Trump 12: Nevertheless, She Persisted (Let's do the same!)

[Destiny]

7 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

As much as I hate to point this out, former presidents would go out to dinner randomly. It's a major pain in the backside to local/state/federal law enforcement and to the public, as roads have to be closed down and traffic stopped whenever the president goes through. Some in the past were really bad about it, GHWB had a favorite restaurant in Virginia, where he and Barbara had dinner fairly frequently. Bill C was one of the worst because, not only did he like to go places, but he'd always be WAY late, so roads would be closed at the direction of the Secret Service for a long, long time. People would call dispatch (I used to be a police dispatcher), screaming, and we couldn't tell them why traffic was stopped or how long it would be blocked. So, as much as I despise the tangerine toddler, at least his new conflict of interest hotel is only a few blocks from the White House, so fewer people are inconvenienced. I had nightmares of him wanting to visit his golf course in Virginia frequently, hosing our already terrible traffic.

Oh, I know that. The can't was more "shouldn't" because of the above stuff. I was pissed off and failed to English well. 

[GreyhoundFan]

8 minutes ago, Destiny said:

Oh, I know that. The can't was more "shouldn't" because of the above stuff. I was pissed off and failed to English well. 

I think we should barricade him in a windowless room somewhere in the bowels of his hotel, sans cell phone. It would make so many lives better...

More people who are sorry. Well, talk about too little, too late: "These Iowans voted for Trump. Many of them are already disappointed."

Quote

...

“He’s doing what he said he was going to do, that’s the biggest thing,” said Tyler Schurbon, 23, who describes himself as a “progressive Republican” who falls asleep watching Fox News each night. “A lot of people get into the presidency, and they just completely forget what they talked about.”

Schurbon trims trees for power companies, a full-time union job that pays $60,000 per year and full benefits. He drives a nice pickup truck and bought a two-story farmhouse for $50,000 last year.

“That’s pretty good living for not having a college degree,” Schurbon said.

While he doesn’t like how politicized unions have become, he’s grateful for the wages they negotiated over the years. The Republican-run Iowa Legislature, empowered by Trump’s win, voted this month to dramatically scale back the collective bargaining rights of the state’s public workers — worrying members of private unions like Schurbon.

While others in the bar insist that Trump supports unions, Schurbon doesn’t think so: “Nope, he’s completely against them.”

Schurbon and his dad farm about 500 acres of soybeans and corn, so he’s also worried about the president’s promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could hurt farmers that export their crops to Canada and Mexico.

“He’s really hurting us, even though everybody around here is conservative,” Schurbon said, thumping his bottle of Budweiser on the table to emphasize some of his points. “When you cut off trade, that cuts off everything. Where do our crops go? They don’t stay here.”

...

Good grief. So, he has a job with great pay and benefits without having a college degree because of his union, but he supports a president who is extremely anti-union. Yeah, that's smart.

Maybe I'd feel a little better about all these voters with buyer's remorse if they would get out and vote for Democratic (or at least moderate Republican) candidates for Congress. But we all know that won't happen.

 

[Childless]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I think we should barricade him in a windowless room somewhere in the bowels of his hotel, sans cell phone. It would make so many lives better...

More people who are sorry. Well, talk about too little, too late: "These Iowans voted for Trump. Many of them are already disappointed."

Good grief. So, he has a job with great pay and benefits without having a college degree because of his union, but he supports a president who is extremely anti-union. Yeah, that's smart.

Maybe I'd feel a little better about all these voters with buyer's remorse if they would get out and vote for Democratic (or at least moderate Republican) candidates for Congress. But we all know that won't happen.

 

I have a hard time stirring up any empathy for these people.  Trump is a fucking millionaire.  Why do you think he gives a fuck about you?  Hint: he doesn't.  If you were to stupid to figure that out or to lazy to look up the platforms of the Republicans you were voting into office, then you get what you deserve.  Quit being an idiot and vote in your own best interest instead of the best interests of rich people who don't care if you live or die.  Sometimes I'm surprised these people have enough working brain cells to even find their voting location.

[GreyhoundFan]

I love Ellen DeGeneres. "Ellen DeGeneres Zings Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Security Bungle In Killer Spoof Ad"

Quote

Sun-kissed sands, fine wines — and access to Donald Trump with a peek at classified documents. That’s what scads of money can buy Mar-a-Lago’s well-heeled guests, according to a slick spoof ad with a sarcastic twist on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Along with “luxurious poolside massages,” the mock TV commercial touts “breathtaking views of classified government documents” at Trump’s Palm Beach 20-acre golf resort, which the president repeatedly refers to as the “Winter White House.”

Then, “put on your best dinner attire,” a sultry-voiced woman urges in the ad. “And join our waitstaff in the dining room, where you’ll experience our world-renowned cuisine just a table away from a confidential national security meeting.” The ad flashes a photo of Trump dining with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in full view of resort guests earlier this month.

