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jammerbirdi



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/04/18 1:40 pm    ::: Trump 2018 Reply Reply with quote

Incredibly coinciding with the turn of the calendar year, it seems we've reached a real turning point in the history of the Donald Trump presidency. I'm referring to the Michael Wolfe book, of course, its details which remove the skin while the patient is alive and conscious, and the ongoing fallout. Honestly, THIS is what I'd anticipated from a Trump presidency. Entertaining, salacious, scandalous. Fun. Hasn't been fun though. It's been painful. A grinding horror.

But this is all very different. Trump has been a mystery up until now, even portrayed as one by the press that has been so critical of him. Is there a method to his madness?, etc. And all that. This portrait removes once and for all any capability for anyone in the press on any topic to suggest that Trump is in any way engaged or behind anything or that behind Trump's actions at any time or any place in the future that there is an intelligent plan or even an unintelligent plan.

There is no plan. There will never be a plan. He is a child. The Republicans in congress can no longer pretend to hide from this. No one can. Not even the media that is so critical of Trump while it has, for so long now, enabled him and ridden him. The only play here in a sane country at all is for the news media to treat him like a dangerously unqualified mistake and to drop the pretense of covering him in the way they cover conventional politicians and previous administrations.

But even Bannon himself is having this fake mask of greatness peeled off of his face now. Here's what someone just said and it's really about time its been said.

Steve Bannon is a heedless bigmouth who doesn't think through the implications of what he's doing.

Nothing Machiavellian happening there. He's not playing four-dimensional chess and five moves ahead of the rest of us. He's just a guy who continues to destroy himself by his own, "stupid, psychotic, conduct."

Trump didn't want to win. He was terrified when he realized he was going to win. Everything that everyone did around him prior to the election, meeting with Russians, etc., would have all been fine if Trump had just lost like he was supposed to. That's what all of that was about. Positioning and leveraging business interests for the aftermath of a historic presidential campaign. As someone put it on TV here, it's like a bad joke that just went too far.


pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/04/18 1:44 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/04/18 1:48 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

pilight wrote:
Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.


And yet, nothing that has come out seems surprising in any way.


Luuuc
#NATC


Joined: 10 Feb 2005
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PostPosted: 01/04/18 7:14 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

PUmatty wrote:
pilight wrote:
Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.


And yet, nothing that has come out seems surprising in any way.


Yeah, my first question to the people here who pay closer attention than I do is: has there actually been anything surprising/new "revealed"?
i.e. What stops this from being all but forgotten a week from now?



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tfan



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PostPosted: 01/04/18 8:36 pm    ::: Re: Trump 2018 Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:


Trump didn't want to win. He was terrified when he realized he was going to win.


Trump didn't look like a guy who was thrilled he had just become President when he was sitting with his family watching the returns come in. But men of that age aren't always going to show enthusiasm. My father would have probably had a similar expression. But when Trump came out to greet his supporters after it was official, he didn't appear like he was unhappy he won.


GlennMacGrady



Joined: 03 Jan 2005
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PostPosted: 01/05/18 12:05 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The book isn't even out yet -- just a couple of sentences attributed to Bannon. No one will care about the book two weeks after it is out. Most people will never care, or read it. Including me.

Trump accomplished a lot in 2017 under difficult circumstances, and could accomplish a lot more in 2018 if he gets Congressional support. But the media won't focus on serious policy analysis of economic, foreign affairs, legal, regulatory, energy, immigration and military issues. Just on juicy tweets, sentence fragments, irrelevant people, phony investigations, and superficial talking points.

Whatever happened to Trump's impending impeachment for violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. Have Jeff Bezos and Carlos Slim reported on that lately?
Howee



Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)


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PostPosted: 01/05/18 11:30 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

GlennMacGrady wrote:
....Trump accomplished a lot in 2017 under difficult circumstances, and could accomplish a lot more in 2018 if he gets Congressional support.

I'd disagree with the spirit of your idea: more realisitically, one might say, "SOME THINGS" were accomplished in spite of Trump", i.e., his idiotic immigration bans were overridden by a savvy court. The military didn't really stand for his transgender ban. His commission on investigating widespread voter fraud finally ended. Etc., Etc.
What the future holds is always a crapshoot in politics, but I'd say Congress is finally within its dutiful rights to obstruct him at every turn. I'd be most interested in hearing what you perceive to be proof of how he "accomplished a lot", if you're referring to positive changes.

