ... es-gangsta
Quote:
"He sends a signal to his base with the Arpaio move," [Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence] Page told CBS "Face the Nation" fill-in host Major Garrett on Sunday. "But back in Chicago, we’d say this is good example of gangsta politics. He’s sending a signal to anybody who might want to snitch on him or testify against him that, 'Hey, I’m going to protect you. I’m going to watch out for my people. I am loyal to my people. And I’ll pardon Joe Arpaio. I will pardon other people if I want to do it.'"

"And, the Republicans give good lip service to opposing him but they care about their agenda, too," Page continued. "They need him too much right now."
Arpaio was a strong supporter of Trump, defied the federal government and is pardoned before he's even sentenced. Can anyone doubt that Trump will pardon other buddies, family members and supporters, too - no matter what they do?



More depressing news. U.S. police can soon use military equipment against the public again.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... ent-report
Quote:
President Trump is planning on reversing a ban on allowing local police forces to use surplus military equipment, according to a new report. The Trump administration will now allow local police forces to take and use armored vehicles, high-caliber weapons and other kinds of heavy equipment that were once used in the military, USA Today reported Sunday.

The Obama administration initially banned the practice after police in Ferguson, Mo. were heavily criticized for using the equipment against protestors in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown three years ago.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... cow-during
Quote:
Members of the Trump Organization and investors nearly reached a deal to open a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 election, according to a new report.Trump’s company and investors signed a letter of intent to open up a massive development as part of the Trump brand but dropped the deal in January 2016 after they failed to get the land and permits to launch the project, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Felix Sater, a Russian-born developer, also encouraged Trump to visit Moscow to hear about the proposal and promised he could get Russian President Vladimir Putin to say “great things” about Trump, according to The Post.

And Gorka is gone. :) With more childish dramatics, like Bannon. Gorka actually compared the ouster of white supremacist staffers to a fictional sci fi movie. And, of course, they're the good guys with superpowers! Good riddance. They can go play their fantasy games somewhere other than in the federal government.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... wars-scene
Quote:
Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka is comparing senior adviser Stephen Bannon's departure from the White House to a scene from "Star Wars," adding the left "has no idea what's coming around the corner."

t’s like the last scene from 'Star Wars.' Do you remember what Obi Wan Kenobi said to Darth [Vader]? ‘If you strike me down, I will be more powerful than you can ever imagine.’ ... " Gorka told Breitbart's political editor, Matt Boyle.


Does this mean he just called Trump an alt-right member in his departure letter?
Quote:
Gorka left the White House on Friday. “Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months," he wrote in a letter.
His departure came one week after Bannon left the White House after reportedly being pushed out.

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Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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aninkling
Post subject: Re: You've been Trumped!
Posted: Mon 28 Aug , 2017 3:25 pm
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Wow. Tillerson just spoke up without saying anything explicit.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... le/538152/
Quote:
In a simple six-word response to a question posted by a cable news anchor, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to suggest something stunning—even by Trump administration standards.

...The remarks are striking, not only because they come from Tillerson, who occupies what traditionally has been the highest-ranking Cabinet position, but also because the secretary of state appears to suggest the president’s values may not always be in sync with America’s values.
The Atlantic has the text of the exchange and I think Tillerson's message is unmistakable.



Also worth reading:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... on/538137/
Quote:
In the wake of President Trump’s pardon of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, reporters are likely to hear words as harsh as “disturbed” and “concerned“ floated by anonymous leaders of the president’s party on Capitol Hill.

..Though its major import is Trump’s official endorsement of racist discrimination in law enforcement, a flagrant contempt for judges and courts is the subtext. The issue in the Arpaio case was the very integrity of the federal judiciary. He was not convicted of an ordinary crime, but of deliberately disobeying a federal court order and lying about that; but beyond that, during the litigation that led to his conviction for criminal contempt, he hired a private detective to investigate the wife of a federal judge hearing a case against his office. Any judge can understand the threat posed by law enforcement personnel who seek to strike back at judges and their families, perhaps for purposes of blackmail or revenge—and the deep arrogance of a president who regards such behavior as praiseworthy.


Trump starts the process of implementing his transgender ban in the military:
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/34809 ... gender-ban
Quote:
Trump’s newly signed presidential memo instructs the Pentagon to stop accepting transgender people who want to enlist in the military, stop payments for gender reassignment medical treatment and further explore how to handle transgender people currently serving in the armed forces. The rules would be implemented fully by March 23, 2018.
Various groups including the ACLU have already filed lawsuits, but
Quote:
Carl Tobias, a legal expert at the University of Richmond's School of Law, said while those opposing the ban can legally “make the argument there’s discrimination,” the case will be difficult to win as it involves the military.
Still, this ban faces opposition from a number of military leaders, who already went through the process of figuring out how transgender people could serve, as well as some members of Congress.
Not that Congress has been much use beyond making vague "tsk, tsk" noises over the awful things Trump does.

I wouldn't be surprised if Trump uses the devastation from the hurricane to cover additional unpopular announcements in the next few days, while news coverage is focused elsewhere.

_________________

Society can and does execute its own mandates, and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. ― John Stuart Mill


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