Trump II

[kers]

Some on this forum are being hypocrites. 

So who?
Don't you think this far too strong language ...and at the same time you are not addressing the persons in question.
Should we all feel insulted?

[Schewe]

Some (light) libertarians were all too happy that Trump was for decreasing our military and praised him for that, but then, when he bombed Syria, suddenly it became okay, not to mention his increase in military spending in his budget is suddenly okay too. 

Some liberals want to see our military decrease in size, but were for electing a known hawk, that would have done the opposite, and are now upset that Trump has told our NATO friends that they need to start living up to the agreement because we are no longer going to supply unlimited support, a net effect of having the smaller military they want. 

Neither of these make sense, and are both hypocritical. 

What the heck are you blathering on about? Trump has NEVER been for DECREASING our military, he wants tons more money...he just doesn't want other countries getting away with paying less. And I for one think bombing Syria was a waste of 59 perfectly good Cruise missiles.

As for liberals wanting to spend less, yes indeed. money is better spent on keeping people alive vs killing them (sorry if that's too liberal for you) and yes, I'm pissed that Trump behaved poorly in Europe but what does that have to do with Hillary the Hawk? I "think" I've made it clear that I was for Bernie first and foremost but ONLY voted for Hillary because, well she was running against the orange dipshit. They were both shitty candidates, but while Hillary was one scoop, Trump was two scoops with sprinkles (and not the good kind).

Take a chill pill dooode, ya gonna pop a blood vessel.

(and ya might wanna quit putting words in people's mouths)

[James Clark]

As for liberals wanting to spend less, yes indeed. money is better spent on keeping people alive vs killing them (sorry if that's too liberal for you) and

Exactly.  When the stated goal is to save American lives, it's the height of shortsighted idiocy to fund an unneeded massive military increase with a massive cut to health, science and research programs.   

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

'Atlanticist' Merkel rams home frustration with Trump after summits
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-merkel-trump-idUSKBN18P0VV?il=0

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined her doubts about the reliability of the United States as an ally on Monday but said she was a "convinced trans-Atlanticist", fine-tuning her message after surprising Washington with her frankness a day earlier.

In a speech in Berlin, Merkel showed how seriously she is concerned about Washington's dependability under President Donald Trump by repeating the message she delivered a day earlier that the days when Europe could completely count on others were "over to a certain extent".

She made those comments, which sent shock waves through Washington, after Trump criticized major NATO allies over their military spending and refused to endorse a global climate change accord at back-to-back summits last week.

"Recent days have shown me that the times when we could rely completely on others are over to a certain extent," Merkel said."

"Juergen Hardt, the German government's coordinator for transatlantic policies, said Trump's administration was irritating foreign allies.

"Never before has there been so much uncertainty about the political course, and so many contradictions in the president's statements, four months after the inauguration of a new U.S. president," Hardt told Reuters.

"That weakens America and irritates its partners," said Hardt, the foreign policy expert in parliament for Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats."


Trump tweets against Germany, escalating row after tense summits
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-germany-trump-idUSKBN18Q138

"U.S. President Donald Trump called Germany's trade and spending policies "very bad" on Tuesday, intensifying a row between the allies and immediately earning himself the moniker "destroyer of Western values" from a leading German politician.

Trump took to Twitter early in the day in the United States to attack Germany, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel ramped up her doubts about the reliability of Washington as an ally.

The tit-for-tat row has escalated rapidly after Trump criticized major NATO allies over their military spending and refused to endorse a global climate change accord at back-to-back summits last week.

"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change," Trump tweeted on Tuesday."

Frustration is rarely good council.

As Trump grapples with crisis, communications aide steps down
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-idUSKBN18Q179

"A senior aide to President Donald Trump is leaving the job, the White House said on Tuesday, as the president considers wider staff changes amid growing political fallout over probes into Russia and his presidential campaign.

White House Communications Director Mike Dubke confirmed reports he had resigned, saying in a statement, "It has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration." Dubke, who had been in the job just three months, gave no reason for leaving."

Oh well.

Cheers,
Bart

[LesPalenik]

In a speech in Berlin, Merkel showed how seriously she is concerned about Washington's dependability under President Donald Trump by repeating the message she delivered a day earlier that the days when Europe could completely count on others were "over to a certain extent".

She certainly had many opportunities to watch Trump up close and how he makes his decisions. If you can't rely on your busines partner, it's better to ditch him and explore other more practical options.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

She certainly had many opportunities to watch Trump up close and how he makes his decisions. If you can't rely on your business partner, it's better to ditch him and explore other more practical options.