GlennMacGrady wrote:
But the media won't focus on serious policy analysis of economic, foreign affairs, legal, regulatory, energy, immigration and military issues. Just on juicy tweets, sentence fragments, irrelevant people, phony investigations, and superficial talking points.


Perhaps you're tuning in to the wrong media (and there IS 'mistaken, misinformed media' out there). PBS Newshour has repeatedly and consistently given UBER-serious, objective analysis from the most credible resources on his "economic, foreign affairs, legal, regulatory, energy, immigration and military" policies. That you still believe there are things such as "phony investigations" of him and his shenanigans belies your bias and may indicate a part of The Problem.



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sambista



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PostPosted: 01/05/18 11:56 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Howee wrote:
GlennMacGrady wrote:
....Trump accomplished a lot in 2017 under difficult circumstances, and could accomplish a lot more in 2018 if he gets Congressional support.

I'd disagree with the spirit of your idea: more realisitically, one might say, "SOME THINGS" were accomplished in spite of Trump", i.e., his idiotic immigration bans were overridden by a savvy court. The military didn't really stand for his transgender ban. His commission on investigating widespread voter fraud finally ended. Etc., Etc.
What the future holds is always a crapshoot in politics, but I'd say Congress is finally within its dutiful rights to obstruct him at every turn. I'd be most interested in hearing what you perceive to be proof of how he "accomplished a lot", if you're referring to positive changes.


i'd agree/disagree with both of you. trump has "accomplished" quite a bit without congress' help, but i'd characterize it as causing quite a bit of damage, undoing righteous, positive acts that happened under obama; and so much that too much has slipped under the radar while all the other, more headline-grabbing stuff had people looking the other way - cutting back regulations that protect the public health and safety, cutting back on land reserves, opening up more land and sea for economic exploitation, cutting back on post-2008 safeguards against wall street gluttony, etc., etc. it'll take a while before we all wake up and smell how deep the doo is that he made with his executive orders.



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/05/18 12:00 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

sambista wrote:
Howee wrote:
GlennMacGrady wrote:
....Trump accomplished a lot in 2017 under difficult circumstances, and could accomplish a lot more in 2018 if he gets Congressional support.

I'd disagree with the spirit of your idea: more realisitically, one might say, "SOME THINGS" were accomplished in spite of Trump", i.e., his idiotic immigration bans were overridden by a savvy court. The military didn't really stand for his transgender ban. His commission on investigating widespread voter fraud finally ended. Etc., Etc.
What the future holds is always a crapshoot in politics, but I'd say Congress is finally within its dutiful rights to obstruct him at every turn. I'd be most interested in hearing what you perceive to be proof of how he "accomplished a lot", if you're referring to positive changes.


i'd agree/disagree with both of you. trump has "accomplished" quite a bit without congress' help, but i'd characterize it as causing quite a bit of damage, undoing righteous, positive acts that happened under obama; and so much that too much has slipped under the radar while all the other, more headline-grabbing stuff had people looking the other way - cutting back regulations that protect the public health and safety, cutting back on land reserves, opening up more land and sea for economic exploitation, cutting back on post-2008 safeguards against wall street gluttony, etc., etc. it'll take a while before we all wake up and smell how deep the doo is that he made with his executive orders.


The announced Justice Department "war on pot" is another example.

As Congress has basically ceded their duties to the executive branch, administrations make huge impacts in the way the different departments interpret and enact policy.


pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/05/18 3:46 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

PUmatty wrote:
pilight wrote:
Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.


And yet, nothing that has come out seems surprising in any way.


Not even the Gorilla Channel?



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/05/18 3:48 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

pilight wrote:
PUmatty wrote:
pilight wrote:
Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.


And yet, nothing that has come out seems surprising in any way.


Not even the Gorilla Channel?

[url]
https://www.avclub.com/people-are-very-willing-to-believe-that-trump-watches-a-1821815578[/url]


pilight



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PostPosted: 01/05/18 4:08 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I get that it's a joke, but would you really be surprised if it wasn't?



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/05/18 5:42 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

pilight wrote:
I get that it's a joke, but would you really be surprised if it wasn't?


Yes, if his aides set up a feed for him of gorillas that he watched for 17 hours a day with his head 4 inches from the screen, I would be surprised by that.


Genero36



Joined: 24 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: 01/05/18 7:25 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Get your copy now.



https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Fury-Inside-Trump-White/dp/1250158060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515198295&sr=8-1&keywords=fire+and+fury




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taropatch



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: 01/08/18 8:25 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

pilight wrote:
Wolff has a history of making stuff up. I'd be hesitant to take anything he writes at face value.


