Trump Administration Meltdown Thread...

Post by **brian** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:33 am

Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:54 am

brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

He's too busy organizing ICE to stand outside and arrest those walking into the ceremony.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 1:45 pm

brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

Holy shit. I really want to know how long into other Presidencies it took to change those videos. I'm guessing a lot less than 8 months. Trump is trying so hard to wipe out Obama's Presidency, he missed the easy ones.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:02 pm

The Sybian wrote:
brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

Holy shit. I really want to know how long into other Presidencies it took to change those videos. I'm guessing a lot less than 8 months. Trump is trying so hard to wipe out Obama's Presidency, he missed the easy ones.

Can't imagine the puppet masters are aware those videos exist (or, more importantly, their fanbase is unaware there is another thing Obama "fucked up").

Rams Fanny · Post by **Rams Fanny** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:10 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

Holy shit. I really want to know how long into other Presidencies it took to change those videos. I'm guessing a lot less than 8 months. Trump is trying so hard to wipe out Obama's Presidency, he missed the easy ones.

Can't imagine the puppet masters are aware those videos exist (or, more importantly, their fanbase is unaware there is another thing Obama "fucked up").

We should probably be thankful that these ceremonies are happening at all...

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:45 pm

Rams Fanny wrote:
DSafetyGuy wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

Holy shit. I really want to know how long into other Presidencies it took to change those videos. I'm guessing a lot less than 8 months. Trump is trying so hard to wipe out Obama's Presidency, he missed the easy ones.

Can't imagine the puppet masters are aware those videos exist (or, more importantly, their fanbase is unaware there is another thing Obama "fucked up").

We should probably be thankful that these ceremonies are happening at all...

Yes. No joke, I'm going to focus on that happy fact thought and block out the rest. I'm picturing whatever bureaucrats are in charge of that intentionally failing to tell their Trump liaison Trump is supposed to film that video. More likely scenario, that is one of tens of thousands of tasks Trump has failed to perform, and he has yet to hire the for the positions who would normally take care of that shit. It's terrifying how many key positions are still sitting vacant.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 4:10 pm

Rams Fanny wrote:
DSafetyGuy wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
brian wrote:Friend of mine is at a naturalization ceremony today in Las Vegas and the video they played before the ceremony a welcoming for our new Americans from President Barack Obama. Apparently Trump hasn't yet recorded a similar video.

Holy shit. I really want to know how long into other Presidencies it took to change those videos. I'm guessing a lot less than 8 months. Trump is trying so hard to wipe out Obama's Presidency, he missed the easy ones.

Can't imagine the puppet masters are aware those videos exist (or, more importantly, their fanbase is unaware there is another thing Obama "fucked up").

We should probably be thankful that these ceremonies are happening at all...

My guess is Trump chose to prioritize the filming of the deportation video.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:26 pm

McMullen's Tweetstorm is so good.

https://twitter.com/Evan_McMullin/statu ... 4550075393

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:36 pm

This makes my skin crawl worse than 10 Pussy Grabbing tapes multiplied by 3 Russian Whore pee tapes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eziBvrQb7f4

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 10:50 pm

The Sybian wrote:This makes my skin crawl worse than 10 Pussy Grabbing tapes multiplied by 3 Russian Whore pee tapes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eziBvrQb7f4

Endowed by their creator (that's god) with...

Fuck that's awful. I'm without words.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:09 pm

Johnnie wrote:Yea, I read that, but I meant my comment in the context that Mueller is many, many steps ahead of things and knew that Trump would throw out a pardon for someone as a warning shot like no one knew it was coming.

I just want the hope that Mueller is getting so detailed with his investigation that George R. R. Martin is trying to craft a 7 novel epic about it.

I spent a lot of this week arguing with guys I agree with, so apologies.

I know I'm somewhat of the overly optimistic guys here, but when they appointed Mueller, I don't think a lot of folks grasped where this was going. It will take a few more months, but people are going to jail. Not saying we've seen enough to nail Trump, but given the lack of character of this group I would be SHOCKED if key players don't start flipping at some point.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 9:13 am

I may need to check with the other name partners from Sybian, Cheddah, & L-Jam, but once a person is pardoned, they can no longer use the 5th Amendment to stay silent as there is no chance for legal jeopardy from their words. Now, the argument can be made that even if they are free from federal criminal prosecution after a pardon, they might be still able to claim 5th Amendment protection as they would be compelled to give potentially incriminating statements under state law.

