Archive 2017-2019 Political Thread

[gangstonc]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...n-eric-schneiderman-climate-change/102418492/

This is probably the most transparently corrupt administration in US history.

 

[Mike S]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...n-eric-schneiderman-climate-change/102418492/

This is probably the most transparently corrupt administration in US history.

At least they're transparent!

 

[Evan]

Pretty amazing that Trump managed to precipitate an international crisis in his first trip abroad in the most unstable region of the world.

The diplomatic breakdown with Qatar will have grave impacts on the coalition against ISIS, upset the power balance in the Middle East, and lead to broad instability throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia -- particularly Arab countries. Just what we need, more instability in Islamic countries!

Qatar is going to be pushed into the arms of Iran, or more directly backing Al-Qaeda/ISIS. The war with ISIS was finally being won, and Trump decided to go throw a bucket of gasoline and 10 lit matches into the region. After Obama, and now Trump, Jimmy Carter never looked so good! Uylesses S. Grant is suddenly no longer looking like the most corrupt or inept President. Trump is making Grant look like George Washington.

It takes a record setting amount of ignorance and incompetence to alienate every single historical American alliance (from the UK to Israel) while simultaneously sparking unrest and a potential war in the Middle East. And to do it all in less than 6 months? Even Mrs. O'Leary's cow is impressed.

I tried earlier to think of a single positive that Trump has accomplished as President. Actually, I tried to think of something he's done that wasn't just window dressing designed to deceive his base or an action that ended in crisis due to his inability to plan, reason, listen, or keep his mouth shut. There's literally nothing.

On the FP side he's alienated our allies, sucked up to Communist China and Putin (who will always be a Commie), and sparked a crisis in the Middle East. He's let Syria continue to commit unspeakable war crimes, he's been out bluffed by North Korea, forced into accepting Australia's problem refugees, and has pissed off Netanyahu and pretty much 95% of Israelis..

On the domestic side, there's a special counsel that was appointed in record time to investigate the corruption of his campaign and Admin, his last 3 months of job creation is the lowest 3 month period in the past FIVE years, wages are still stagnant, and the Fed is about to raise rates due to the millions of jobs that Obama created. His travel ban is DOA, his religious freedom order was so pathetic the ACLU didn't even bother suing, and he has a recodd-shattering amount of unpopularity for a newly elected President.

Really all Trump can do is move a few ships around, lob a few cruise missiles, and recycle job announcements that actually occurred under Obama. Meanwhile, Trump signed a budget that gave Democrats literally everything they wanted without even trying to negotiate, and he put his name on a health care plan that is such a turkey that no one wants to claim any part of it.

BTW, did I mention that every day the staffer drama and ineptness of Trump's executive skills are on display for the entire world to see? It is worse than some of the fake reality shows that were INTENDED to be horrible.

Oh, and his last NSA is under federal investigation, his son-in-law is a subject of the special counsel, and everywhere you look either he, his family, or an adviser is violating ethics rules and personally enriching themselves. His top adviser, and son-in-law, has a sister peddling visas in China to anyone that wants to buy one from her corrupt little family. She did a nice PowerPoint presentation showing how the Trump White House sells access and visas to the highest bidder.

I'm likely leaving out at LEAST half of the horror story that is Trump's Presidency, but kicking off a potential WWIII in the Middle East at least deserved a congratulatory post. No, not to Trump. Can anyone think of someone who would want to see instability in the Middle East by breaking up the Sunni Gulf Coalition so that Iran & Syria are strengthened? I'll give everyone a hint: Qatar claims their state news agency was hacked. Anyone been doing any hacking and destabilizing lately in say... Ukraine, Syria, or the United States? Hmm... I bet this guy knows:

 

[Evan]

No disrespect intended, I read the first two paragraphs and since I'm at work stopped and will respond to those now.

I'm not sure where you found your numbers, but what was agreed on in the Paris Accord would've barely made a dent in global temperatures. The stated goal may have been 1.5°C, but what was actually agreed upon doesn't come anywhere near keeping it that low.

I've seen that number range a bit depending on who you believe, but it illustrates how far Paris actually was from achieving any real goal.

I haven't had time to respond either, but we are talking about two different measurements, and I'll explain later today. Basically, the bulk of any reduction due to Paris isn't really included in the chart you are using because of how the agreements all terminate by 2030. So the period after that isn't measured properly, but there is a reason why they do that. I will show you a link and data from the same source you are using explaining what I mean.