Any links to this "history" making stuff up?


Stonington_QB



Joined: 05 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: 01/08/18 2:02 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Luuuc wrote:
What stops this from being all but forgotten a week from now?

Probably nothing.


Howee



Joined: 27 Nov 2009
Posts: 15690
Location: OREGON (in my heart)


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PostPosted: 01/11/18 11:51 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Stonington_QB wrote:
Luuuc wrote:
What stops this from being all but forgotten a week from now?

Probably nothing.

....or, New Lows, like calling other countries "shit holes".... Laughing Laughing He definitely has a *style*.



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Stonington_QB



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PostPosted: 01/12/18 3:13 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Howee wrote:
Stonington_QB wrote:
Luuuc wrote:
What stops this from being all but forgotten a week from now?

Probably nothing.

....or, New Lows, like calling other countries "shit holes".... Laughing Laughing He definitely has a *style*.

Is this supposed to be a burn? Rolling Eyes


jammerbirdi



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/12/18 8:09 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Q: What does Wall St call Donald Trump?















A. Genius
B. Stable Genius
C. Very Stable Genius
D. Take your pick, there are no wrong answers.



Seriously. No discussion of Trump in 2018 can ignore the markets and the attitudes of Wall St towards Trump's presidency, but, also the impact it is having (or not) on the economic life of the country and that includes all of us.


Here is a Wall St Journal piece from yesterday. As much as I can format from the rough iPhone copy and paste job I did.

Economists Credit Trump as Tailwind for U.S. Growth, Hiring and Stocks
Forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal give administration’s first year generally positive marks
Ben Leubsdorf

Jan. 11, 2018 10:01 a.m. ET


Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal say President Donald Trump has had generally positive effects on U.S. economic growth, hiring and the performance of the stock market during his first year in office.

The professional forecasters also predicted 2018 would see solid growth and a continued decline in the jobless rate. One factor: the tax cuts signed into law by Mr. Trump in December, which most economists say will boost the economy for several years at least.

More broadly, most forecasters surveyed by the Journal suggested Mr. Trump’s election deserves at least some credit for the economy’s recent strength.

Asked to rate Mr. Trump’s policies and actions to date, a majority of economists said he had been somewhat or strongly positive for job creation, gross domestic product growth and the stock market. Most also said he had been either neutral or positive for the country’s long-term growth trajectory, while his influence on financial stability was seen as largely neutral.

“There is definitely a sense in the business community that the president’s actions on taxes and regulations have led to a more pro-growth environment for them to operate,” said Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Still, it is early yet to evaluate Mr. Trump’s performance. He inherited an economy that had already experienced years of falling unemployment and durable if slow growth. 

Does Trump Deserve Credit for Strong Economic Numbers?

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through the 25000 level and solid employment growth continuing, WSJ's Gerald Seib explains how much credit President Trump should get for the strong economic showing. “We have to be cautious about giving Trump too much credit for the economy’s strength,” said Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group. “Job creation and business capital spending were on the rise prior to his presidency. The jury is still out how much more his actions moved the economy forward.”

A year ago, President Barack Obama got mixed grades as he prepared to leave office after eight years. Most economists surveyed by the Journal in January 2017 saw his policies as positive for financial stability, positive or neutral for job creation, negative or neutral for GDP growth and negative for long-term potential growth. 

Looking forward, the economists surveyed in recent days had high hopes for 2018.

On average, the forecasters predicted GDP would expand a healthy 2.7% this year. They saw the unemployment rate, which was 4.1% in December, falling to 3.9% by midyear and 3.8% in December. The pace of hiring was expected to slow further, with monthly nonfarm payroll gains set to average 165,000 in 2018. Monthly job gains averaged 171,000 in 2017 and 187,000 in 2016, according to the Labor Department.

The probability of a recession in the next 12 months ticked down in January to 13%, the lowest average since September 2015. More than two-thirds of forecasters said they saw the risks to the growth outlook as tilted to the upside.

One reason for the rosy 2018 forecasts: a package of tax-law changes enacted last month. More than 90% of economists said the tax cuts would increase GDP growth over the next two years, similar to their thinking in earlier months when the details of the legislation were still in flux.

Still, economists aren’t confident the boost will prove long-lived. They on average expected GDP growth would ease to 2.2% in 2019 and 2% in 2020, and identified 2.1% as its long-run average. Half of economists said the tax legislation will boost the economy’s long-run trend at least modestly, while the other half said it would have no effect or leave growth somewhat below its current trajectory.