This is actually more serious than it may seem to a casual observer. Although she first mentioned it in a speech running up to the upcoming elections in Germany, she is not the kind of person to just make empty threats or promises because of elections (we saw that when she ditched nuclear power generation, and opened the doors for refugees with 'Wir schaffen das'). Instead, it's an observation she shared, and will act upon! We've already seen her and Emmanuel Macron of France together, and they seemed to get along (with Macron making a show of it by initially ignoring Trump as he joined the group of other G7 leaders).

This may also lead to things like a change in Defense purchases, which have largely been of USA produced equipment to facilitate cooperation in international campaigns.

Trump is playing very damaging games with international relations, and Russia is loving the turmoil it causes between the (former) allies. He couldn't have caused such a thing himself.

Merkel, minister stress U.S. ties after critical Trump tweet
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-germany-trump-idUSKBN18Q138

"U.S. President Donald Trump called Germany's trade and spending policies "very bad" on Tuesday, intensifying a row between the longtime allies and immediately earning himself the moniker "destroyer of Western values" from a leading German politician.

As the war of words threatened to spin out of control, Merkel and other senior German politicians stressed the importance of Germany's Atlantic ties, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel suggesting the spat was just a rough patch.

Trump took to Twitter early in the day in the United States to attack Germany, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel ramped up her doubts about the reliability of Washington as an ally."

Cheers,
Bart

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Since it's sophomore humor month.
This photo proves I agree with you.

Great try at underplaying (indeed in a sophomoric way) the impact of the current (and possibly the next) leader of the German government on (amongst others) the future of the USA. She couldn't care less about such feeble attempts, as I don't. Angela Merkel is an educated person, with a morally inspired and sensible outlook to the longer-term future of her home country and the rest of the world.

Trump, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have an attention span beyond a single page of information (provided it has diagrams and country maps to condense the complexity of real life). Reports have it, that (written?) instructions were given to the G7 participants, to keep their exchanges with Trump brief, and not go into too much (nuanced) detail on the various subjects that were discussed.

The sad(!) truth is that the man is a disaster for the USA and its international relations. It just takes some of his electorate longer to register that universally accepted fact (despite some hopes that he'd switch to a more Presidential mode after the campaign, which he didn't).

Cheers,
Bart

[Robert Roaldi]

Historical echoes: http://induecourse.ca/all-the-presidents-men-for-the-trump-era/

[Schewe]

Historical echoes: http://induecourse.ca/all-the-presidents-men-for-the-trump-era/

Yep...I particularly think #5 is spot on...

#5 The rats will turn on themselves.
Trump is obsessed with hunting down the sources of leaks to the press from his administration. What’s hilarious is that every time one of his officials reads the riot act to his or her staff about leaks, that gets leaked. Nixon was similarly obsessed with it; in fact one of the great revelations in the Watergate story is how the ratfucking stretched back to long before the break-in, as Nixon tried to find out how was leaking to the press. (Which is how Watergate became connected to the Pentagon papers, as Nixon ordered wiretaps on reporters and government employees to find out who was doing the leaking).  But here’s the point: It is one thing to have a single mole in an otherwise solid and high-trust organisation. But when everyone starts leaking on everyone else, the gig is up. And that is what eventually caused the dam to burst over Watergate, when it became every man for himself. Like I said, history doesn’t repeat but it does rhyme.

The more that Trump's admin screams about leaks, the more leaks we get. Wonder how that works? :~)

[Schewe]

Since it's sophomore humor month.

See if you can spot the real story and the fake humor story...

NEARLY HALF OF DONALD TRUMP'S TWITTER FOLLOWERS ARE FAKE ACCOUNTS AND BOTS

If you thought this was fake, you would be wrong...

Because Donald Trump is the president of the United States and the most famous person on the planet, one wouldn't think he would need to employ a bot to boost his Twitter following. It appears, however, he might have done just that. As screenwriter John Niven pointed out Tuesday morning, Trump's Twitter account saw an unusal spike in followers over the weekend, many of which appear to have been created artificially.

Trump currently has 31 million followers and, sure enough, if you browse through them you will find an unusal number of tweet-less, picture-less accounts that joined the service in May 2017. If you're still curious,  you can enter Trump's handle, @realDonaldTrump, into Twitter Audit, a service that assesses the authenticity of one's followers, and find that only 51 percent of Trump's are real.

How about...

Study: 'Donald Trump' Tops List of New Meth Nicknames

True or false?

When it comes to talking about President Donald Trump, there is no shortage of nicknames to use. If you hear someone mention "Agent Orange," "Cheeto-in-Chief," "Mango Mussolini," or "Putin's Puppet," you know they mean Trump.

But it seems "Trump" has an alternative meaning of its own. Some people also use the name of the 45th president when they want to buy or sell methamphetamine, according to a new study published Tuesday by treatment and recovery site Addictions.com.

What does is say when the President of the United States becomes a emphanism for meth?

Then there's this one...

DONALD TRUMP LAUNCHES SUBSCRIPTION BOX SERVICE (YES, REALLY)

(ok, it's in the headline that it's true)

The "Big League Box" is going for $69 per month.