 

[Evan]

Based on what I've read about the agreement is that it can be summed up as a feel good agreement that is not binding.

I'm curious on how backing out of a non-binding agreement that is nothing more than a pledge will put the US at the back of the green technology line. Things are going green regardless of spoken word by politicians as long as the money is there and the companies aren't penalized. From what I can see when the Republicans passed the landmark deal to cut a trillion dollars over ten years from the budget deficit did far more and it was a complete farce to me.

Will respond in depth later, but shifts in energy policy are almost always due to government policy, and those policies are almost always setup to funnel spending to certain places and people.

It will be very simple for the entire world to essentially ignore or denigrate US based solutions as "we are not a partner" when it comes to climate change. There are subtle ways of delaying the importation or approval of a product until it's domestic competitor is ready or China has stolen the design and made a cheaper version.

If you believe the US should be punished for not sharing in the sacrifice needed to reduce the impact of climate change, then it will be extremely easy to informally "sanction" our green industries as a way of showing your displeasure.

You are actually making my point in a way. What benefit did the US gain from vacating a completely voluntary pledge that had no penalty structure considering most countries won't meet targets? Why not pay lip service to the treaty to make sure your green & energy industries aren't penalized for your lack of participation? All you do is what we've always done: sign the pledge and hope technology eventually helps you get close to what you promised, but don't actually do much regulatory wise to get there. You just play the game. People do realize that's literally what China, India, and many other countries are doing, right? They are playing the game.

For some reason, Trump doesn't seem to understand the game. Or, perhaps, he needed to excite his base with a pointless action and change the topic de jour of the media.

That's my overall point. Absolutely zero benefit to leaving the treaty because everything was voluntary anyway. If you get called out for your commitment you just push out rosy and optimistic numbers due to technology that is "waiting in the wings." A few true believers like Iceland will call you out, but does anyone care what Iceland thinks? One, they will be underwater soon enough. Two, they were greedy pigs and helped cause the global banking and financial crisis of 2008. They have no moral high ground.

I would get it if that was Trump's plan. I mean why even pick this fight to begin with unless you are just looking for a distraction?

 

[Matt]

Will respond in depth later, but shifts in energy policy are almost always due to government policy, and those policies are almost always setup to funnel spending to certain places and people.

It will be very simple for the entire world to essentially ignore or denigrate US based solutions as "we are not a partner" when it comes to climate change. There are subtle ways of delaying the importation or approval of a product until it's domestic competitor is ready or China has stolen the design and made a cheaper version.

If you believe the US should be punished for not sharing in the sacrifice needed to reduce the impact of climate change, then it will be extremely easy to informally "sanction" our green industries as a way of showing your displeasure.

You are actually making my point in a way. What benefit did the US gain from vacating a completely voluntary pledge that had no penalty structure considering most countries won't meet targets? Why not pay lip service to the treaty to make sure your green & energy industries aren't penalized for your lack of participation? All you do is what we've always done: sign the pledge and hope technology eventually helps you get close to what you promised, but don't actually do much regulatory wise to get there. You just play the game. People do realize that's literally what China, India, and many other countries are doing, right? They are playing the game.

For some reason, Trump doesn't seem to understand the game. Or, perhaps, he needed to excite his base with a pointless action and change the topic de jour of the media.

That's my overall point. Absolutely zero benefit to leaving the treaty because everything was voluntary anyway. If you get called out for your commitment you just push out rosy and optimistic numbers due to technology that is "waiting in the wings." A few true believers like Iceland will call you out, but does anyone care what Iceland thinks? One, they will be underwater soon enough. Two, they were greedy pigs and helped cause the global banking and financial crisis of 2008. They have no moral high ground.

I would get it if that was Trump's plan. I mean why even pick this fight to begin with unless you are just looking for a distraction?

Algore agrees with you 100%!