“The corporate tax cut has the theoretical potential of increasing trend rate, but I am skeptical if there is that much of pent-up investment demand left unfulfilled,” said Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center.

Policy makers have debated who will reap the benefits of one major tax provision—reducing the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. 

White House economists have said workers should see higher incomes as a result of the tax cut while a 2012 Treasury analysis found most of the corporate-tax burden falls on owners of capital, not workers. 

Roughly three in four economists surveyed by the Journal said shareholders, not employees, would see the larger benefit from the corporate-tax cut. “We’ll still see much of the earnings go to stock buybacks, raise dividends or help finance” mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Baumohl said.


jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 01/17/18 1:49 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Trump passed his physical with no real news of any health problems. He also scored a 30/30 on the Montreal (?) cognition test. Proving something I’ve long suspected (when I wasn’t suspecting the exact opposite) and that is the only thing wrong with Donald Trump is that he’s Donald Trump.


justintyme



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PostPosted: 01/17/18 4:55 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
Trump passed his physical with no real news of any health problems. He also scored a 30/30 on the Montreal (?) cognition test. Proving something I’ve long suspected (when I wasn’t suspecting the exact opposite) and that is the only thing wrong with Donald Trump is that he’s Donald Trump.

His issue is not that he has diminished mental capacity, which really seemed unlikely since he has been like this since forever, it is that he likely suffers from the mental pathology "Narcissistic personality disorder" or NPD.



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tfan



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PostPosted: 01/18/18 1:26 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Trump's doctor says he is 6'3", 239. He's clearly not 6'3" per him standing near listed 6'3" Jeb Bush at the debates. And he doesn't look to be only 239 either (golf picture below was taken 1/16/2018). If the doctor is lying about his height and weight, he could also be lying about anything else he reports about Trump. But the test Trump took is is designed to identify the attention, memory and visual skills that deteriorate in people with dementia. It's not something Microsoft would use to identify the sharpest 25-year-old applicants.





Howee



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PostPosted: 01/18/18 7:31 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

tfan wrote:
Trump's doctor says he is 6'3", 239. He's clearly not 6'3" per him standing near listed 6'3" Jeb Bush at the debates. And he doesn't look to be only 239 either (golf picture below was taken 1/16/2018). If the doctor is lying about his height and weight, he could also be lying about anything else he reports about Trump.


I thought that same thing: He's 'bout equal to Obama, who's 6'1" tall. Maybe he borrowed Melania's heels for the exam. Laughing I have a feeling he probably dictated much of his 'report' to the doctor who would, of course, 'report' as directed on such vanity details.



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Genero36



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PostPosted: 01/18/18 7:27 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote



Quote:
"Only one person was actually cordial to me," Higbie said. "Every other black person was rude. They wanted me to either load the wood, completely split it for them or some sort of you know assistance in labor. Now, mind you the ad was for free firewood, come take it all you want. And I believe that this translates directly into the culture that is breeding this welfare and the high percentage of people on welfare in the black race. It's a lax of morality."

He added later, "We're promoting birth control to a black woman because of the incredibly high rate of children born out of wedlock that are under-cared for or not cared for at all. The taxpayers are tired of supporting government checks going to these people who think that breeding is a form of employment. I'm sorry if black people are the majority of the targeted audience. They are, statistically they are.
"

Quote:
"Go back to your Muslim shithole and go crap in your hands and bang little boys on Thursday nights," Higbie said. "I just don't like Muslim people. People always rip me a new one for that. Carl, you're racist, you can't, you're sexist. I'm like Jesus Christ. I just don't like Muslim people because their ideology sucks."

"Well people are like, 'well, you can't hate somebody just for being Muslim,'" Higbie added. "It's like, yeah, I can.



Quote:
"I'd say 75% of people with PTSD don't actually have it, and they're either milking something for a little extra money in disability or they're just, they honestly are just lying," Higbie said in August 2014, as a guest on an Internet radio show. "Twenty-five percent legitimately do have problems. They have bad dreams. They can't cope. They have problems with noises and things like that. And I really think there are people that cannot deal with the stress of combat and some people can."


http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/18/politics/kfile-carl-higbie-on-the-radio/index.html



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/19/18 1:46 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Forget the Trump aspect of this for a minute. These were comments on mainstream conservative radio by a mainstream conservative radio host. This is a person who was then a campaign surrogate for the Republican nominee for President. This isn't about one person. The language might be a little different, but this is the contemporary Republican ideology.


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