But with Mueller now working with the New York Attorney General, that could open it up too.

So to sum up, if Trump pardons his co-conspirators, those co-conspirators could now be compelled to testify against them and can't hide behind the 5th Amendment.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:19 am

L-Jam3 wrote:I may need to check with the other name partners from Sybian, Cheddah, & L-Jam, but once a person is pardoned, they can no longer use the 5th Amendment to stay silent as there is no chance for legal jeopardy from their words. Now, the argument can be made that even if they are free from federal criminal prosecution after a pardon, they might be still able to claim 5th Amendment protection as they would be compelled to give potentially incriminating statements under state law.

But with Mueller now working with the New York Attorney General, that could open it up too.

So to sum up, if Trump pardons his co-conspirators, those co-conspirators could now be compelled to testify against them and can't hide behind the 5th Amendment.

Makes sense in theory, not sure about reality.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sun Sep 03, 2017 3:03 pm

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 5049656322

So China, India and Russia...

Post by **brian** » Sun Sep 03, 2017 3:40 pm

He might as well threaten to chop his own dick off as end all trade with China. Both are about as likely.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:57 am

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status ... 1127952384

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:09 pm

govmentchedda wrote:
L-Jam3 wrote:I may need to check with the other name partners from Sybian, Cheddah, & L-Jam, but once a person is pardoned, they can no longer use the 5th Amendment to stay silent as there is no chance for legal jeopardy from their words. Now, the argument can be made that even if they are free from federal criminal prosecution after a pardon, they might be still able to claim 5th Amendment protection as they would be compelled to give potentially incriminating statements under state law.

But with Mueller now working with the New York Attorney General, that could open it up too.

So to sum up, if Trump pardons his co-conspirators, those co-conspirators could now be compelled to testify against them and can't hide behind the 5th Amendment.

Makes sense in theory, not sure about reality.

From what I've read, this is true, but they could all refuse to testify, be found in contempt for refusing to testify, knowing Trump would pardon the contempt charges. That's the beauty of bringing in charges in New York, as Trump cannot pardon state crimes. I was shocked when Trump first hired Manafort, because Manafort was known for working closely with Putin to get Putin's puppet elected in the Ukraine. While Manafort was still heading the Trump Campaign, the shady real estate deals with Russians started to come out. I've seen numerous experts saying Manafort's real estate deals are classic money laundering schemes, and coincide with Manafort doing work for the Ukrainian puppet and others tied to the Russian government. Manafort just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who will fall on the sword to save someone else, and Trump sure as fuck doesn't hesitate to shove people under the bus while they are lying to protect him, so why would anyone fall on their sword for this fuck?

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:33 pm

The Sybian wrote: I was shocked when Trump first hired Manafort, because Manafort was known for working closely with Putin to get Putin's puppet elected in the Ukraine. While Manafort was still heading the Trump Campaign, the shady real estate deals with Russians started to come out. I've seen numerous experts saying Manafort's real estate deals are classic money laundering schemes, and coincide with Manafort doing work for the Ukrainian puppet and others tied to the Russian government. Manafort just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who will fall on the sword to save someone else, and Trump sure as fuck doesn't hesitate to shove people under the bus while they are lying to protect him, so why would anyone fall on their sword for this fuck?

The sad/scary thing is that Manafort really does not fall outside the mainstream of American politics. He's worked for four other U.S. Presidents, and his former business partner, Rick Davis, ran John McCain's 2008 campaign. Additionally, the Podesta Group, which is one of the most influential Democratic-affiliated lobbying companies, also did work for Yanukovych (albeit not as much as Manafort), and currently represents one of the largest state-affiliated banks in Russia. All of which makes a potential indictment/prosecution of Manafort very, very interesting for the ripples it could send throughout DC's hordes of lobbyists and political operatives.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 10:43 am

Dan Rather on Facebook

There is room in the history books for more than one name. President Donald Trump is who he is. His record indicates he will not change. He has not shown that he will be tempered, normalized, reasoned with, humbled or enlightened. His decision today to end the DACA program is bound for yet another chapter in the reckoning that will come.

The question is for the Republicans in Congress who so far have proven quick to pepper us with tweets of condemnation but reluctant to step up for any meaningful action that will have a real effect on policy (the healthcare vote of a few Senators being the notable exception). Where and how will their names appear when the story is written of this era of extremism? Do they really believe, as a majority of Americans do, that these "dreamers" should be protected? And even if they believe that in their hearts, what will be the courage of their votes which are, after all, the only voice that actually counts?

