In the season four finale of The West Wing, terrorists kidnap the president's daughter. President Bartlett, played by Martin Sheen, invokes section three of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, temporarily ceding the presidency to the speaker of the House (there is no vice president). Bartlett (correctly) believes he is incapable of making decisions in the best interest of the country while his daughter is being held hostage.
Now imagine that the president has dozens of unguarded children scattered around the globe, susceptible to kidnapping, murder and extortion. Could any decision he makes ever be considered in the best interests of the country, when his babies are constantly under threat?
That scenario will come to pass when Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January. The targets won't be Trump's actual children, but his office buildings, golf courses, hotels and resorts, which terrorism experts call "soft targets." I alluded to this problem in an earlier post, and now security analysts are voicing the same concerns.
Trump has now acknowledged as much, and claims that he'll be separating himself from "business operations" to avoid conflicts of interest. This is totally bogus. He will still own the properties. He will still derive income from them. They will still have his name on them. He will still know and communicate with the cronies who will control them. They will still be his babies.
This vast network of mostly unprofitable properties (i.e., tax dodges) will be a drag on Trump's presidency, making him vulnerable to terrorism, bribery, blackmail and extortion. His ego will never allow him to truly let go of his babies.
He could, of course, ameliorate these concerns by actually selling these properties on the condition that they be renamed, and by releasing all his tax returns from the last 20 years so that we can see that he really has divested himself of these conflicts of interest. But what are the odds he'll do that?
After the first couple of terrorist attacks on Trump properties questions will arise about whether Trump is caving in to terrorist demands. Will the vast majority of Republicans in congress that Trump insulted throughout the election have the balls to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment and install their dream guy Mike Pence as president?
Donald Trump's paranoia is going to make Dick Nixon look like Pollyanna.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Memo To Media: Shut the Fuck Up About Rural White Voters
At this point, the media really needs to shut the fuck up about rural white voters. Let's see...some people have lost their jobs because of globalization (along with a steadfast refusal to retrain in a different field) and technology versus hundreds of years of systemic oppression which still continues to this day.
If I were a person of color in the US today, I'd be way past sick over this hyper obsession with people who have honestly enjoyed privilege their entire lives and refuse to accept it.
If I were a person of color in the US today, I'd be way past sick over this hyper obsession with people who have honestly enjoyed privilege their entire lives and refuse to accept it.
Not Compromised
The Obama administration effectively threw cold water on the idea that the Russians were involved in hacking voting machines in the 2016 election.
In its statement, the administration said, “The Kremlin probably expected that publicity surrounding the disclosures that followed the Russian government-directed compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, would raise questions about the integrity of the election process that could have undermined the legitimacy of the president-elect.”
I think it's a good idea to do a recount in the states where the margin was so close but at this point, I do not think the election was rigged or hacked. Donald Trump won the electoral college.
Of course, the fact that he lost the popular vote by over 2,000,000 votes is a whole other story. At what point does the electoral college become absurd?
In its statement, the administration said, “The Kremlin probably expected that publicity surrounding the disclosures that followed the Russian government-directed compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, would raise questions about the integrity of the election process that could have undermined the legitimacy of the president-elect.”
I think it's a good idea to do a recount in the states where the margin was so close but at this point, I do not think the election was rigged or hacked. Donald Trump won the electoral college.
Of course, the fact that he lost the popular vote by over 2,000,000 votes is a whole other story. At what point does the electoral college become absurd?
Friday, November 25, 2016
Own It, Bitches
Being Liberal has asked Trump voters to own their vote.
It is your right to vote for an extremist racist, sexist, ableist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic candidate unconcerned with consent, let alone reproductive rights. It is your right to vote for someone who literally built a campaign on a "great wall" and a promise to profile people based on their religion. It is your right to vote for a candidate who actively incites violence and got the loudest cheers at his rallies for vowing to "carpet bomb" other countries (and then to say that he does not want war). It is your right to cite "due process" on multiple sexual assault and rape charges for your candidate and vote for him anyway.
It is psychological warfare/gaslighting to do that and then say that you do not intend to silence those who disagreed, those who will be affected by the radical changes you signed on for.