President Donald Trump is diving into the business of subscription box services.

On Monday, CNN reporter Betsy Klein tweeted that she received an email from the Trump campaign announcing that it would be launching a Birchbox-inspired model called the "Big League Box," which is described as "a handpicked bundle of exclusive and vintage official Donald J. Trump merchandise delivered to your door every month as a recurring donor." The Center for Public Integrity political reporter Dave Levinthal also took a screenshot of the email that noted its recurring donation cost of $69 per month.


Twitter message

Yeah, so marking up a photo of euro leaders might be seen as some as funny, but there's nothing funny about having this jerk as a president.

[Schewe]

oooops...I posted too soon, just saw this:

Trump asks world leaders to call him on his cellphone


President Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly,
an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

President Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S. commander in chief's communications.

--snip--

The notion of world leaders calling each other up via cellphone may seem unremarkable in the modern, mobile world. But in the diplomatic arena, where leader-to-leader calls are highly orchestrated affairs, it is another notable breach of protocol for a president who has expressed distrust of official channels. The formalities and discipline of diplomacy have been a rough fit for Trump — who, before taking office, was long easily accessible by cellphone and viewed himself as freewheeling, impulsive deal-maker.

Presidents generally place calls on one of several secure phone lines, including those in the White House Situation Room, the Oval Office or the presidential limousine. Even if Trump uses his government-issued cellphone, his calls are vulnerable to eavesdropping, particularly from foreign governments, national security experts say.

Some Trump supporters may say "that's just Trump being Trump, why not break with protocol?"

Well, there's a reason why "diplomatic protocol" exists, to facilitate diplomacy something Trump knows nothing about. He's about as undiplomatic as you can get and the US and the rest of the World got a close up view of the "Big Orange Ugly American" in action.

#BOUA

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

In the era of ISIS beheading, this is what liberals think is ok:

[Schewe]

Then there's this...

Trump Tweets:

Donald J. Trump  ✔@realDonaldTrump

The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!

8:59 AM - 30 May 2017
15,980 15,980 Retweets   58,730 58,730 likes

Except, the big orange dummy doesn't understand how the Senate works...The GOP is using a process known as budget reconciliation in trying to pass bills to overhaul the Affordable Care Act and the tax system. Through reconciliation, the party can approve its plans with only a majority vote in the Senate, in which it controls 52 of 100 seats.

President Trump tells Senate to 'switch' rules, but his message is moot

President Trump suggested in a puzzling tweet on Tuesday that the Senate should “switch” its rules to allow health care and tax reform to pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.

But there is no need for the Senate to do this. Senate GOP leaders are already planning to use special budget rules to consider both of those legislative priorities, so they can avoid the threat of a Democratic filibuster and push tax reform and health care through with 51 “yes” votes.

And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has already ruled out doing away with the filibuster for other legislation, fearing that would change the deliberative nature of the Senate and come back to haunt Republicans if they lose control of the chamber.

[Schewe]

In the era of ISIS beheading, this is what liberals think is ok:

Yeah, well I don't think it's ok...and even Kathy apologized...she released a video saying:

"Hey everybody, it's me, Kathy Griffin," she says in the video. "I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction to these images. I'm a comic. I crossed the line. I move the line. Then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it. I've made a lot of mistakes in my career. I will continue. I ask your forgiveness. Taking down the image. I am going to ask the photographer to take down the image. And I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong."

Kathy Griffin apologizes for beheaded Trump photo: 'I crossed the line'

So, just be sure you are careful who you paint with that "liberal" brush Slobodan, I don't appreciate the insult. And need I point out that at least she recognized her mistake and apologized almost immediately...something the big orange dumbass has yet to learn how to do...

[Schewe]

Yeah, well, Trump supporters won't like this (but the odds are few will bother to read it...)



REBECCA SOLNIT: THE LONELINESS OF DONALD TRUMP

ON THE CORROSIVE PRIVILEGE OF THE MOST MOCKED MAN IN THE WORLD

Once upon a time, a child was born into wealth and wanted for nothing, but he was possessed by bottomless, endless, grating, grasping wanting, and wanted more, and got it, and more after that, and always more. He was a pair of ragged orange claws upon the ocean floor, forever scuttling, pinching, reaching for more, a carrion crab, a lobster and a boiling lobster pot in one, a termite, a tyrant over his own little empires. He got a boost at the beginning from the wealth handed him and then moved among grifters and mobsters who cut him slack as long as he was useful, or maybe there’s slack in arenas where people live by personal loyalty until they betray, and not by rules, and certainly not by the law or the book. So for seven decades, he fed his appetites and exercised his license to lie, cheat, steal, and stiff working people of their wages, made messes, left them behind, grabbed more baubles, and left them in ruin.

