Trump II

[Farmer]

Power isn't obvious if you don't use it.  In spite of American power, Obama let Russia take the Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, etc. and China to build up those islands into militarized bases.  Trump's air base strike in Syria and  MOAB among other things have again created caution in our adversaries.  His recent "red line" threat to Assad is very believable because of it.  Do you doubt he will bomb Syrian bases again if Assad uses chemical weapons on his people?   Power has value only if people think you're willing to use it.  The idea that foreign leaders don't respect him is nonsense.  He is the President and commands America's economic and military power for the next four years.  Their personal views of him as a person are beside the point.   

But I agree a lot with most of your other ideas.  I think Trump believes in many of them too and is trying to implement them.

So on the one hand you don't want the US spending money defending other places, but on the other you complain about foreign nations taking military acting against other foreign nations.  Which is it?  Do you want to act militarily around the world to support your interests or not (and if the examples given aren't against your interests, why do you care)?

[Robert Roaldi]

So instead of discussing the important issues of the day like North Korea that Trump also talks about and is implementing policy, you'd rather get into the gutter and slash away?  You seem more interested in tweets regarding Mika's face lifts than war and peace.  Doesn't that say something about you?

I am coming back to this, but don't want to beat this to death since it's not that interesting. Your question is not unfair, but shouldn't it be directed at Trump? I mean, at one level it is silly that people should be discussing his Twitter wars, but the fact that I (and many others) spent time discussing this nonsense is far less important that the fact that Trump is wasting HIS time on them, it seems to me.

[Peter McLennan]

...I mean, at one level it is silly that people should be discussing his Twitter wars, but the fact that I (and many others) spent time discussing this nonsense is far less important that the fact that Trump is wasting HIS time on them, it seems to me.

Precisely. Hasn't he got better things to do?

[Schewe]

Precisely. Hasn't he got better things to do?

You would think so huh? But reports have Trump watching upwards of 5-6 hrs of TV each day and the Oval Office to be Disorganized Chaos and incredible inefficiency. It's gotten to the point that the admin can't find more people to work in the WH because of the tendency of Trump to demean and belittle everybody around him...

Seriously we have a disaster on our hands in Washington DC.

[Alan Klein]

Maybe you should expand your reading a bit...according to Pew Research Center Trump's not doing so hot.

Anybody who thinks Trump is respected by other leaders in the world is not really dealing with reality. The current "leader of the free world" mantle has, I think, been passed to Merkel.

Any objective evaluation of America's position, status and leadership in the world shows we have taken a nose dive...not a good thing if something bad happens and we need the help of our allies. America First is starting to sound more like America Worst.

And this doesn't take into effect the juvenile behavior and Trump's tendency to throw his friends and allies under the bus if it suits him. Ask Paul Ryan how it feels under the bus of his "mean" healthcare bill. He invited all the GOP Senators to the WH to try to negotiate a GOP Senate healthcare bill but was so uninformed about the specifics of the bill be didn't even realize that the tax breaks for the wealthy were tucked into the healthcare bill. He thought is was part of the separate tax bill. Ooooh...the Senators were so impressed.

Naw, sorry, Trump's presidency is an unmitigated disaster...and heck, I didn't even mention Trump's tweets (didn't need to–it's all over the Fake News).

Being President isn't a popularity contest.  Obama played that game.  He wanted to be President of the world.  Trump is interested in being President of America.  To Make America Great Again.  What citizens think in other countries is beside the point.  The President is suppose to defend American interests.  The leaders of those countries understand power.  Regardless of what they personally think of the occupant of the office of the President, he is the Executive   and Commander-in-Chief.   

[Peter McLennan]

Meanwhile, Trump's people are managing to get some things done.

WASHINGTON — In the four months since he took office as the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules, a regulatory rollback larger in scope than any other over so short a time in the agency’s 47-year history, according to experts in environmental law.

