Trump II

[Schewe]

Jeff, I'd have never thought you'd be quoting RT, "Putin's propaganda arm" (in your own words), thus spreading their psychological war against our dear leader? 

But of course, I seek news and information in all sorts of weird places. in fact, NationalReview.com had a good one recently...(I really miss right wing conservatives like William F. Buckley Jr. that could actually speak well without trying to inflame a debate)



The Comey Debacle

Rather than rationalizing and enabling the president’s behavior, conservatives need to convince Trump that he’s his own worst enemy.

Dear Reader (including anyone hiding in the bushes), Good times, huh? Let’s start . . . here:

Ann Coulter  ✔@AnnCoulter
Comey firing is a red herring to distract from the fact that Trump hasn't started building the wall.
5:31 PM - 9 May 2017

Now, I don’t think this is actually true, but I’ve been told for months now that I have to get better at taking some things seriously without taking them literally. And I think Ann has a point.

So, I’m going to ask my pro-Trump and passionately anti-anti-Trump friends to just take a step back and ask yourselves: “What does Donald Trump’s manufactured, self-inflicted, and pathological need for drama get us?”

If you’re about to answer “Neil Gorsuch,” the everlasting gobstopper of Trump rationalizations, please hold off one second. If you’re about to answer “judges,” please take a moment as well.

Because the correct answer, in policy terms, is . . . nothing. Actually, less than nothing because all this drama makes getting things done harder.

In the best possible light, all the insanity from the president of the United States is St. Elmo’s Fire, a lightshow to entertain us. It’s a Mexican soap opera without the redeeming sex and cleavage. It’s a reality-TV show without the cat fights, stiletto heels, and thrown glasses of wine.

[Schewe]

Jeff, that's reaching too far.

Hey, I'm not making the news...I'm just quoting articles in the media. I thought it delicious irony that Trump would of course use a really well connected law firm to try to prove that he has no ties to Russia...what better law firm than the one that won “Russia Law Firm of the Year” award in 2016? Optics much?

Funny thing, that's the same law firm that Sheri Dillon works for. You remember her, she took the stage during President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference in defense of Trump's plan to resolve conflicts of interest by distancing himself from his company. You remember right?

TRUMP BUSINESS PLAN CASTS SPOTLIGHT ON LAW FIRM THAT WORKED FOR RUSSIA.



That was the the one where Trump had stacks and stacks of folders with blank paper in them as proof his taxes are so complex? Nice props...

You remember that, right?



Fun times huh, the days before Trump became president?

[Alan Goldhammer]

Well, anything's better than soccer.

I absolutely draw the line on this statement!!!  There is no sport on earth that is better than soccer.  I've pretty much given up on all American sports these days (football and basketball players are not normal sized people.  Baseball is too slow.  Ice Hockey is good at playoff time but boring during the season).  Fortunately, cable channels carry almost all top flight European teams these days and you can find Internet streams for teams you follow (in my case Ajax of Amsterdam who just won the semifinal of the Europa League and will face Manchester United in the final!!!)  More people watch the Champions League final and World Cup matches than the number for US sports championships. 

[Alan Goldhammer]

We don't need the Federal government imposing it's will across all 50 states. The Constitution gave that power to the people and the States, not the federal government.   Let each state decide what they want to do in schools with their food program as they should with the curricula.  We got to get out of this idea that Washington DC is the know it all.  Let people at the local and state levels decide how they want to live, learn, eat and die.

Do you want to relegate your Medicare to the 50 states?

[Alan Goldhammer]

After Trump's disastrous trip to CIA Headquarters, it's probably a good idea he avoids FBI headquarters for a while...

That's an old picture of the FBI building before all the concrete started breaking apart and the had to put up netting (my old office was two blocks away).

[Alan Goldhammer]

"Comey was fired simply because he annoyed Trump"

Isn't the official phrase that many positions in the government "serve at the pleasure of the president"?

Yes, but remember when the office was reorganized, the director was given a longer term that would span two presidential terms.  Comey is a Republican who was appointed by a Democratic President.  The Federal Reserve chairperson also has a term that is staggered.  The FBI director should only be fired for gross malfeasance and it's not clear to me that Comey was guilty in this regard.  The fact that both sides appear to hate him perhaps indicated that he was not afraid of making tough calls.  I wonder if Trump would act to fire Janet Yellen were the Fed to raise interest rates?