Amen!
Of course, being the adolescents that they are, they won't take responsibility for it.
It is your right to vote for an extremist racist, sexist, ableist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic candidate unconcerned with consent, let alone reproductive rights. It is your right to vote for someone who literally built a campaign on a "great wall" and a promise to profile people based on their religion. It is your right to vote for a candidate who actively incites violence and got the loudest cheers at his rallies for vowing to "carpet bomb" other countries (and then to say that he does not want war). It is your right to cite "due process" on multiple sexual assault and rape charges for your candidate and vote for him anyway.
It is psychological warfare/gaslighting to do that and then say that you do not intend to silence those who disagreed, those who will be affected by the radical changes you signed on for.
Amen!
Of course, being the adolescents that they are, they won't take responsibility for it.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Trump's Unspoken Deal for Not Prosecuting Clinton
Donald Trump and his mouthpieces have now said that he won't call for Hillary Clinton to be prosecuted for the phony email server and Clinton Foundation scandals.
Trump is making the "I'm such a nice guy" excuse for stopping the persecution: “It’s just not something that I feel very strongly about. I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.”
Rush Limbaugh is making the "It's just not done" excuse: “I never expected Trump to actually prosecute her. And the reason is…I’m falling back on what some of the standard protocols for politics are after victory and this just, we in America do not prosecute defeated political enemies...If he did it, it was going to be icing on the cake for me. But I never expected him to do it.”
In other words, Limbaugh knew Trump was just blowing smoke when he said that. Many of Trump's supporters seem to believe this about his other promises as well: the ban on Muslims, the deportation of immigrants, draining the swamp, firing lobbyists, starting a trade war, bringing back jobs, and on and on. It was all just red meat to fire up the crowds.
Trump's more delusional supporters are fervently hoping that Trump is lying now rather than lying back then: by saying he'll stop persecuting Clinton, Trump will give Obama a false sense of security so that he doesn't preemptively pardon Clinton before he leaves office. That's what Republicans Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush did when they preemptively pardoned Dick Nixon and the Iran-Contra conspirators. They nobly pardoned their cronies to "heal the nation."
But the most logical reason Trump won't push this is that there's no chance that it would actually result in a conviction: after literally years of congressional and FBI investigations into the email server, Benghazi and the Clinton Foundation, it's obvious that there's nothing there. Trump was just throwing out tired, disproved allegations to fire up the know-nothings at his rallies, giving them something mindless to chant and rant about.
It is these nitwits who are outraged that Trump is breaking his promise to "trump the bitch."
But the real reason he's calling off the dogs is that Trump is making an unspoken deal with the Democrats. And that has to do with Trump's own foundation.
The Clinton Foundation is a legitimate charity that has served tens of millions of the poorest people in the world, helping to prevent malaria and unwanted pregnancies, treat HIV, pneumonia and diarrhea, as well as sponsor midwife and childhood nutrition programs. It does real charity work.
The Donald J. Trump Foundation, however, doesn't do anything of the sort. Trump doesn't even contribute to it. It's basically a slush fund that Trump uses to buy things like a portrait of himself and a Tim Tebow helmet. He also used the foundation's money -- donated by other people -- to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal settlements incurred by his businesses.
Going after the Clinton Foundation would almost certainly invite retaliatory investigations into the Trump Foundation, which is clearly just a money-laundering and tax avoidance scheme. The most damning evidence is the fact that Trump's foundation paid an IRS fine for making an illegal $25,000 donation to Pam Bondi's reelection campaign for the attorney general of Florida.
This looks like a quid pro quo: it appears that in exchange for the donation and a fund raiser Trump hosted that raised $150K for her campaign, Bondi dropped the Florida Trump University fraud investigation. Just last week Trump settled three other fraud cases for $25 million. Buying Bondi off for $25K probably saved Trump another $10 or $20 million. What an investment!
This is why just yesterday Trump was forced to announce that foundation money wouldn't be used to pay off the $25 million fraud settlement.
No, by letting Clinton off the hook Trump is clearly angling to pressure Democratic attorneys general in New York and California to ease up on the Trump Foundation. He can always change his mind and go after Clinton if the Democrats don't play ball.