Mr. Pruitt’s supporters, including President Trump, have hailed his moves as an uprooting of the administrative state and a clearing of onerous regulations that have stymied American business. Environmental advocates have watched in horror as Mr. Pruitt has worked to disable the authority of the agency charged with protecting the nation’s air, water and public health.

But both sides agree: While much of Mr. Trump’s policy agenda is mired in legal and legislative delays, hampered by poor execution and overshadowed by the Russia investigations, the E.P.A. is acting. Mr. Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who built a career out of suing the agency he now leads, is moving effectively to dismantle the regulations and international agreements that stood as a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s legacy.

I really don't see how this "administration" could be any more backward thinking.

No, wait...

[pegelli]

Obama played that game.  He wanted to be President of the world.  Trump is interested in being President of America. 

Your constant belittling of Obama is besides the point, he's no longer your commander in chief and secondly what you say about him isn't even true.
Also Trump isn't interested in being President of America and making America great again. He's only there to favour his cronies and deepen the swamp so more rich people can hoard more money. Don't kid yourself he's doing anything for the middle or lower classes except blowing lots of hot air without substance.

[Peter McLennan]

He's only there to favour his cronies

Exactly.  See my EPA post above.

[Alan Klein]

So on the one hand you don't want the US spending money defending other places, but on the other you complain about foreign nations taking military acting against other foreign nations.  Which is it?  Do you want to act militarily around the world to support your interests or not (and if the examples given aren't against your interests, why do you care)?

Phil, I think I was referring to NATO that the European countries there have to spend more of their own money defending themselves rather than relying on America to pay to do it for them. 

Regarding why we should do it is actually a very important question.   Many Americans feel we have extended ourselves too far for too long.  They want us to pull back, become Fortress America, spend our resources on ourselves.  Many of us see ourselves as having to be policemen of the world.  That every time something happens, we wind up having to go in to stop problems.  If we don't take the lead, other countries won't.  I remember Croatia/Serbia.  Until President Clinton acted, murder and mayhem had it's day.  Where was Europe?  It was in their back yard and they did nothing.  Curious.  Would you want America to pull back, leave the Pacific to China?  Would you want Australia to face China by itself?  Would it be better for Japan to develop it's own nuclear arsenal?  Trump raised these issue early in his term., Then backed off to more traditional positions of projecting American power. I'll tell you though.  If another recession happens, America could well re-trench.  In retrospect if that happens, people might feel things were better when America was the policeman.  Leaving the world open to all the crazies like ISIS, Russia, China, North Korea, etc. probably won't turn out too well for the world.

[LesPalenik]

Being President isn't a popularity contest.  Obama played that game.  He wanted to be President of the world.  Trump is interested in being President of America.  To Make America Great Again.  What citizens think in other countries is beside the point.  The President is suppose to defend American interests.  The leaders of those countries understand power.  Regardless of what they personally think of the occupant of the office of the President, he is the Executive   and Commander-in-Chief.

Alan, count slowly from ten to zero. As you come out of trance... you will notice how relaxed and comfortable you are going to feel - as long as you keep your eyes closed.

[LesPalenik]

President Trump posted a short video to his Twitter account on Sunday in which he is portrayed wrestling and punching a figure whose head has been replaced by the logo for CNN.

In a statement on Sunday, CNN wrote: “It is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters.” The network added: “Instead of preparing for his overseas trip, his first meeting with Vladimir Putin, dealing with North Korea and working on his health care bill, he is involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/02/business/media/trump-wrestling-video-cnn-twitter.html

[Schewe]

Trump is interested in being President of America.

Actually that's not true...Trump is interested in being president to his base, not the rest of America. Make America Great Again? You mean make America white again? That's really why Trump hated Obama so much and why he clung to the birther movement for so long...if he wants to be president of the American people where's the outreach to non-whites?

[Schewe]

Donald Trump Is Testing Twitter’s Harassment Policy

The president’s latest outbursts suggest the social-media platform imposes no editorial standards. But should it?