 

[Matt]

Why is Hillary not in jail with her ?


http://nypost.com/2017/06/05/top-secret-nsa-doc-details-russian-election-hacking-effort-report/

 

[Mike S]

Trump live tweeting the Comey testimony should be good

 

[Arcadia]

So the travel ban that wasn't a ban IS a ban according to Donald J Trump. Was Trump taking a nap all those times his people kept saying how it wasn't a ban? Then he goes out and tweets how we need to implement his travel ban. Why would he do that? It makes no sense. Then he turns on his own people. The man is his own worst enemy. To the Trump supporters...when will you grow weary trying to defend him every day for the next four years? He doesn't need the 'fake media' reporting stories. He has his Twitter account. All a reporter has to do these days is screenshot his latest tweet. They don't even have to try hard. In fact, they don't have to try at all. He's doing the work for them. It's clear that his staff cannot talk sense to him. His arrogance shows just standing still. Shoulders squared off, chin jutted out, chest all puffed out like he's a king. Pure arrogance. How dare anyone question his wisdom. I couldn't imagine trying to work on his staff. It would be an impossible task.

 

[Evan]

Seems like Sessions may be getting ready jump ship from the Trump admin.

Reported that he threatened to resign. That comes after stories about Trump being angry at Sessions were leaked by the WH.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/atto...uggested-resign-amid-rising/story?id=47875090

Now, NYTimes is reporting Comey told Sessions to not let him be left alone with Trump. Seems like Trump's tweet at DOJ hit a nerve, Sessions is angry, Trump is angry, and they are all sniping at each other.

Fake news, lock her up, Hillary for Prison, Seth Rich. That way no one has to respond if they don't want to address the stories being reported. They can just live in their bubble.

 

[ARCC]

Like or hate Trump, I've never seen so much "an official said an official said an important official said something about the President." in the news before.

 

[Evan]

Like or hate Trump, I've never seen so much "an official said an official said an important official said something about the President." in the news before.

Because he's not a normal President and he's not respected. And, the few that do respect him or care about his political success know that they only way to get through to him is by using the media.

Want to send a message to Trump? Get your opinion/story to appear on Fox and Friends or Morning Joe.

Morning Joe trolls Trump all the time on their show, and then he hysterically responds on Twitter.

Why do people feel so comfortable speaking out against Trump, trolling Trump and leaking about Trump? Because they have zero respect for him as a man.

Who respects someone who blows such a golden opportunity? Who respects someone who was elected to the most powerful position on earth yet is impotent because they continually shoot themselves in the foot?

The whole "it's the fake media" and sycophantic need to tell Trump what he wants to hear is why his strong approval rating is now around 21-22% vs low to mid 30's when first elected. Even his most stalwart supporters are becoming disillusioned because they see he isn't doing his job. He spends all day fighting about petty crap, and the government is hardly functioning. He contradicts his staff and makes it impossible for them to do their job.

You cannot compare Trump to any other President because his behavior and actions are completely abnormal . just look at the Qatar situation. Is it normal for a President to attack an ally that way? More importantly he put thousands of troops at risk that are stationed in London.

What about his attack on London's mayor. What would all of us have said if the UK's Prime Minister attacked Giuliani a few days after 9/11 for saying New Yorkers shouldn't live in fear? It is so grotesquely abnormal and incredibly damaging to our allied relationships and reputation abroad. The US is no longer perceived as reliable. How long before that starts to have an impact on the interest rates we borrow at? What if, suddenly, US treasuries were no longer considered safe?

Trump already said something about the US not paying our debts previously, and all his advisers (including Bannon) basically told him he'd crater the economy and destroy the country if he kept proposing that we default on our debt.

You are seeing all these officials speak out because the President of the United States is a mentally unstable egomaniac that doesn't listen to anyone and has no idea how our government functions, and continually undermines even the most basic attempts of his staff to create a sense of normalcy.

 

[ARCC]

Because he's not a normal President and he's not respected. And, the few that do respect him or care about his political success know that they only way to get through to him is by using the media.

Want to send a message to Trump? Get your opinion/story to appear on Fox and Friends or Morning Joe.

Morning Joe trolls Trump all the time on their show, and then he hysterically responds on Twitter.

Why do people feel so comfortable speaking out against Trump, trolling Trump and leaking about Trump? Because they have zero respect for him as a man.

Who respects someone who blows such a golden opportunity? Who respects someone who was elected to the most powerful position on earth yet is impotent because they continually shoot themselves in the foot?

The whole "it's the fake media" and sycophantic need to tell Trump what he wants to hear is why his strong approval rating is now around 21-22% vs low to mid 30's when first elected. Even his most stalwart supporters are becoming disillusioned because they see he isn't doing his job. He spends all day fighting about petty crap, and the government is hardly functioning. He contradicts his staff and makes it impossible for them to do their job.