[drmike]

I absolutely draw the line on this statement!!!  There is no sport on earth that is better than soccer. 

Cricket.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Hey, I'm not making the news...I'm just quoting articles in the media. I thought it delicious irony that Trump would of course use a really well connected law firm to try to prove that he has no ties to Russia...what better law firm than the one that won “Russia Law Firm of the Year” award in 2016? Optics much?...

In the same article you quoted, there is this passage, something I said as well (emphasis mine):

Another law professor, who writes regularly about Trump’s business interests and conflicts, tells Newsweek he sees no conflict of interest or any problems with Morgan Lewis advising the president-elect on his business and also doing work for the Russian government. “I don’t think Trump could find good legal advice, especially tax advice, without going to a global law firm that does work in Russia,” says Andy Grewal of the University of Iowa. “A law firm of this size represents everyone, everywhere. Conflicts are par for the course.”

[Alan Goldhammer]

Cricket.

Yes, three day test matches really get the blood running!!!

[Schewe]

Well, this doesn't surprise me...

DONALD TRUMP, NOT A POPULAR PRESIDENT OR BABY NAME

President Donald Trump’s popularity has been plummeting and not just in the polls. Since the now commander-in-chief started his campaign trail, the name Donald has decreased in popularity among new parents. In fact, in 2016, the name Donald dropped 45 spots below its 2015 baby name ranking, according to the Social Security Administration’s yearly Popular Names list.

Every year, the Administration releases a list of the top 1,000 names parents have chosen to name their children, and in 2016, the name Donald dropped from the 443rd spot to 488.

[Schewe]

That's an old picture of the FBI building before all the concrete started breaking apart and the had to put up netting (my old office was two blocks away).

Funny, I got that from the FBI's web site.
I wonder if the concrete breaking apart is a subliminal message?



I wonder what Hoover would say about Trump?
I suspect he would have a lot more on Trump than Putin :~)

[drmike]

Yes, three day test matches really get the blood running!!!

Not like 5 day matches then? If you can't get worked up by an exciting draw after 5 days, well then words fail me. These days you usually get a result as the play is more  aggressive and the wickets carefully prepared.

It's a stunning game and the psychology over 5 days is often remarkable. The strong men can be unmanned by simple things and be lulled into playing stupidly. Make no mistake these guys are clever and mentally robust.

Try listening to one while doing other things (like programming), watching might be too demanding on time but the radio lets you enjoy two things at once. Soccer? Pah, prima donnas the lot of them.

[Robert Roaldi]

At the risk of going back on topic, was there ever a definitive reason given for Comey's dismissal? I don't pay close daily attention to the antics in the Trump government, but from what I can tell there have been several reasons given. That in itself is kind of weird, isn't it?

One responder mentions "...at the pleasure of the President...", which may be technically true, but that's just a cute way of saying who it is that appoints that position. It can't really mean that the person in the job is there at the whim of whoever is currently President, can it? That only happens is the kind of banana republic we used to make jokes about.

I also read somewhere above something about the dignity of the office. What a howler, thanks for the comic relief. You have a guy in office who brags about grabbing pu**y, speaks of his daughter in sexual terms, and encourages crowds to chant "lock her up" during political campaigns, and NOW you want to bring dignity and respect back? To mangle a couple of metaphors, that ship sailed months ago, and all the horses left the barn and they ain't coming back.

[Farmer]

Yes, but nether is her criticism of the current situation, but they did report on that. 

The problem I have with this whole eat healthy thing is we don't give any responsibility to the parents.  We expect the government to solve the problem just like with getting children to do better in school.  But guess what, study after study have shown without parental involvement, more then likely it won't work. 

Sure, a handful of kids will get it, but the most won't and no politician addresses this.  I get it though, it's kind of hard to tell a room full of parents that they are really bad parents without backlash; look at outcry when Obama talked about being a good father.  But it needs to be done.

Of course the parents need to lead it - totally agree.  But the schools shouldn't be enabling bad options either.

[Schewe]

Jeff, you're from Chicago, Illinois I believe.  I think you want the federal government involved so they'll provide more money so you can bail out your state's teaching pension fund. It's going broke because your state failed in controlling its costs for teachers and other government pensions.