The rules are simple, okay? No threats of violence. No targeted abuse or harassment. No inciting anybody else to engage in targeted abuse or harassment. No hateful conduct.

Now think about Donald Trump’s the tweeting habits. Is he breaking those rules, which come from Twitter’s terms of service?

Violent threats (direct or indirect): You may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism.

Harassment: You may not incite or engage in the targeted abuse or harassment of others. Some of the factors that we may consider when evaluating abusive behavior include:

if a primary purpose of the reported account is to harass or send abusive messages to others;
if the reported behavior is one-sided or includes threats;
if the reported account is inciting others to harass another account; and
if the reported account is sending harassing messages to an account from multiple accounts.

Hateful conduct: You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. We also do not allow accounts whose primary purpose is inciting harm towards others on the basis of these categories.

Trump has long been criticized for his impulsiveness, but less than six months into his presidency, alarm over his Twitter conduct has hit fever pitch.

On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted a short video clip showing him pummeling another person outside of a wrestling ring—with the other person’s face blocked out by the CNN logo. If that’s not a direct threat of violence against the American citizens who work for CNN, it’s certainly a celebration of violence.

The president is not only aware of the firestorm he’s ignited, he appears to be relishing it. “My use of social media is not Presidential,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.”

It's grotesque and hideous and should be banned from Twitter...if the same tweet came from a CEO of a company, the president of a university or even a local school board president, they would likely be fired if not severely sanctioned...and yet this behavior is acceptable for the President of the United States of America?

I don't think so...

[Schewe]

‘I’m President and They’re Not’: Trump Attacks Media at Faith Rally

WASHINGTON — President Trump used the first part of his holiday weekend getaway to issue more denunciations of the news media, using a celebration of American veterans and freedom at an evening rally to thunder that he would not allow the “fake” media to stop his agenda.

Speaking to raucous supporters at a faith rally at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Saturday night, Mr. Trump brought the crowd to its feet by condemning news organizations.

“The fake media is trying to silence us,” Mr. Trump told the crowd at the concert hall, after returning to Washington briefly from his weekend getaway at his golf club in New Jersey. “But we will not let them. Because the people know the truth. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House. But I’m president and they’re not.”

He may be president at the moment but...

Nationwide Impeachment March seeks to build support for ousting Donald Trump

If you believe President Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office, this day is for you.

July 2 heralded the arrival of the Impeachment March.

"Donald Trump has been in blatant violation of the Constitution from the day he was sworn into the office of President," the national event's website states.



This is a reference to the president's refusal to follow modern-day presidential tradition and divest his personal business holdings, thus creating untold financial conflicts of interest. Trump, a billionaire real-estate developer who has business dealing in countries around the world, faces lawsuits over the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause, which forbids any person in federal office from accepting "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."

The impeachment march's website adds:

"We believe president Trump has committed constitutional breaches, consistently lied, cheated, and enforces laws that primarily benefit him and his billionaire friends at the expense of the country."

Then there's this...

13 Predictions on How Long Trump’s Presidency Will Last

How long will President Trump survive? Nobody knows, but everyone’s guessing.

It’s a basic principle of psychology that the defenses we erect to defend our value always end up producing exactly what we are trying to avoid. In Trump’s case, the relentless insistence that he didn’t do it feeds the case that he did do it. I don’t know what the “it” will turn out to be, but I know Trump well enough to know that there are countless potential “its.”

I believe the end for Trump is much closer than most people imagine. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking, and I recognize I’m not particularly trustworthy. I always feared Trump could win the presidency, but I never truly believed he would. I do believe Trump will self-immolate. The more convinced Trump becomes that he will be caught, the more desperately he will deny what will turn out to be indisputably true. Is there anyone rational who doesn’t believe he has already obstructed justice several times over? In the end, I don’t believe Trump will be impeached, or found guilty of a crime. My gut tells me that when the fire gets hot enough, he will make a deal to save himself, resign the presidency, and declare victory. —Tony Schwartz, co-author of The Art of the Deal

The other 12 are all over the map...but I honestly think Trump will self-destruct. I actually like Tony Schwartz's phrase of Trump will self-immolate. It's a bit more descriptive...