On the other hand, investigations into the Trump Foundation could be a blessing in disguise for Republicans. A lot of them still despise Trump, and would love to see him go down. They may quietly urge New York A.G. Eric Schneiderman to go ahead with his investigation. Then they can use whatever Schneiderman digs up at Trump's impeachment trial.
And then they can install the man they really want to be president: Mike Pence.
Trump is making the "I'm such a nice guy" excuse for stopping the persecution: “It’s just not something that I feel very strongly about. I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.”
Rush Limbaugh is making the "It's just not done" excuse: “I never expected Trump to actually prosecute her. And the reason is…I’m falling back on what some of the standard protocols for politics are after victory and this just, we in America do not prosecute defeated political enemies...If he did it, it was going to be icing on the cake for me. But I never expected him to do it.”
In other words, Limbaugh knew Trump was just blowing smoke when he said that. Many of Trump's supporters seem to believe this about his other promises as well: the ban on Muslims, the deportation of immigrants, draining the swamp, firing lobbyists, starting a trade war, bringing back jobs, and on and on. It was all just red meat to fire up the crowds.
Trump's more delusional supporters are fervently hoping that Trump is lying now rather than lying back then: by saying he'll stop persecuting Clinton, Trump will give Obama a false sense of security so that he doesn't preemptively pardon Clinton before he leaves office. That's what Republicans Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush did when they preemptively pardoned Dick Nixon and the Iran-Contra conspirators. They nobly pardoned their cronies to "heal the nation."
But the most logical reason Trump won't push this is that there's no chance that it would actually result in a conviction: after literally years of congressional and FBI investigations into the email server, Benghazi and the Clinton Foundation, it's obvious that there's nothing there. Trump was just throwing out tired, disproved allegations to fire up the know-nothings at his rallies, giving them something mindless to chant and rant about.
It is these nitwits who are outraged that Trump is breaking his promise to "trump the bitch."
But the real reason he's calling off the dogs is that Trump is making an unspoken deal with the Democrats. And that has to do with Trump's own foundation.
The Clinton Foundation is a legitimate charity that has served tens of millions of the poorest people in the world, helping to prevent malaria and unwanted pregnancies, treat HIV, pneumonia and diarrhea, as well as sponsor midwife and childhood nutrition programs. It does real charity work.
The Donald J. Trump Foundation, however, doesn't do anything of the sort. Trump doesn't even contribute to it. It's basically a slush fund that Trump uses to buy things like a portrait of himself and a Tim Tebow helmet. He also used the foundation's money -- donated by other people -- to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal settlements incurred by his businesses.
Going after the Clinton Foundation would almost certainly invite retaliatory investigations into the Trump Foundation, which is clearly just a money-laundering and tax avoidance scheme. The most damning evidence is the fact that Trump's foundation paid an IRS fine for making an illegal $25,000 donation to Pam Bondi's reelection campaign for the attorney general of Florida.
This looks like a quid pro quo: it appears that in exchange for the donation and a fund raiser Trump hosted that raised $150K for her campaign, Bondi dropped the Florida Trump University fraud investigation. Just last week Trump settled three other fraud cases for $25 million. Buying Bondi off for $25K probably saved Trump another $10 or $20 million. What an investment!
This is why just yesterday Trump was forced to announce that foundation money wouldn't be used to pay off the $25 million fraud settlement.
No, by letting Clinton off the hook Trump is clearly angling to pressure Democratic attorneys general in New York and California to ease up on the Trump Foundation. He can always change his mind and go after Clinton if the Democrats don't play ball.
On the other hand, investigations into the Trump Foundation could be a blessing in disguise for Republicans. A lot of them still despise Trump, and would love to see him go down. They may quietly urge New York A.G. Eric Schneiderman to go ahead with his investigation. Then they can use whatever Schneiderman digs up at Trump's impeachment trial.
And then they can install the man they really want to be president: Mike Pence.
Heil Trump!
Tell me again about how references to Nazis and Trump supporters is overblown, Godwin's law, nonsense and just like what liberals did with Bush...
