Trump Administration Meltdown Thread...

[DaveInSeattle]

This is cute:



So let me get this logic. Muslim registry good. Gun registry bad.

At some point liberals are going to realize there's a 2nd Amendment to combat this bullshit. And I hope that when they do recognize this, they thank the NRA for their tireless efforts in keeping the right protected.

Armed insurrection? Really? C'mon...be realistic.

[sancarlos]

The Obama Administration Meltdown Thread goes 12 pages and has 475 posts.

I figure this thread will surpass those totals before Trump even gets sworn in.

[Keg]

At some point liberals are going to realize there's a 2nd Amendment to combat this bullshit. And I hope that when they do recognize this, they thank the NRA for their tireless efforts in keeping the right protected.

Except that as soon as it appears that liberals are arming themselves, the NRA will find an excuse to sit back and let it happen.

Look at the NRA's history - they used to be in favor of gun control. That was because it was black people who were arming themselves.

Stop and frisk doesn't seem to bother the NRA as much as I thought it would.

[The Sybian]

At some point liberals are going to realize there's a 2nd Amendment to combat this bullshit. And I hope that when they do recognize this, they thank the NRA for their tireless efforts in keeping the right protected.

Except that as soon as it appears that liberals are arming themselves, the NRA will find an excuse to sit back and let it happen.

Look at the NRA's history - they used to be in favor of gun control. That was because it was black people who were arming themselves.

Stop and frisk doesn't seem to bother the NRA as much as I thought it would.

White people don't get stopped and frisked.

[Johnnie]

This is cute:



So let me get this logic. Muslim registry good. Gun registry bad.

At some point liberals are going to realize there's a 2nd Amendment to combat this bullshit. And I hope that when they do recognize this, they thank the NRA for their tireless efforts in keeping the right protected.

Armed insurrection? Really? C'mon...be realistic.

Self defense, actually. All the shit that crazy gun nut types get loud about when a democrat is in power. You know, them and their tyrannical government and all. I'm saying that this one has the potential to actually be one.

Whether that goes full on civil war, I doubt it. But we've militarized local police forces and they show up for peaceful protests dealing with civil rights. Just wait until it intensifies.

[mister d]

This is my biggest *new* fear under Trump. He validates and encourages the us versus them mentality and everything goes completely to shit.

[Steve of phpBB]

This is my biggest *new* fear under Trump. He validates and encourages the us versus them mentality and everything goes completely to shit.

And just wait until there is a "terrorist" attack like the one in San Bernardino.

[Nonlinear FC]

Let me run this scenario out there:

It is a widely held belief that Russia's intelligence agency was behind 4 bombings that were blamed on Chechen separatists. EDIT: The bombings occurred in Moscow and a few other Russian cities, to be clear... Maximum panic and impact on the rest of the populace.

These attacks were used as the excuse for a brutal crackdown in the region, and more importantly placed Putin in the position of acting President and was used as a means to pretty drastically consolidate control of the government on a lot of fronts. A number of elected officials and journalists who have questioned who was behind the bombings have turned up dead in recent years. I mean, more specifically, politicians and journalists with very concrete evidence of intelligence agency being behind the bombings have been assassinated.

When 9/11 happened, as we all know, we got the Patriot Act and a decade of a completely unnecessary war in the middle east. And that was with a president and administration that I think most of us would swap out whatever the fuck Trump is assembling.

More folks should know about what happened with Trump's BFF. Some kind of "attack" or "attacks" that occur if things go tits up in the next couple of years. Possibly some kind of combination of BLM-Far Left Extremists coordinating with ISIS / Radical Islamists.

I think you guys have "known" me for long enough to know I'm not some conspiracy theory alarmist nut job.

I am absolutely, legitimately worried about something like this happening under Trump.

[rass]

As long as someone manages to get in a wicked burn on Alex Jones before the internet is shutdown...

[DaveInSeattle]

I am absolutely, legitimately worried about something like this happening under Trump.

Well...thanks for sharing that happy little thought here. Where's the "Are you scared?" thread?