[Alan Klein]

Yeah.   All us deplorables are racists too.

Actually that's not true...Trump is interested in being president to his base, not the rest of America. Make America Great Again? You mean make America white again? That's really why Trump hated Obama so much and why he clung to the birther movement for so long...if he wants to be president of the American people where's the outreach to non-whites?

[Schewe]

Yeah.   All us deplorables are racists too.

Well, if the hat fits...but it's not me that's saying it...

HOW DONALD TRUMP’S NATIONALISM WON OVER WHITE AMERICANS


Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" hats are sold at a rally on November 4 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Some of Trump's supporters interpreted his slogan as "Make America White Again."

The election of Donald J. Trump as 45th president of the United States came as a shock to many—perhaps even to the billionaire himself. Across the U.S. and around the world, people asked the same question: What just happened?

Here was a man with no political nor military experience; who had angered just about every minority group ; whom a dozen women had accused of sexual assault —and yet millions of people had just elected him to the highest political office in the United States.

As exit polls showed, Trump didn’t win among poor Americans, as was expected; the majority of voters (52 percent) with a total family income of less than $50,000 in 2015 actually voted for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Trump voters tended to be older (53 percent of people aged 45 and over voted for him), well-off and white. According to the exit polls, 58 percent of all white voters chose Trump at the voting booth, while just 21 percent of non-white voters cast their ballots for the Republican nominee.

The biggest issue for Trump voters—ahead of foreign policy, the economy or terrorism—was immigration, exit polls showed, with 84 percent of Trump voters saying that the government should deport undocumented migrants rather than give them the chance to apply for legal status.

Analysts say Trump’s success among white voters is partly attributable to his tapping into concerns about immigration and a feeling among many voters that the U.S. should be a white, Christian country. “It’s like everything he said hit the right nationalistic buttons,” says Allyson Shortle, assistant professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma.

Like other experts who spoke to Newsweek , Shortle explained that the concept of nationalism is complex, and not easy to define. “It’s important to note that racism and nationalism are these related but distinct components,” she says. A person can strongly identify with their nation but not along ethnic lines.

“Some people think about it as an ideology, a movement, or an attitude—but some research, including my own, views nationalism as part of a person’s social identity,” writes Kathleen Powers, assistant professor in the department of international affairs at the University of Georgia, in an email to Newsweek . “When people identify with a nationality, they have an idea about what defines the prototypical or archetypal group member. In short, they carry a picture of what it means to be an American.

“That prototypical American,” Powers adds, “might be defined in relatively inclusive terms, like a person who respects political institutions, or in more exclusive terms, like someone who is part of a Judeo-Christian religion, speaks English, or is a member of a certain racial group. Certainly, some people define the prototypical American as white, Christian, and/or born in the U.S.”

And if that’s your conception of what it is to be an American, Powers writes, then anyone who deviates from the norm is either not a true American, or is a poor version of one.

#MakeAmericaGreatAgain=DogWhistleForWhiteNationalists

[LesPalenik]

Pieter:  Thoughtful comments.  Yes, we often jump the gun militarily.  But Trump didn't get us into Vietnam or Iraq.  I believe he was against Bush in Iraq.   I disagree though about Afghanistan.  Al Khaida launched their attack on 9-11 from there.  That's where Bin Laden trained his forces.  So we had to go into Afghanistan to eliminate Al Khaida  there.  The problem is trying to figure how to get out of there without allowing the Taliban to re-group and the place again becoming another breeding ground for terrorists.  Maybe if the Taliban takes over again, we should just make a deal with them to be friends if they keep terrorists out.  After what happened to them before, they may like that.  Then we could leave Afghanistan. 