And the go fuck yourself. It's morons like you that have helped shit like this happen over and over again throughout history...
Trump's Businesses Make Him Vulnerable to Extortion
One of the biggest concerns over Donald Trump's presidency has been his conflicts of interest and the potential for influence peddling.
Republicans tried to cast Hillary Clinton as corrupt for talking to foreign diplomats whose countries had made donations to the Clinton Foundation, which does things like fight malaria in poor countries.
With Trump it'll be much worse: foreigners are reportedly flocking to the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC to curry favor with the president-elect. When they rent rooms at Trump hotels, play golf at Trump golf courses, buy jewelry from Trump's daughter, they're not helping cure malaria. They're putting money directly into Trump's pockets.
This is what bribery looks like in the age of Trump: naked money grubbing.
Trump was "too busy" preparing to assume the presidency to defend himself in court against the Trump University fraud suits, so he settled for $25 million. This was after he claimed he would never settle because only losers settle.
Trump, however, had plenty of time to meet with business partners from India and Nigel Farage to lobby against wind turbines near his golf courses in Britain. And ask the Argentinian president for a building permit for an office tower in Buenos Aires.
Trump argues that everyone knew that he owned these properties. So it's okay that foreigners would be forking over millions of dollars to Trump businesses to get on his good side.
But there's a darker side to this: Trump is vulnerable to threats against his business interests. Any country could threaten to shut down his businesses unless they get the special treatment from the United States that they want. Trump would be hard-pressed to retaliate diplomatically against such threats because it would underline how vulnerable he is to blackmail.
Worse, criminal gangs have a lot more power over Trump than over past presidents. Mexican drug lords could threaten to burn down a few of his hotels unless he calls off the DEA. Unlike a country, he can't sanction them diplomatically. And once he buckled under these threats, they'd have him forever, pulling him in deeper and deeper by threatening to expose the deal.
The worst, though, is how a Trump presidency empowers and encourages terrorists.
His businesses depend on people having free and easy access. But Trump has already cost high-end restaurants and stores in and near Trump Tower a lot of business due to beefed-up security. Every time he's in residence they shut down Fifth Avenue. Anyone going into the building is searched. Wherever Trump goes, the Secret Service will follow, and that means everyone will be hassled endlessly.
That can't be good for business.
In the past terrorists have targeted U.S. embassies and consulates: the Iranians took over the U.S. embassy in 1979, Al Qaeda bombed our embassies in Africa, and then there was Benghazi. Terrorists targeted the World Trade Center in New York twice.
With Trump the terrorists' job will get a whole lot easier.
Trump's (unprofitable) real estate holdings make him extremely vulnerable to terrorist extortion. Hotels, golf courses and office buildings are soft targets: not only do they have to accommodate lots of customers and visitors who want easy access, they also employ a lot of poorly-paid staff.
How will Trump be able to ensure guests at his properties across the world that every minimum-wage janitor, security guard, maid, busboy and masseuse who has total access to a Trump property has been totally vetted and isn't a member of ISIS?
Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, where he'll be spending Thanksgiving, hires foreigners from countries like Romania in preference to Americans. How can Trump be sure that his Romanian masseuse isn't really a Moldovan of Russian extraction planted by the Russian FSB, or a Chechen ISIS sympathizer? How can he reliably vet hundreds of employees from former Soviet bloc countries?
Terrorists won't have to fight their way past American marines to invade the walled compounds of our embassies. They can waltz into the lobby of any Trump hotel or office building with a machine gun and start shooting. They can hold the new president hostage with a bombing at a Trump resort, or just by doing doughnuts on the greens at his golf courses.
How many of the ultra-wealthy crowd are going to patronize Trump businesses after a few dozen of them are gunned down by radical Islamic terrorists?
With all these vulnerable interests worldwide Trump is totally exposed to blackmail by anyone with an axe to grind. All they need to do is phone in a threat against a Trump property and suddenly they have the ear of the president.
Trump's businesses aren't just conflicts of interest and fetid cesspools of bribery. They are pressure points that enemies of the United States can use to force the new president into decisions that benefit him personally, but aren't in the best interests of the United States of America.