[P.D.X.]

He's staffing all posts as "rewards" to loyalty, with no experience considered. Any crisis is going to be grossly mismanaged/neglected, blamed on Obama, and then capitalized on.

[sancarlos]

[mister d]

Well...thanks for sharing that happy little thought here. Where's the "Are you scared?" thread?

I want to have one of my legs cut off and it be transplanted onto someone else so that person can help me kick myself right in the dick for ever starting that thread.

[rass]

mister d wants some dude's third leg on his dick

[mister d]

Upton tweet rattled you, huh?

[A_B]

Upton tweet rattled you, huh?

HE Doesnt even have a phone now!

[DC47]

He's staffing all posts as "rewards" to loyalty, with no experience considered. Any crisis is going to be grossly mismanaged/neglected, blamed on Obama, and then capitalized on.

Experience is now a necessity?

Hillary Clinton was appointed to be Secretary of State. Her vast experience was a short term as a Senator and working as a lawyer in Little Rock. Pretty much the same vast experience as the guy who appointed her.

Cheney and Rumsfeld were experienced. I wasn't wowed with the results of their reign.

John Bolton is experienced. I hope he doesn't get any kind of senior foreign policy position.

Newt Gingrich. I could go on.

[Johnnie]

Anyone else listen to Adam Carolla's podcast? It's great. There was the viral clip of him stating Trump would win from a podcast years ago. And then noted today on his podcast was page 1 of his book President Me. I actually have the book and took a pic:

[DC47]

[rass]

Worth waiting until the very end...

[Pruitt]

So Megyn Kelly "scolds" that jagoff by saying that talk of the Japanese internment camps is "what scares people."

Not of course the demonization and singling out and registering of a vulnerable minority group.

From the online encyclopedia of the National Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Nazi leaders began to make good on their pledge to persecute German Jews soon after their assumption of power. During the first six years of Hitler's dictatorship, from 1933 until the outbreak of war in 1939, Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives. Many of these were national laws that had been issued by the German administration and affected all Jews. But state, regional, and municipal officials, acting on their own initiatives, also promulgated a barrage of exclusionary decrees in their own communities. Thus, hundreds of individuals in all levels of government throughout the country were involved in the persecution of Jews as they conceived, discussed, drafted, adopted, enforced, and supported anti-Jewish legislation.

Once that registry is in place, bet your ass that troglodytes like Pence, or the Governor of Maine, or others will use further tightening of the screws for political advantage.

This truly is a stage in the death of a great nation. To hear this issue even being discussed is heartbreaking. Every member of a religion putr on a registry as if they are all convicted sex offenders...

[Joe K]

Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for Attorney General, was too racist to get confirmed as a federal judge 30 years ago. Among his greatest hits are saying that he thought the KKK was "okay until I found out they smoked pot." I already believed that federal Civil Rights enforcement would be non-existent during a Trump Presidency, but this pick eliminates any doubt.

[Joe K]

So Megyn Kelly "scolds" that jagoff by saying that talk of the Japanese internment camps is "what scares people."

Not of course the demonization and singling out and registering of a vulnerable minority group.

From the online encyclopedia of the National Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Nazi leaders began to make good on their pledge to persecute German Jews soon after their assumption of power. During the first six years of Hitler's dictatorship, from 1933 until the outbreak of war in 1939, Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives. Many of these were national laws that had been issued by the German administration and affected all Jews. But state, regional, and municipal officials, acting on their own initiatives, also promulgated a barrage of exclusionary decrees in their own communities. Thus, hundreds of individuals in all levels of government throughout the country were involved in the persecution of Jews as they conceived, discussed, drafted, adopted, enforced, and supported anti-Jewish legislation.

Once that registry is in place, bet your ass that troglodytes like Pence, or the Governor of Maine, or others will use further tightening of the screws for political advantage.

This truly is a stage in the death of a great nation. To hear this issue even being discussed is heartbreaking. Every member of a religion putr on a registry as if they are all convicted sex offenders...

