Donald Trump

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

43 minutes ago, Marc said:

Shoutout to Babs !!!!!!!!!!! RIP

Hear hear!

Michael

[BaalChatzaf]

3 hours ago, Marc said:

A war is won in stages , Revolutions are not overnight . They build .

Trump is a Randian hero , no doubt .

Barbara Branden always spoke about how much she could not stand Obama , she would be loving this !!!!

 

Shoutout to Babs !!!!!!!!!!! RIP

Trump is an uncultured boor.  He is no kind of a hero.  But he has upset the Establishment no end.   The enemy of my enemy  is sort of my friend, kind of.

[Peter]

Did we vote for the wrong guy?

Peter

From Town Hall. In the Budget Deal, President Trump got Trumped by Steve Sheldon Posted: May 04, 2017 7:08 PM. "Draining the swamp" makes for a great campaign promise, but it is a much more tedious task in reality.

Every great negotiator gets the majority of what he wants in a deal. In the recent federal budget bill, President Trump got nothing. As Charles Krauthammer best put it, “Trump got rolled, the Republicans got rolled. They ended up with nothing, really. It’s sort of embarrassing.”

No offense to Dr. Krauthammer, but to say it is “sort of embarrassing” is like watching a professional baseball team get trounced by a little league team by a twenty-point margin, and then state that they had a bad day. Let’s face it; conservatives got shellacked or, better yet, bamboozled. It is beyond embarrassing by light years.

Today, we might say that Trump fell for the Nigerian Prince's email. In a day gone by, we might have said he bought the Brooklyn Bridge. He was sold a bill of goods, taken for a ride, left holding the bag, bushwhacked, hornswoggled, and bought it hook line and sinker. Despite the spin put out by the White House which was admirable, he got nothing.

There is no funding for the wall - not even a few miles of fence, where no fence exists. There are no significant cuts to the behemoth that we call our federal government. Planned Parenthood will continue slaughtering the unborn supported by your tax dollars. There are no cuts to “art” programs. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities both received slight increase,s while the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s budget remained the same - a far cry from President Trump’s call to shut them down completely. Trump got half of the thirty billion in proposed increases in defense spending. If there are any successes someone could point to, that might be it. The Environmental Protection Agency will continue at 99% of its current funding, despite Trump’s proposals to cut it by over 30 percent. Obamacare funding will continue. The National Institute for Health will receive increased funding, despite Trump’s desire to curtail their funding.

The list goes on...and it’s not pretty. end quote 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Anytime the two words Trump and Krauthammer appear close to each other, I turn the page and don't even read it.

We already know that Krauthammer wants endless war for profit and is pissed that Trump doesn't.

Ditto for the friends of Krauthammer.

Michael

[BaalChatzaf]

2 hours ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Anytime the two words Trump and Krauthammer appear close to each other, I turn the page and don't even read it.

We already know that Krauthammer wants endless war for profit and is pissed that Trump doesn't.

Ditto for the friends of Krauthammer.

Michael

Endless War is just about right.  The Neo-Cons  are  very much partisans of the Forever War which is prosecuted will ruin this nation, if not the world.

The original Neo-Cons  were  Trotskyites who saw the light and became virulently anti-communist.  But they retained their absolutist world view. This is the gang that founded Commentary Magazine way back when.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I saw this guy's video on the France election and liked it. (I posted it on the Le Pen thread.) 

He also had a recent video on President Trump.

I have to say, he gets Trump and he gets Trump supporters, including investors in Trump ventures.

I like this guy. I just wish he didn't look like hell.

 

Michael

[Wolf DeVoon]

Heads up. George Will and Michael Medved categorically denounced Trump today as incapable of thinking or rational action.

Will's column in WaPo "Trump has a dangerous disability" was widely reprinted https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-a-dangerous-disability/2017/05/03/56ca6118-2f6b-11e7-9534-00e4656c22aa_story.html -- coordinated attack by Bush conservatives

... and (big surprise!) he's joined MSNBC http://freebeacon.com/politics/george-will-joins-msnbc-as-contributor/

[BaalChatzaf]

17 minutes ago, Wolf DeVoon said:

Heads up. George Will and Michael Medved categorically denounced Trump today as incapable of thinking or rational action.