How will we know whether anything Trump does is for the good of the American people, or is part of some scam to profit him or protect one of his interests?
Given Trump's history of deal-making and bankruptcies that make him rich and screwed everyone else involved, the answer is already clear.
Republicans tried to cast Hillary Clinton as corrupt for talking to foreign diplomats whose countries had made donations to the Clinton Foundation, which does things like fight malaria in poor countries.
With Trump it'll be much worse: foreigners are reportedly flocking to the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC to curry favor with the president-elect. When they rent rooms at Trump hotels, play golf at Trump golf courses, buy jewelry from Trump's daughter, they're not helping cure malaria. They're putting money directly into Trump's pockets.
This is what bribery looks like in the age of Trump: naked money grubbing.
Trump was "too busy" preparing to assume the presidency to defend himself in court against the Trump University fraud suits, so he settled for $25 million. This was after he claimed he would never settle because only losers settle.
Trump, however, had plenty of time to meet with business partners from India and Nigel Farage to lobby against wind turbines near his golf courses in Britain. And ask the Argentinian president for a building permit for an office tower in Buenos Aires.
Trump argues that everyone knew that he owned these properties. So it's okay that foreigners would be forking over millions of dollars to Trump businesses to get on his good side.
But there's a darker side to this: Trump is vulnerable to threats against his business interests. Any country could threaten to shut down his businesses unless they get the special treatment from the United States that they want. Trump would be hard-pressed to retaliate diplomatically against such threats because it would underline how vulnerable he is to blackmail.
Worse, criminal gangs have a lot more power over Trump than over past presidents. Mexican drug lords could threaten to burn down a few of his hotels unless he calls off the DEA. Unlike a country, he can't sanction them diplomatically. And once he buckled under these threats, they'd have him forever, pulling him in deeper and deeper by threatening to expose the deal.
The worst, though, is how a Trump presidency empowers and encourages terrorists.
His businesses depend on people having free and easy access. But Trump has already cost high-end restaurants and stores in and near Trump Tower a lot of business due to beefed-up security. Every time he's in residence they shut down Fifth Avenue. Anyone going into the building is searched. Wherever Trump goes, the Secret Service will follow, and that means everyone will be hassled endlessly.
That can't be good for business.
In the past terrorists have targeted U.S. embassies and consulates: the Iranians took over the U.S. embassy in 1979, Al Qaeda bombed our embassies in Africa, and then there was Benghazi. Terrorists targeted the World Trade Center in New York twice.
With Trump the terrorists' job will get a whole lot easier.
Trump's (unprofitable) real estate holdings make him extremely vulnerable to terrorist extortion. Hotels, golf courses and office buildings are soft targets: not only do they have to accommodate lots of customers and visitors who want easy access, they also employ a lot of poorly-paid staff.
How will Trump be able to ensure guests at his properties across the world that every minimum-wage janitor, security guard, maid, busboy and masseuse who has total access to a Trump property has been totally vetted and isn't a member of ISIS?
Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, where he'll be spending Thanksgiving, hires foreigners from countries like Romania in preference to Americans. How can Trump be sure that his Romanian masseuse isn't really a Moldovan of Russian extraction planted by the Russian FSB, or a Chechen ISIS sympathizer? How can he reliably vet hundreds of employees from former Soviet bloc countries?
Terrorists won't have to fight their way past American marines to invade the walled compounds of our embassies. They can waltz into the lobby of any Trump hotel or office building with a machine gun and start shooting. They can hold the new president hostage with a bombing at a Trump resort, or just by doing doughnuts on the greens at his golf courses.
How many of the ultra-wealthy crowd are going to patronize Trump businesses after a few dozen of them are gunned down by radical Islamic terrorists?
With all these vulnerable interests worldwide Trump is totally exposed to blackmail by anyone with an axe to grind. All they need to do is phone in a threat against a Trump property and suddenly they have the ear of the president.
Trump's businesses aren't just conflicts of interest and fetid cesspools of bribery. They are pressure points that enemies of the United States can use to force the new president into decisions that benefit him personally, but aren't in the best interests of the United States of America.