You cannot compare Trump to any other President because his behavior and actions are completely abnormal . just look at the Qatar situation. Is it normal for a President to attack an ally that way? More importantly he put thousands of troops at risk that are stationed in London.

What about his attack on London's mayor. What would all of us have said if the UK's Prime Minister attacked Giuliani a few days after 9/11 for saying New Yorkers shouldn't live in fear? It is so grotesquely abnormal and incredibly damaging to our allied relationships and reputation abroad. The US is no longer perceived as reliable. How long before that starts to have an impact on the interest rates we borrow at? What if, suddenly, US treasuries were no longer considered safe?

Trump already said something about the US not paying our debts previously, and all his advisers (including Bannon) basically told him he'd crater the economy and destroy the country if he kept proposing that we default on our debt.

You are seeing all these officials speak out because the President of the United States is a mentally unstable egomaniac that doesn't listen to anyone and has no idea how our government functions, and continually undermines even the most basic attempts of his staff to create a sense of normalcy.

Then I want them to bust him publicly with actual facts and documents and not leaking he said that she said that someone said to the two of the most liberal newspapers in the US. All you end up with is even more a circus than it already is. For instance the whole testimony with Comey and associates will likely be nothing more than a circus with no information revealed that will actually do anything.

 

[ARCC]

Case and point, the Coates situation. The WP reported someone said that someone said that he told them he was pressured. Before Congress he said he wasn't. I'm gonna use my all powerful, future seeing ability and predict that WP will report that someone said someone said he told them he was pressured by Trump to say he wasn't pressured. The liberals will scream he lied under oath and the Trump people will laugh. Then Trump will post on Twitter about fake news.

These people are trying to cut down a massive oak tree with a butter knife and every time they flake off a piece of bark they scream that now it will fall. Trump supporters are busy laughing at them and the rest of us are embarrassed at the spectacle with our palms firmly planted on our forehead.

 

[gangstonc]

Comey's statement does not look good for the orange one. I specifically find him trying to get comey to "let go" of the flynn investigation to be troublesome.

 

[Matt]

Comey's statement does not look good for the orange one. I specifically find him trying to get comey to "let go" of the flynn investigation to be troublesome.

Nope.

 

[ARCC]

Comey's statement does not look good for the orange one. I specifically find him trying to get comey to "let go" of the flynn investigation to be troublesome.

Actually Tomorrow may look really good for him. In his statement Comey once again stated that Trump wasn't under investigation. If he takes the stand tomorrow and says he didn't feel pressured, the air comes out of this really fast.

Whether Trump is guilty or innocent, you will not get him this way.

 

[gangstonc]

Actually Tomorrow may look really good for him. In his statement Comey once again stated that Trump wasn't under investigation. If he takes the stand tomorrow and says he didn't feel pressured, the air comes out of this really fast.

Whether Trump is guilty or innocent, you will not get him this way.

Trump wasn't under investigation. His campaign was. Why did trump feel the need to pressure comey to stop investigating Flynn?

And yes, it will take more than comey to bring trump down.

 

[ARCC]

Trump wasn't under investigation. His campaign was. Why did trump feel the need to pressure comey to stop investigating Flynn?

And yes, it will take more than comey to bring trump down.

I can think of several reasons Trump would ask to stop the Flynn investigation. One was Flynn's dealings with Russia. Whether guilty or not, it's not hard to think that would be a way to try to shut down the media who has beat this Russian thing to death. Another reason may be to try to save face when he hired a loser. That one is right up Trump's alley. Another may be that he or his staff never vetted Flynn correctly. Trump is impulsive so that one also fits him if he hired him before proper vetting happened.

You can come up with several reasons.

 

[gangstonc]

I can think of several reasons Trump would ask to stop the Flynn investigation. One was Flynn's dealings with Russia. Whether guilty or not, it's not hard to think that would be a way to try to shut down the media who has beat this Russian thing to death. Another reason may be to try to save face when he hired a loser. That one is right up Trump's alley. Another may be that he or his staff never vetted Flynn correctly. Trump is impulsive so that one also fits him if he hired him before proper vetting happened.

You can come up with several reasons.

But asking Comey to stop investigating him isn't exactly legal.