That sounds about right.   Trump is what the Russians call  невоспитанный (uncultured, boorish). He might even be a blooming idiot.  As long as his handlers keep him from injuring himself or others, it will work out.

[Peter]

Ba’al wrote, after singing two stanzas of “I’m Proud to be an American”: The Neo-Cons are very much partisans of the Forever War which is prosecuted will ruin this nation, if not the world. end quote

Some consider America the moral compass for the entire world. This “forever war” phrase is inappropriate. Even if we were not directly attacked by Saddam we could not afford to NOT know if he had the makings for a nuclear bomb. AND Iran’s top puff of smoke guy has said, when we have the bomb we will immediately use it on Israel. That is a remembered quote but I am close to the wording. Retribution in Syria was immoral? Tell that to the people whose families were gassed and murdered by Assad. He won’t do it again. We targeted the military units that carried out the gas attack, but he would be next to be turned to dust. And North Korea? Does anyone doubt it is run by a mad man who will either use or hand off his nukes to a terrorist?

So, no, we will not ruin the world. We will save the world. Would you rather be the world’s policeman or the world’s most immoral nation in the world? Why is it immoral if we do nothing? If we can do good without sacrificing American lives or more than a modicum of national treasure to stop or punish evil, and we sit idly by, then we would not be the U.S.A. We can be the good guys without being altruistic about it.

“Here I come to save the day! That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way.” Maybe that is a bit much, but who creates characters like that or Superman? The Lone Ranger and John McClane in not one, not two, but three “Die Hard” movies? America!  

Peter

Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. Bruce Willis was given the name Walter Bruce Willis at birth.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

1 hour ago, Wolf DeVoon said:

... and (big surprise!) he's joined MSNBC...

Maybe they have better cough drops over there than at Fox...

   

Michael

[Wolf DeVoon]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

Even if we were not directly attacked by Saddam we could not afford to NOT know if he had the makings for a nuclear bomb

 

Not even remotely related to what happened and why.

[Marc]

On May 4, 2017 at 8:35 PM, BaalChatzaf said:

Trump is an uncultured boor.  He is no kind of a hero.  But he has upset the Establishment no end.   The enemy of my enemy  is sort of my friend, kind of.

Fair enough , sir ! For the record , though - I do not think he is uncultured . 

[Marc]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/books/review/nixons-white-house-wars-patrick-j-buchanan.html

MSK, not Buchanan - was the first Trumpist !

[turkeyfoot]

The wall, the wall.

The wall turned out to be the resistance to his efforts.

Single issue voters are worried.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/14/ann-coulter-is-worried-the-trump-haters-were-right/

Ann Coulter:, 'She wrote “In Trump We Trust” and proclaimed that she worships him like the' "people of North Korea worship their Dear Leader – blind loyalty.”

"But this isn’t North Korea, and if he doesn’t keep his promises I’m out." 

"I think everyone who voted for him knew his personality was grotesque, it was the issues."

"Did we win anything? And this is the great negotiator?"

There is some good to the Trump presidency. That and a buck .29 will get you a cup of coffee. Culture awareness of yellow journalism and things that dont comport with reality have been reduced to a simple two word phrase. Its garnered cachet with the mainstream even though its inherent meaning says much about the sorry state of affairs.

Its in the dictionary. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/fake-news

Oxfords 2016 word of the year is post truth, probably the more defining word of our time.

 

 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Poor Ann.

President Trump didn't build the wall within the time frame she wanted, but will build it within his time frame.

I think he wants to make sure it goes up and stays up. She just wants to see it. I can't wait to see what she says once it's up.

 

Michael

[Marc]

Then she will simply say , whatever he is doing wrong ( in her mind and timeframe ) , at the moment . 

" he cannot win a primary " 

etc 

" the Wall ,is not built , yet "

Draining the swamp is difficult , there are challenges . Its dangerous , and he is also running Government the same time , and changing the world ( just not fast enough for Ann of Green Gables )

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Ann's just shaking it up a little because she's afraid of the swamp the president is draining.