How will we know whether anything Trump does is for the good of the American people, or is part of some scam to profit him or protect one of his interests?
Given Trump's history of deal-making and bankruptcies that make him rich and screwed everyone else involved, the answer is already clear.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
An Optimistic Note
I have to admit that I've been pretty bummed since Donald Trump won the presidency. How can someone with such an ugly personality be representing our country? Further, consider how he would do, minus his celebrity, if he was applying for a job. His background check? Fail, due to poor credit and the bankruptcies. And most companies look at social media activity which would be a giant red flag. The video of him bragging about sexual assault would be an automatic disqualifier.
Yet I am optimistic about a couple of things. With the Republicans controlling all three branches of government, they are going to be held accountable for what they do. No more bitching about the Democrats ruining everything. Sure, they will try to blame the liberal media but they are the ones running the show so they have to do a good job. No doubt they will try to dodge the responsibility but the people that voted them in likely won't let them.
It's also nice to see that Trump is nominating old guard Republicans, going back on his promise to "drain the swamp," to key posts in his administration. Bannon by himself can likely be handled. Thankfully, there won't be a cabinet filled with Bannons, although ol' Steve-O is also going to see just how fun it is to be the responsible one. I'm going to be very interested to see a right wing blogger try to spin away mistakes.
If Trump ends up nominating Mitt Romney as Secretary of State, that would be his first good move. It would also be a sign that his cozying up to Russia was all an act. We'll see...
Yet I am optimistic about a couple of things. With the Republicans controlling all three branches of government, they are going to be held accountable for what they do. No more bitching about the Democrats ruining everything. Sure, they will try to blame the liberal media but they are the ones running the show so they have to do a good job. No doubt they will try to dodge the responsibility but the people that voted them in likely won't let them.
It's also nice to see that Trump is nominating old guard Republicans, going back on his promise to "drain the swamp," to key posts in his administration. Bannon by himself can likely be handled. Thankfully, there won't be a cabinet filled with Bannons, although ol' Steve-O is also going to see just how fun it is to be the responsible one. I'm going to be very interested to see a right wing blogger try to spin away mistakes.
If Trump ends up nominating Mitt Romney as Secretary of State, that would be his first good move. It would also be a sign that his cozying up to Russia was all an act. We'll see...
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Outrage Over Outrage
I've been very amused at just how clueless conservatives have been over the protests and anger over the election of Donald Trump. How dare they question his racist statements and stated policy paths? He doesn't really mean those things so why should people be upset? Silly, silly liberals...
Even more hilarious is how fucking dense they over what exactly happens when leaders use scapegoats to cement nationalistic rule. Surely they can't be so ignorant to have forgotten about what happened in Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia in the early 20th century. Getting angry over people (Muslims, Hispanics) being naturally worried that they are now targets of either civilian or government oppression makes you more than stupid.
It makes you a dick.
In fact, it makes you like these guys...
Oh, and by the way, Godwin's law no longer applies in this situation. Reality is not the internet. And when someone openly advocates for the registration of an ethnicity or religion, it's time to recognize it for what it is.
Fascism.
Even more hilarious is how fucking dense they over what exactly happens when leaders use scapegoats to cement nationalistic rule. Surely they can't be so ignorant to have forgotten about what happened in Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia in the early 20th century. Getting angry over people (Muslims, Hispanics) being naturally worried that they are now targets of either civilian or government oppression makes you more than stupid.
It makes you a dick.
In fact, it makes you like these guys...
Oh, and by the way, Godwin's law no longer applies in this situation. Reality is not the internet. And when someone openly advocates for the registration of an ethnicity or religion, it's time to recognize it for what it is.
Fascism.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Ivanka Babysits Trump at Meeting with Japanese Prime Minister
Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka attended the meeting with Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan.
The New York Times headline says her presence "raises questions:"
WASHINGTON — The potential for conflicts of interest between President-elect Donald J. Trump and his family’s business ventures emerged again Thursday evening, when a photograph was distributed that showed his daughter Ivanka at a meeting between Mr. Trump and the prime minister of Japan.Questions like, was she there to make sure he didn't talking about pussy-grabbing? Or start yakking about how Japan is killing us?