That is a really good point about the inevitable flood of anti-Muslim legislation on the state and local level. There already were attempts to do so during the Obama administration, but it will likely accelerate now, with support from the federal executive branch. It really cannot be overstated the extent to which Flynn and Gaffney are vicious anti-Muslim bigots. Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick for CIA Director, has also offered some extreme anti-Islam rhetoric, including accusing American Islamic leaders as a whole as being "potentially complicit" in terrorist acts. The level of Islamophobic rhetoric in this country was already disgusting before Trump -- and was in some cases encouraged by "liberals" -- but it's really scary times now.

[Johnnie]

Jeff Sessions for AG.

Note from Reddit comments:

Sessions is pro-life and was one of 37 Senators to vote against funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Sessions has been an opponent of same-sex marriage and has earned a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group. He voted against the Matthew Shepard Act, which added acts of bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate-crimes law, Sessions voted in favor of advancing the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006. Sessions voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

Sessions has also said regarding the appointment of a gay Supreme Court justice, "I do not think that a person who acknowledges that they have gay tendencies is disqualified, per se, for the job" but "that would be a big concern that the American people might feel—might feel uneasy about that."

Sessions is against legalizing cannabis for either recreation or medicine. "I’m a big fan of the DEA", he said during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sessions was "heartbroken" and found "it beyond comprehension" when President Obama claimed that cannabis is not as dangerous as alcohol.

Ewww.

[EnochRoot]

You know...I guess this is as good a place as any to put this...

I made a decision earlier this week to dust off my appreciation for Dungeons & Dragons. I used to play when I was a kid (1980-1984), but then abruptly stopped once girls started paying attention to me. I'm doing this in hopes to submerge myself in characters, adventure building, game nights, miniature painting, etc. to consume my time and divert my frustrated passions. Call it a form of turn on, tune in, and dropping out.

Cuz I can't take this shit at the present rates of consumption.

[P.D.X.]

He's staffing all posts as "rewards" to loyalty, with no experience considered. Any crisis is going to be grossly mismanaged/neglected, blamed on Obama, and then capitalized on.

Experience is now a necessity?

Hillary Clinton was appointed to be Secretary of State. Her vast experience was a short term as a Senator and working as a lawyer in Little Rock. Pretty much the same vast experience as the guy who appointed her.

Cheney and Rumsfeld were experienced. I wasn't wowed with the results of their reign.

John Bolton is experienced. I hope he doesn't get any kind of senior foreign policy position.

Newt Gingrich. I could go on.

I don't know. None of your examples are quite to the degree as what appears with Trump — attempting to appoint family members and sycophants.

[DaveInSeattle]

Jeff Sessions....deemed too racist to be appointed a Judge, by his own party, in 1986, is now going to be in charge of the Civil Rights Division.

But, remember, Hillary and emails!

[Pruitt]

Jeff Sessions....deemed too racist to be appointed a Judge, by his own party, in 1986, is now going to be in charge of the Civil Rights Division.

But, remember, Hillary and emails!

Think that one smart thing the Trump team did was somehow get word out that more well known assholes like Ben Carson and Sarah Palin were rumored to be in the running for cabinet positions. So that when these truly dangerous men are appointed, the less well-informed people will be apt to shrug.

But remember - Whitewater!

[sancarlos]

I guess I'm happy that Gingrich, Giuliani, Palin, Bachmann aren't getting plum jobs, but they certainly aren't a cut below Sessions, Bannon, Flynn and the Trump kids.

Remember... Benghazi!

[Rex]

Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for Attorney General, was too racist to get confirmed as a federal judge 30 years ago. Among his greatest hits are saying that he thought the KKK was "okay until I found out they smoked pot." I already believed that federal Civil Rights enforcement would be non-existent during a Trump Presidency, but this pick eliminates any doubt.

Technically, this is not a meltdown--it's what he was elected to do. Maybe there should be an Official Trump Diligently Carries Out His Plan Thread.

[mister d]

Meltdown Re: Trump Administration Thread ...

[Steve of phpBB]

Does a $25 million fraud settlement count as a meltdown?