Please spare me the sanctimony and hand wringing. It is of no solace to the millions whose lives will be upended, just like the millions who still fear a collapse of our health care system or the scourge of climate change, the gutting of our economic protections, our public schools, our public health, and so much else.

For eight years the GOP on Capitol Hill played a game of winking at the base with meaningless votes for show, knowing full well that they would be spared difficult policy decisions by President Obama's veto pen. So Obamacare was a disgrace that would be easily repealed and replaced. Immigrants could be scapegoated while still keeping our economy and ideals largely intact. The EPA could be denigrated without our air and water quality suffering. And on and on.

Now that luxury is gone. And the Republican agenda, or lack thereof, is on display for all to see. In some ways you can hardly blame Mr. Trump. He is just following up on what Republicans in Congress have been saying for years. Whether they really meant it or not, and have any courage to stand up, we shall soon see. History is not only watching Mr. Trump. It is watching his accomplices as well.

and on the Ezra Klein show
https://www.vox.com/pages/podcasts

Something I really needed to listen to.

Post by **brian** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 2:25 pm

Trump's going to look mighty stupid if Congress somehow unfucks itself and manages to pass a bi-partisan DREAM Act bill. Part of me wonders if it might just happen with some Republican legislators just to spite him (though it will likely help some of them in their re-election bids).

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 2:56 pm

brian wrote:Trump's going to look mighty stupid if Congress somehow unfucks itself and manages to pass a bi-partisan DREAM Act bill. Part of me wonders if it might just happen with some Republican legislators just to spite him (though it will likely help some of them in their re-election bids).

They might, but they are going to tie it to a bunch of odious and wasteful shit, like money for the wall and tax cuts. I am assuming that was the plan hatched by leadership - he pulls DACA and says to Congress you do it and they do it while shoveling shit on everyone else for their corporate masters.

Post by **brian** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:01 pm

tennbengal wrote:
brian wrote:Trump's going to look mighty stupid if Congress somehow unfucks itself and manages to pass a bi-partisan DREAM Act bill. Part of me wonders if it might just happen with some Republican legislators just to spite him (though it will likely help some of them in their re-election bids).

They might, but they are going to tie it to a bunch of odious and wasteful shit, like money for the wall and tax cuts. I am assuming that was the plan hatched by leadership - he pulls DACA and says to Congress you do it and they do it while shoveling shit on everyone else for their corporate masters.

Sadly, yep. And forces the Democrats to play chicken with people's lives just like the GOP is doing. Would love to see the GOP get beat up over this for the next few months though and force their hand on actually dealing with immigration instead of just throwing around racist rhetoric.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:04 pm

brian wrote:Trump's going to look mighty stupid if Congress somehow unfucks itself and manages to pass a bi-partisan DREAM Act bill. Part of me wonders if it might just happen with some Republican legislators just to spite him (though it will likely help some of them in their re-election bids).

Defending illegal immigrants isn't the hill Republicans will choose to battle Trump on.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:47 pm

I came up with a great slogan for Trump's presidency thus far. Would you guys like to hear it?

Of course you would.

<Drumrolllll...>

"If you fail to learn from history, expect it to retweet itself."

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:07 pm

Jerloma wrote:I came up with a great slogan for Trump's presidency thus far. Would you guys like to hear it?

Of course you would.

<Drumrolllll...>

"If you fail to learn from history, expect it to retweet itself."

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:41 pm

I can't see that. Has someone already come up with this?

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:46 pm

No. Literally no one. Good job with your original thought!

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:39 am

I'm only about halfway through, as it's a long read, but I'm going to post the link because everything Coates writes on race is a must-read. Even if you don't agree with everything, and I need to think over some of what's in here, his arguments are always powerful.

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/537909/

ETA: here's a central part of Coates' thesis that will likely get a lot of discussion, at least among the left:

That challenge of differentiation has largely been ignored. Instead, an imagined white working class remains central to our politics and to our cultural understanding of those politics, not simply when it comes to addressing broad economic issues but also when it comes to addressing racism. At its most sympathetic, this belief holds that most Americans—regardless of race—are exploited by an unfettered capitalist economy. The key, then, is to address those broader patterns that afflict the masses of all races; the people who suffer from those patterns more than others (blacks, for instance) will benefit disproportionately from that which benefits everyone. “These days, what ails working-class and middle-class blacks and Latinos is not fundamentally different from what ails their white counterparts,” Senator Barack Obama wrote in 2006:

"Downsizing, outsourcing, automation, wage stagnation, the dismantling of employer-based health-care and pension plans, and schools that fail to teach young people the skills they need to compete in a global economy."