News reporters were not allowed to attend the session, Mr. Trump’s first with a foreign head of state, and no summary was provided about what was discussed. A separate photograph was distributed — press photographers were not allowed to cover the event — showing that Jared Kushner, Ms. Trump’s husband, was present for at least part of the gathering.
Or was she there just to hawk the $11,000 bangle from her jewelry line?
The Trump administration is shaping up to be the most ignorant, uninformed, incompetent, corrupt and nepotistic in history.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Hi. My Name is Dennis Carstens. And I am 14 years old...
The liberal elites finally got their walking papers
I voted for Donald Trump because I am one of the millions who are tired of the liberal elites — the politicians, academics, media people and self-absorbed celebrities constantly telling me that they know what is best for me and everyone else. Now they are practically hysterical in their shock at finding out that so many of us don't see the world through their smug eyes. How could we not see the world the way they do? What is wrong with us? Actually, nothing. We simply are tired of you.
You know what I'm tired of, Dennis? People who are so fucking adolescent that they refuse to reflect and think that maybe there are people out there who know more than they do...
It's not really very difficult.
My name is Mark Ward. And I know that there are people out there who are smarter and more accomplished than I am. Some are leaders in the public sector and some are leaders in the private sector. I support them in their endeavors and trust them to do the right thing, most of the time.
See how easy that is?
And I really don't feel like I've lost any sort of control of my life:)
I voted for Donald Trump because I am one of the millions who are tired of the liberal elites — the politicians, academics, media people and self-absorbed celebrities constantly telling me that they know what is best for me and everyone else. Now they are practically hysterical in their shock at finding out that so many of us don't see the world through their smug eyes. How could we not see the world the way they do? What is wrong with us? Actually, nothing. We simply are tired of you.
You know what I'm tired of, Dennis? People who are so fucking adolescent that they refuse to reflect and think that maybe there are people out there who know more than they do...
It's not really very difficult.
My name is Mark Ward. And I know that there are people out there who are smarter and more accomplished than I am. Some are leaders in the public sector and some are leaders in the private sector. I support them in their endeavors and trust them to do the right thing, most of the time.
See how easy that is?
And I really don't feel like I've lost any sort of control of my life:)
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Communists Past and Present
The Times has a great piece up about Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's new Chief Strategist. Everyone knows how much of a racist asshole the guy is but what I can't figure out is why right wing bloggers like him so much. After all, he said this:
I’m a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.
Wow. Just...wow...I made the quote red on purpose so the right wing bloggers and commenters that I know still read this site every day have a hurt head the rest of the day. Seriously. How the fuck does this guy rate so high with the alt right? Aren't they the ones who foam at the mouth about how liberals are turning us into Russia?
It seems like they are the ones that have some bromance issues with communists, both past and present!
I’m a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.
Wow. Just...wow...I made the quote red on purpose so the right wing bloggers and commenters that I know still read this site every day have a hurt head the rest of the day. Seriously. How the fuck does this guy rate so high with the alt right? Aren't they the ones who foam at the mouth about how liberals are turning us into Russia?
It seems like they are the ones that have some bromance issues with communists, both past and present!
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Two Articles of Warning
Two great pieces popped up in my news feed this week. The first was written right after Brexit on July 23 of this year.
History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump
At a local level in time people think things are fine, then things rapidly spiral out of control until they become unstoppable, and we wreak massive destruction on ourselves. For the people living in the midst of this it is hard to see happening and hard to understand. To historians later it all makes sense and we see clearly how one thing led to another. During the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme I was struck that it was a direct outcome of the assassination of an Austrian Arch Duke in Bosnia. I very much doubt anyone at the time thought the killing of a European royal would lead to the death of 17 million people.
This is, of course, what the right wing bloggers have been predicting for years would happen for years if Democrats were allowed to lead. But, as is usually the case, they engage in projection and completely fail to see that it's THEM that are taking steps toward this. If they could only see how they are secret authoritarians...