By the way, calling Trump a nutcase doesn't lend itself to the conversation.  He's a clever guy who knows how to use pressure and seeming irrationality and confusion to get his way.  His toughness to date such as in Syria air field, MOAB, weapons to Taiwan, etc. have changed our adversaries view of America from one of weakness and fecklessness under Obama to one where they have to tread carefully.  That's good for our side.  And I consider you on our side.  Ditto with Russia, although you wouldn't believe that reading the press. 

I think China said a lot of nice things to him in Mar-a-lago to put us off.  Trump went along hoping.  But it didn't take him long to figure out they aren't going to help unless we really pressure them. Talk is cheap.   The Chinese care most about money and trade.  Anything that threatens those things concerns them because it will lead to unrest in China and they want to maintain power.  The North Koreans made a deal with us years ago to not produce nuclear weapons.  They lied.  The only thing that effects them is pressure.  I don't see Trump going to war.  Frankly, that's something Congress should decide.  But I see him using maximum pressure everything short of war against China and North Korea.  He's not afraid to use America's economic and military power to get his way.  He really knows how to leverage strength.  Maybe that's what his handshakes are all about.  To remind people he has the strength of America behind him.

Vincente Fox in his recent message to Trump said that sometimes the best leaders are the ones who don't drop the bombs. Good video, BTW.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/former-mexican-president-shows-trump-how-to-avoid-nuclear-war-in-hilarious-video_us_595680c9e4b0da2c73232e97?section=us_theworldpost

[Alan Klein]

You know, it's funny. 

I got in an argument with my brother, who is extremely liberal, because he was saying I was being mildly racist in supporting charter schools. 

The funny thing, in polling, the majority of blacks and minorities in major cities support charter schools.  So, regardless of the fact that I was supporting what most of my fellow Philadelphians, who happen to be black, support, I was still being racist. 

This whole argument has run it's corse, and is becoming nothing more then another empty tactic on the Dems part to separate and concur. 

It would be nice if we all were Americans that happened to disagree on the role of government instead of the Anglo-Saxon vote, and the Irish vote, and the Black vote, and the Hispanic vote, and the Eastern European vote, and the right vote, and the poor vote, and the ...

It's interesting. My wife and I both voted for Trump but are split regarding charter schools.  She is a retired NYC school teacher and supports the union's position that charters are "bad".  She can't stand Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.   I worked for the NYC school system for 14 years in construction and feel charters are "good".  I've done work in about 250 of the 1200 schools.  Whenever I've been in Harlem and other areas which have predominantly black kids, I've noticed that the kids in charter schools seem to be better behaved, quieter, and the staff works longer hours. Schools are failing and charters stiffen competition and make all schools better.   There are about 50,000 black kids on waiting lines to get into charters in NYC.  That's how much black parents want them.  The whole debate really comes down to money and power.  Charters lessen the amount of money union teachers get and the power of the unions.  Politicians are drawn between the power of the union who don't want the charters and the black voters who do. 

I don't know if in NYC, like in your Philadelphia, whites are still considered racist if they believe in charters because so many blacks are in favor of them.  I'll have to check that out.  As an aside, I live about an hour and a half from Philly in mid-New Jersey.  We moved here to leave NYC and retired. 

[Alan Klein]

Vincente Fox in his recent message to Trump said that sometimes the best leaders are the ones who don't drop the bombs. Good video, BTW.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/former-mexican-president-shows-trump-how-to-avoid-nuclear-war-in-hilarious-video_us_595680c9e4b0da2c73232e97?section=us_theworldpost

That was pretty funny Les. I liked the part about putting cookies in the Nuclear Suitcase to calm yourself down so you don't press the button.

[Alan Klein]

How should Trump deal with China's military  buildup of the South China Sea islands that are nearing completion?  How should it effect US Naval build-up?

https://amti.csis.org/chinas-big-three-near-completion/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/02/exclusive-pentagon-sails-destroyer-near-disputed-island-in-south-china-sea-officials-say.html