She's one of the good guys.

The real story is that the press is beside itself because of the fact that Trump supporters are still unmoved. Oh... the press points to Ann as a canary in the coalmine, but they can't point to many others. A CNN crew went down to Liberty University to ask the audience what facts about President Trump disappointed them or what criticisms they had. CNN found out that the president is really popular down that way.

I think the press is bumping up against storytelling reality. You need stakes to keep interest. During the election, there were stakes for people like me. The biggie was that Trump could have lost the election.

But now that he is in power and is actually doing things, and people like me know that he will work according to his own system like he did over a lifetime of superlative achievements (and not according to a pundit's opinion), a fear-laden headline will still catch my eye, but as soon as I see it's just some more crapola scattershot, I don't even read it.

The press still has a voice, but there are no stakes involved anymore in their stories. All they have is narrative without impact on reality. Ginned up suspense like clickbait with no payoff. And that's boring.

And the loss of people taking the press seriously is driving them and Trump-haters nuts.

And I'm enjoying the show.

 

Michael

[Wolf DeVoon]

Trump Derangement Syndrome Worsens In Washington State: "She's Going Nuts"

[Peter]

What is destined to be bald in America? An eaglet.

Michael wrote: Ann's just shaking it up a little because she's afraid of the swamp the president is draining. end quote

Ann afraid of the autocrats (or is that bureaucrats?) Maybe a little bit of both, since the Prez with all his power is running into roadblocks.

A wall? Surveillance. Electronics. Drones. Manned aircraft. Guards, etc. President Trump always said, and I heard him say it, that it won’t be the Great Wall of China but will rely on modern day techniques. The proof will be in the number of illegals who continue to cross the border no matter what he (and we) do.

Maybe Ann should be shacking it up a little. She looks nervous and deprived. Any volunteers?

A CNN crew went down to Liberty University? I have a relative there.

The newest fake news is that “unnamed sources,” “ex intelligence types” and “The Washington Post” all say Donald Magnus Trump told secrets to the Ruskies. Come on Commie Post. Check out the story before you slander someone, like they do at “The National Enquirer”.   

Build it and I will come. Pedro, from Acapulco.

[turkeyfoot]

15 hours ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Ann's just shaking it up a little because she's afraid of the swamp the president is draining.

She's one of the good guys.

The real story is that the press is beside itself because of the fact that Trump supporters are still unmoved. Oh... the press points to Ann as a canary in the coalmine, but they can't point to many others. A CNN crew went down to Liberty University to ask the audience what facts about President Trump disappointed them or what criticisms they had. CNN found out that the president is really popular down that way.

I think the press is bumping up against storytelling reality. You need stakes to keep interest. During the election, there were stakes for people like me. The biggie was that Trump could have lost the election.

But now that he is in power and is actually doing things, and people like me know that he will work according to his own system like he did over a lifetime of superlative achievements (and not according to a pundit's opinion), a fear-laden headline will still catch my eye, but as soon as I see it's just some more crapola scattershot, I don't even read it.

The press still has a voice, but there are no stakes involved anymore in their stories. All they have is narrative without impact on reality. Ginned up suspense like clickbait with no payoff. And that's boring.

And the loss of people taking the press seriously is driving them and Trump-haters nuts.

And I'm enjoying the show.

 

Michael

The really big show in reality is on what Congress will do and its movement along the Trump axis.

I can easily wait it out for conclusive evidence of his tenure.

But there isnt any doubt, for me, that he is getting hammered within and without and it is taking a toll on his agenda whether deliberately on his part or not.

I wanted anything but the status quo during the election. In a sense the chaos is good. In another there is nothing other than executive actions getting done. He is like a final term unfavored president in that he isnt making movement, that I can see, on those things he pitched as being important to him.

Even if he had his "repeal and replace", which it never was, it might only have been a partial good not an achievement to boast over.

Political disintegration like train wrecks are fascinating things unless you've seen them before and know how they end.

What I dont see is any similarity to building skyscrapers.  

 

 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

42 minutes ago, turkeyfoot said:

What I dont see is any similarity to building skyscrapers.