The other article is about the value of alarmism,
Alarmism saved my family from Hitler: Why I won’t tell anyone to calm down about Trump
Again, the alt right has been saying for years that Obama is Hitler but that's more of an adolescent whine about doing things they don't wanna do, dad gubmit! Hitler rose to power by using an ethnic group as a scapegoat (the Jews) to cement his fascist power. The Democrats never had such a scapegoat.
But the alt right and Donald Trump certainly do. In fact, they have several.
History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump
At a local level in time people think things are fine, then things rapidly spiral out of control until they become unstoppable, and we wreak massive destruction on ourselves. For the people living in the midst of this it is hard to see happening and hard to understand. To historians later it all makes sense and we see clearly how one thing led to another. During the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme I was struck that it was a direct outcome of the assassination of an Austrian Arch Duke in Bosnia. I very much doubt anyone at the time thought the killing of a European royal would lead to the death of 17 million people.
This is, of course, what the right wing bloggers have been predicting for years would happen for years if Democrats were allowed to lead. But, as is usually the case, they engage in projection and completely fail to see that it's THEM that are taking steps toward this. If they could only see how they are secret authoritarians...
The other article is about the value of alarmism,
Alarmism saved my family from Hitler: Why I won’t tell anyone to calm down about Trump
Again, the alt right has been saying for years that Obama is Hitler but that's more of an adolescent whine about doing things they don't wanna do, dad gubmit! Hitler rose to power by using an ethnic group as a scapegoat (the Jews) to cement his fascist power. The Democrats never had such a scapegoat.
But the alt right and Donald Trump certainly do. In fact, they have several.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
Post-Election Fears
Each time Barack Obama was elected president, gun and ammo sales went through the roof. Gun nuts were afraid that the government was going to come and get their guns. Obama never advocated taking guns away, he only proposed rigorous background checks and making it harder to obtain military grade weapons.
Of course, there were no confiscations. It was all a huge lie, baseless fears stoked by paranoid conspiracy theorists, who incidentally owned stock in weapons manufacturers, whose stock prices went up. But when Trump was elected gun stocks dropped:
While industries like construction, biotech and private prisons saw their stocks rise on Wednesday, companies like Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger & Co. fell sharply, dropping by 15% and 16%, respectively.Trump's election has stoked different fears, causing people to rush out and buy a different product: long-term birth control. IUDs can prevent pregnancy for up to 12 years, while hormonal implants work for three to six years -- hopefully long enough to survive the Trump administration.
Unlike the irrational paranoid fear gun nuts felt, the fear these women feel is totally justified.
Whereas Obama never proposed gun confiscation, Trump has promised to eliminate the birth control mandate for insurance policies. He has promised to repeal Obamacare, which will eliminate health care for millions of Americans, including women of child-bearing age who can't afford to be pregnant without health care.
Trump has promised to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides birth control, prenatal care, abortions and women's health care.
Trump has promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to ban abortion. This allowed many Catholics and evangelicals held their noses and vote for the thrice-divorced pussy-grabber.
Trump has said that women should be punished for having an abortion. He unconvincingly walked that back after this aides told him he wasn't supposed to actually say out loud the truly disgusting things that conservatives believe.
Trump has promised to deny women access to birth control, health care, and abortion. So of course they fear that they will get pregnant during next two or four years that Republicans hold the presidency and Congress.
Does Trump's presidency mean it's open season on women?
But darker fears may also be at work. Trump's candidacy has exposed a lot of sexism and outright misogyny, which Trump voters tacitly or explicitly condoned. When Trump was caught bragging about sexually assaulting women, his supporters defended him. They said that Trump was just lying to impress Billy Bush, or they denied such assaults are criminal, or said they wanted to grab pussies themselves.Are women afraid that a Trump presidency will start an all-out assault on women by dickheads who want to emulate the president-elect?
That's probably a paranoid and irrational fear. But unlike the unreasonable fear of government gun confiscation that never happened during the Obama administration, the fact is that thousands of women are sexually assaulted and raped every single year.
And there's a disturbing trend in the court system to let rich white rapists off with a slap on the wrist (here are more).
So, all you gun nuts out there: your confiscation fears were all paranoid fantasies. But women's fears of getting assaulted, raped and pregnant in a country run by a sexual predator are all too real and ever-present.
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