Yes, I'm from Chicago but my daughter is 34 yrs old so I have no dog in that hunt. I really don't care other than the fact that the teachers end up getting the shaft.

But the inability of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois to effectively run the schools kinda runs afoul of the argument of "keep the feds out" and let the states and local communities handle education even if they end up screwing everything up.

[Schewe]

How about you?  Do you exercise, do you eat healthy?  Because if you don't, your post is nothing more then hot air. 

Well, my wife and I are primarily plant based with seafood. We avoid processed foods, high sodium and sugars. I no longer smoke or drink alcohol and I've even switched from Diet Coke to Perrier because of the chemicals and food coloring. We have workout equipment and a personal trainer. I have had serious health issues recently so I'm working on radically improving my health...thanks for asking :~)

So, maybe my post is something more than hot air?

[Schewe]

Wow...what a week! But it ain't over–we still have the Sunday shows to get through. In the meantime just in case somebody still believes Trump when he says This Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won., well here's Politifact to the rescue ~)

Donald Trump's Pants on Fire claim Russia story 'made-up' by Democrats


During a May 11 interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, President Donald Trump said he had made the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey prior to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s recommendation. (Yahoo)


Sources:
NBC News, Interview with Donald Trump, May 11, 2017

Office of Director of National Intelligence, Background to "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections": The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution, Jan. 6, 2017

In his interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, President Donald Trump dismissed the very idea that there was any tie between his presidential bid and the Russians.

"This Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story," Trump said May 11. "It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won."

Made-up? By Democrats?

With multiple investigations under way, we don’t know whether there was collusion between members of the Trump team and Russian interference in the election.

But that isn’t the question. The question is whether Democrats plucked the idea out of thin air.

A few highlights from the past year say otherwise.

--snip--

Our ruling

Trump said, "This Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won."

The record shows that credible evidence led the FBI to begin investigating possible ties between the Trump team and Russia in July 2016. That is the start of the story, more than three months before the election.

The American intelligence community expressed with confidence that Russia aimed to interfere in the election to harm Clinton and help Trump.

Democrats did not create the story, nor do they control the agenda of the House and Senate committees which are conducting their own investigations.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire.

You can always tell when Trump is lying...his lips move.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I absolutely draw the line on this statement!!!  There is no sport on earth that is better than soccer.

Other than rugby and cricket, to name but two 

Jeremy

[Robert Roaldi]

As a matter of fact, I scoff at them.  In Center City Philly, the price of union labor is higher today then it was before the recession.  Businesses are hiring non-union is areas no one would have dared to 10 years.  The giant Rats and Fat Cats are being inflated all over the place.  But no one cares, especially when their craftsmanship is hit or miss on projects.  I have photographed so many union projects in Philly and the end result is pathetic, especially for what they charge. 

Like everything else, the union movement has accomplished both good and bad things. What I don't get is why people are not as bothered by corporate monopolies.

[Alan Klein]

Yes, I'm from Chicago but my daughter is 34 yrs old so I have no dog in that hunt. I really don't care other than the fact that the teachers end up getting the shaft.

But the inability of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois to effectively run the schools kinda runs afoul of the argument of "keep the feds out" and let the states and local communities handle education even if they end up screwing everything up.

My wife gets her pension from NY.  Pensions fortunately for us in NY are guaranteed by the NY State Constitution.  The NY legislature can't reduce pension amounts.  But NY and the whole country face issues because just like the Feds, politicians in states have sold their future income to government pensions so they can be elected by getting support from government unions.

Same thing with the Federal government as far as screwing things us.  Just look at the college loan program.  Because the Feds guaranteed loans in any amount for any dumb kid who thinks he's college material, the demand has driven college costs 4 fold while everything else went up maybe 2 fold.  The universities are swimming in easy money for their administrators and staffs.  There's over $1.2 trillion dollars in loans outstanding.  This hurts the economy and children who can't buy a house because they're in debt.  They wind up at home into their 30's until they can get on their feet.  Letting the feds get involved with school funding will just make the matter worse.  If states get bailed out, there's no incentive for states to even try to control costs.  It's like what happened with the banking industry during the recession. "To big to fail" just allowed banks to do stupid things and they're doing them again because they know they'll get bailed out again.