Geoff,

That part is easy.

Whenever President Trump has taken on a new venture in his previous life, he would not start out with immediate gigantic results. He would go through a phase of getting the lay of the land, so to speak.

Part of his information gathering system is getting his enemies close so he can take a good hard look at them.

Also, it would be foolish to build a skyscraper on top of an underwater spring. You have to do a correct survey if a particular plot will bear the weight, and, if so, only then you do the visible stuff. If not, you find a different plot. (This is called stages in a business plan.  In other words, you don't really get going in the next stage until the previous one is complete, although there can be some overlap.)

Politically speaking, President Trump is in that survey stage right now, and that stage is getting near the end.

On another point, there is very little practical difference between industrial espionage and political espionage except, maybe, assassinations. It would be unrealistic to assume that President Trump knew nothing about industrial espionage. He knows a lot more than the mainstream press would have you believe.

Michael

[BaalChatzaf]

50 minutes ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Geoff,

That part is easy.

Whenever President Trump has taken on a new venture in his previous life, he would not start out with immediate gigantic results. He would go through a phase of getting the lay of the land, so to speak.

Or maybe Trump is the blunt instrument I think he is.  He is busy mucking about in a job for which he is not particularly qualified, making a grand mess of government  (something I was counting on).  He just may blunder his way sufficiently that even a Republican house may pass a bill of impeachment and he will have to practice The Art of the Deal sufficiently well not to be removed from office.  Who knows?   Trump is a drooling idiot,  but  one thing he did do and that cannot be taken from him --- he got Gorsuch onto the Supreme Court.   He also, by winning,  kept the former Ms. Rodham  from the highest office.  That was good news too. 

[turkeyfoot]

"build a skyscraper on top of an underwater spring."

There is some doubt whether DC was built on swamp land. ;) 

http://mallhistory.org/explorations/show/was-the-national-mall-built-on

But seriously the survey says the political landscape is unstable. Over that there is no disagreement. Even where the wall could be built on solid ground it appears that is no place for Trumps ideas. Its not within Trumps purview or wheelhouse, as a savvy builder much less as a naive president, to provide structure within DC where there is none. His office is a co-equal branch of government. It appears what he is doing is an able job at disrupting much the same as his opposition. And therein lies the rub.

Which parts of his legislative agenda will have the effects he desires? Because I bet dollars to donuts that what he wants and what we will end up with are not one and the same. But that goes beyond bogus claims and into the heart of the economy where it can do good. 

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

It's pretty fair to say that the press is acting like folks at a fundamentalist Christian backwater meet grilling a person who says Satan is not the cause of a recent flood, but instead bad weather. 

Michael

[turkeyfoot]

1 hour ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Or maybe Trump is the blunt instrument I think he is.  He is busy mucking about in a job for which he is not particularly qualified, making a grand mess of government  (something I was counting on).  He just may blunder his way sufficiently that even a Republican house may pass a bill of impeachment and he will have to practice The Art of the Deal sufficiently well not to be removed from office.  Who knows?   Trump is a drooling idiot,  but  one thing he did do and that cannot be taken from him --- he got Gorsuch onto the Supreme Court.   He also, by winning,  kept the former Ms. Rodham  from the highest office.  That was good news too. 

Ill take it on faith that it is a relatively good thing that a conservative judge was nominated to the SC then squeaked by on 3 votes narrowly avoiding the nuclear option. John Roberts, another conservative member of the court, true to his principles ruled on the 10th amendments meaning leaving us with a legacy of government run health care. If you mean to say, as I think you do that Gorsuchs' standing may keep the pillars of constitutional law in place, it might. And yes, HC is doomed to a place in history.

However the real test of a president is the ability to change the legislative direction of the country as he announced, and as the voters expect.

So far:

+1 for disruption

-1 for executive actions which can be changed by the stoke of a pen.

Overall a BIG ZERO, with a high probability of more of what you were counting on.

Enjoy the show or go fishing. Im not holding my breath over the prospects that were I to take a sabbatical from political intrigue that 4 yrs later wed see anything remarkable that causes shock and awe or admiration.