He was supposed to be a great maker of things, but he was mostly a breaker. He acquired buildings and women and enterprises and treated them all alike, promoting and deserting them, running into bankruptcies and divorces, treading on lawsuits the way a lumberjack of old walked across the logs floating on their way to the mill, but as long as he moved in his underworld of dealmakers the rules were wobbly and the enforcement was wobblier and he could stay afloat. But his appetite was endless, and he wanted more, and he gambled to become the most powerful man in the world, and won, careless of what he wished for.

One of the really well turned phrases that I like:

The man in the white house sits, naked and obscene, a pustule of ego, in the harsh light, a man whose grasp exceeded his understanding, because his understanding was dulled by indulgence. He must know somewhere below the surface he skates on that he has destroyed his image, and like Dorian Gray before him, will be devoured by his own corrosion in due time too. One way or another this will kill him, though he may drag down millions with him. One way or another, he knows he has stepped off a cliff, pronounced himself king of the air, and is in freefall. Another dungheap awaits his landing; the dung is all his; when he plunges into it he will be, at last, a self-made man.

[pegelli]

In the era of ISIS beheading, this is what liberals think is ok:

Earlier you said you only posted stories you knew were credible. Do you have any data to show that liberals in general think this is OK?

I'm not a liberal (in your sense of the word liberal) but still find your remark stupid and unnecessarily insulting

[mecrox]

Yeah, well, Trump supporters won't like this (but the odds are few will bother to read it...)



REBECCA SOLNIT: THE LONELINESS OF DONALD TRUMP

One of the really well turned phrases that I like:

Fine phrases maybe but wrong target. To an outsider (I'm not American) it looks as if Trump would not exist without the modern Republican Party, a shadow of its former self in the twentieth century. The modern Republican Party's programme seems to consist of taking money from poor people to give to rich people in the form of tax cuts, and taking money from America's soft power in the world to give to rich people in the form of tax cuts. This will make America a more miserable place and the world a more dangerous place since without soft power (diplomacy, education, international accords like the Paris agreements) reaching for the military option arrives much more readily. Trump is a useful front man. Mistakes can be blamed on him and dirty work shrugged off with "Waddya expect?". When he's outlived his usefulness, he can be cast off in favour of a gentleman like Mr Pence who has the breathtaking effrontery to call himself a Christian while advocating policies which make poor people poorer and rich people richer. No wonder close allies like Germany are beginning to signal that it may be time to turn elsewhere. The United States has done a dreadful thing in electing Mr Trump and the current Republican Party, to itself and to everyone else. The next stage is unstable, desperate strong man rule of the Erdogan kind.

[LesPalenik]

It will be difficult and ugly for USA and the Republican Party, to get out of this mess. Although Bill Maher reported, that Mike Pence is already scratching out "Vice" from his business cards, and other names such as Paul Ryan and Orin Hatch are mentioned, it is still a big question, who would prevail and become Trump's successor.

150 years ago, as Congress prepared to impeach President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s former secretary John Hay concluded: “Impeachment is demonstrated not to be an easy thing. The lesson may be a good one some day.” The lesson, as good in 2017 as it was in 1868, is that removing a president is an ugly process, which can dangerously inflame tensions in an already divided nation.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/what-america-can-learn-from-johnsons-impeachment/528477/

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Reported 10 minutes ago:

Trump pulling U.S. out of Paris climate deal: Axios
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-trump-idUSKBN18R1J4?il=0

"U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, Axios news outlet reported on Wednesday, citing two unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the decision.

Trump refused to endorse the landmark climate change accord at a summit of the G7 group of wealthy nations on Saturday, saying he needed more time to decide. He then tweeted that he would make an announcement this week."

Well, there you have it. Besides the negative effects on the global climate, and the negative health effects, and damage to infrastructure, this is going to hurt the USA economy when the rest of the world will start taxing American produced goods with a carbon tax. One can only hope that states like California and local companies will ignore Trump and still persist in improving energy efficiency and reducing pollution.

Just like Angela Merkel mentioned, the USA is no longer a trustworthy partner. This will have geopolitical consequences as well.

"The decision to withdraw from the climate accord was influenced by a letter from 22 Republican U.S. senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling for an exit, Axios reported."

Thanks a lot 

Cheers,
Bart

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

And need I point out that at least she recognized her mistake and apologized almost immediately...

Yes, she misspoke, said something stupid in the heat of the moment, slip if the tongue, nothing else.

Oh, wait.... No, that was a photo shoot, planned in advance and excuted as a deliberate act. Plenty of time to reconsider, before, during and after the shoot.

"Immediate" apology? Yes, right after a huge backlash. Even the snowflakes almost melted, seeing all that gore. Not to mention the most important backlash, when the devil itself (a.k.a. CNN) decided to reconsider their relationship.