Obama allowed that “blacks in particular have been vulnerable to these trends”—but less because of racism than for reasons of geography and job-sector distribution. This notion—raceless antiracism—marks the modern left, from the New Democrat Bill Clinton to the socialist Bernie Sanders. Few national liberal politicians have shown any recognition that there is something systemic and particular in the relationship between black people and their country that might require specific policy solutions.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:55 am

Started, but didn't finish, Between the World and Me this summer. Need to go back and finish it.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:32 am

govmentchedda wrote:Started, but didn't finish, Between the World and Me this summer. Need to go back and finish it.

That book and The Beautiful Struggle are both excellent. Coates' perspective on race issues is invaluable. He grew up in a rough neighborhood in West Baltimore so his life experiences are so different from virtually every other prominent political writer.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:01 am

Joe K wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:Started, but didn't finish, Between the World and Me this summer. Need to go back and finish it.

That book and The Beautiful Struggle are both excellent. Coates' perspective on race issues is invaluable. He grew up in a rough neighborhood in West Baltimore so his life experiences are so different from virtually every other prominent political writer.

Coates' next book is called "We were 8 years in power" is an interesting title. Do you think that Blacks identifying Obama as their president and Trump as not their president a mistake?

Post by **brian** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:04 am

degenerasian wrote:
Joe K wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:Started, but didn't finish, Between the World and Me this summer. Need to go back and finish it.

That book and The Beautiful Struggle are both excellent. Coates' perspective on race issues is invaluable. He grew up in a rough neighborhood in West Baltimore so his life experiences are so different from virtually every other prominent political writer.

Coates' next book is called "We were 8 years in power" is an interesting title. Do you think that Blacks identifying Obama as their president and Trump as not their president a mistake?

No.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:24 am

degenerasian wrote:Coates' next book is called "We were 8 years in power" is an interesting title. Do you think that Blacks identifying Obama as their president and Trump as not their president a mistake?

If Canada had a history of enslaving asians, and then there was an asian president and then the next president was explicitly anti-asian and elected on a partially anti-asian platform ...

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:38 am

mister d wrote:
degenerasian wrote:Coates' next book is called "We were 8 years in power" is an interesting title. Do you think that Blacks identifying Obama as their president and Trump as not their president a mistake?

If Canada had a history of enslaving asians, and then there was an asian president and then the next president was explicitly anti-asian and elected on a partially anti-asian platform ...

That's a tough one. Asians have their own history and hatred for each other. For example I would not care at all about a Japanese politician. So you'd have to be more specific.

Asians also aren't really political. There's never an prominent Asian mayor, premier, member of parliament, member of legislature etc...
I can't think of any in the States either. a few Senators maybe?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:47 am

And the whole slavery thing.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:05 pm

Inouye and Mineta right off the top of my dome.

And there are a BUNCH of folks that are half-asian... Like Tammy Duckworth is half-Thai or something like that.

Also depends on how you define Asian. Like, think Bobby Jindal.

I am picturing a couple of governors that aren't from Hawaii... Pretty sure Washington had an Asian at the helm recently. Might have been a SEA mayor.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:39 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:Inouye and Mineta right off the top of my dome.

And there are a BUNCH of folks that are half-asian... Like Tammy Duckworth is half-Thai or something like that.

Also depends on how you define Asian. Like, think Bobby Jindal.

I am picturing a couple of governors that aren't from Hawaii... Pretty sure Washington had an Asian at the helm recently. Might have been a SEA mayor.

Norm Mineta is a legend around here.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:42 pm

degenerasian wrote:Asians also aren't really political. There's never an prominent Asian mayor, premier, member of parliament, member of legislature etc...
I can't think of any in the States either. a few Senators maybe?

That's true. In Canada there's been a lot of South Asians in government (especially in BC and southern Ontario, but very few east Asians. Strange...

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:53 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:I am picturing a couple of governors that aren't from Hawaii... Pretty sure Washington had an Asian at the helm recently. Might have been a SEA mayor.

Gary Locke...WA governor 97-05. Was also the Sec'y of Commerce and then Ambassador to China under Obama.

Total policy wonk nerd. But he did show up on Almost Live (local version of an SNL-type sketch show) with Presidents of The United States of America.

https://youtu.be/PF7Kk-VkfZM

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:59 pm

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV74glYFXaV/