Remember, the media convinced voters this guy was more honest than Hillary.

[Pruitt]

It just gets worse and worse.

Look who got to hang out with Shinzo Abe in the fabulous New York White House...



The kapo and the Jewelry Pitchwoman turned Presidential advisor.

[Joe K]

Does a $25 million fraud settlement count as a meltdown?

Remember, the media convinced voters this guy was more honest than Hillary.

This post made be curious about the exit polling on voters' views of Trump, and it's pretty depressing (these numbers are all from CNN).

-63% of voters answered "No" to the question "is Donald Trump honest and trustworthy"? (Hillary's polling on this was also really bad but not quite as bad.)

-60% of voters answered "No" to the question "is Donald Trump qualified to be President"? (52% said Hillary was qualified)

-63% of voters answered "No" to the question "does Donald Trump have the temperament to be President"? (55% said Hillary did)

I know exit polls aren't always that accurate, but if these are even in the ballpark, it means that something like 20 million people voted for Trump despite finding him some combination of dishonest, unqualified, or lacking the temperament to be President. Tribalism and party loyalty are a powerful combination in this country.

[DC47]

First, there's likely quite a bit of self-presentation bias going on here. Many don't feel comfortable saying positive things about Trump's character.

Second, as bad as Trump is on all these factors, there is little gap between him and Clinton. This may be especially true if you throw out the highly committed Dem and Republican voters to get at the voters who decided the election in swing states.

Third, presented with two candidates with equivalently weak characters, many voters will highlight the policy differences. Trump clearly sold himself to a lot of middle and lower class people who weren't high on his character because they think he gives them a better chance to do better economically. Many believe globalization and immigration hurt them. Trump was clearly on the 'right' side of these issues from their point of view. The gap between the candidates was much bigger on this than the gap on personal traits.

[Joe K]

First, there's likely quite a bit of self-presentation bias going on here. Many don't feel comfortable saying positive things about Trump's character.

Second, as bad as Trump is on all these factors, there is little gap between him and Clinton. This may be especially true if you throw out the highly committed Dem and Republican voters to get at the voters who decided the election in swing states.

Third, presented with two candidates with equivalently weak characters, many voters will highlight the policy differences. Trump clearly sold himself to a lot of middle and lower class people who weren't high on his character because they think he gives them a better chance to do better economically. Many believe globalization and immigration hurt them. Trump was clearly on the 'right' side of these issues from their point of view. The gap between the candidates was much bigger on this than the gap on personal traits.

I agree with the point I bolded, even if we could quibble on how big the gap on character/personal traits was. When I watched the debates and heard Clinton's campaign ads (which admittedly weren't in heavy rotation here), I thought she made a mistake by overemphasizing Trump's negative characteristics and underemphasizing her own economic proposals. There just never seemed to be an appreciation that many communities and individuals never have recovered from globalization and/or the Great Recession. And she also should have known from her own husband's election and re-election* that voters will vote for a candidate whose character they question if they think that candidate will be better for the economy. Hopefully the Democratic party learns from this political catastrophe and puts forward candidates in 2020 who can offer something other than standard Clintonian neoliberalism.

*It wasn't just a partisan GOP thing with WJC -- I remember back in 1992 hearing loyal Democrats say they wouldn't vote for him in the primary because of his womanizing.

[Brontoburglar]

First, there's likely quite a bit of self-presentation bias going on here. Many don't feel comfortable saying positive things about Trump's character.

because what positive is there to say

[Pruitt]

God help us.

[brian]

An unbelievable fucking moron.

[Nonlinear FC]

What I love about this is that he's in possibly the most hostile place on the PLANET and he expects... What? People are just going to ignore his homophobic ass in their midst? This is actually a perfect example of how these people think. Minorities and those who support them and equality are lesser thans... There's no possibility of these lesser thans speaking up in their presence.

These assholes have no idea how much we've ignored for 8 years. Every single day they are going to have to read about what a shitshow they've invited into the White House. They are going to lose the god damn minds.