...

The video is a hoot, though not as funny as the trip she and Michelle Obama took to CVS.

[RoseWilder]

Louise Mensch, who has been investigating Trump's Russia ties and writing about it on twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch 

has shared some of her theories about the Trump-Putin ties on a blog: 

https://patribotics.wordpress.com/

The blog is fascinating, and she's careful to point out the information that she knows as fact vs. the stuff that's she still speculating on. 

Vanity Fair has named her one of the 5 people to follow on twitter for Trump-Russia information, so I think she's a reputable person. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/02/twitter-feeds-for-keeping-up-with-trump-and-russia

Her blog entries are mind blowing. 

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I love Ellen DeGeneres. "Ellen DeGeneres Zings Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Security Bungle In Killer Spoof Ad"

The video is a hoot, though not as funny as the trip she and Michelle Obama took to CVS.

Cannot even envision Ellen DeGeneres having any kind of fun with Melania, no matter the location.

[candygirl200413]

I am also SOOO tired of this same articles talking about Trump voters regret. It's beating a dead horse and it's like you were dumb so sorry you aren't going to get sympathy from many people!

Also Spicey is trying to stop those darn leakers! http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/spicers-staff-leaks-news-of-phone-check-targeting-leaks.html?mid=full-rss-di

[Cartmann99]

Did anybody read or hear anything about Melania and Barron coming to Washington for the weekend? I didn't, and was just wondering if they stayed in NYC. 

[PsyD2013]

In his speech at the Governor's Ball, Voldorange said, "being president is fun".  Fucking Asshole.

[Childless]

5 minutes ago, PsyD2013 said:

In his speech at the Governor's Ball, Voldorange said, "being president is fun".  Fucking Asshole.

If he's having fun than he isn't doing it right.  I'm sure the last thing Obama would have called the presidency is fun.

[formergothardite]

I don't think he is actually having any fun. He looks miserable. His ego won't let him admit that this is harder than he expected. 

[Penny]

11 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I think we should barricade him in a windowless room somewhere in the bowels of his hotel, sans cell phone. It would make so many lives better...

Also no TV, radio or internet access. He might go insane, although it would be a short trip!

[GreyhoundFan]

9 hours ago, JMarie said:

Cannot even envision Ellen DeGeneres having any kind of fun with Melania, no matter the location.

That was my thought, can you see Melania grabbing the megaphone and calling out, "we need assistance on aisle 2"? Nope. Melania has probably never been in a CVS.

 

8 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

Did anybody read or hear anything about Melania and Barron coming to Washington for the weekend? I didn't, and was just wondering if they stayed in NYC. 

She was in DC, there were pictures of her at some fancy event. Not sure about Barron, but I'm glad about that -- he shouldn't be trotted out for the cameras by fame-hungry parents. I think she'll probably be in DC whenever there is some big glitzy photo-op and hide in NYC the rest of the time.

[singsingsing]

I keep reading articles about the refugees crossing the border into Canada from the U.S. illegally, and when they interview people in these towns who voted for Trump, it's truly illuminating. Most of them are angry and afraid, but what really strikes me is not so much their ignorance but their apparent total inability to think outside of themselves.

One guy said something like, "I like Trump. He's doing what needs to be done." And then, "I don't know why there's such an immigration problem. I can't understand why all these people are crossing into Canada. I guess I need to think about it more." 

So you've never thought about it, you just know it's so wrong and bad that America needs a tyrant to put a stop to it. You, sir, are an idiot.

And a young guy from an article I just read yesterday: (paraphrasing) "I don't understand why they're doing this. I don't get why they don't want to stay here and try to find jobs." 

This young man was a Trump voter who was living off his disability cheque.

 

[47of74]

11 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I think we should barricade him in a windowless room somewhere in the bowels of his hotel, sans cell phone. It would make so many lives better...

More people who are sorry. Well, talk about too little, too late: "These Iowans voted for Trump. Many of them are already disappointed."

Good grief. So, he has a job with great pay and benefits without having a college degree because of his union, but he supports a president who is extremely anti-union. Yeah, that's smart.

Maybe I'd feel a little better about all these voters with buyer's remorse if they would get out and vote for Democratic (or at least moderate Republican) candidates for Congress. But we all know that won't happen.

 

I wonder if that union electrician is going to be so sympatico if Fuck Face and Iowa Gov. Brainfart are able to help companies do their wet dream of destroying unions and they find the company not all that willing to negotiate at all with them at contract renewal? 

[fraurosena]

And once more: hit them with words of their own.

http://www.today.com/news/george-w-bush-opens-trump-s-war-media-russia-travel-t108627

Quote

Early on in the exclusive sit-down, the former president [George W. Bush] expressed a clear-eyed support for the news media, saying a free press was "indispensable to democracy."

"We needed the media to hold people like me to account," Bush told TODAY'S Matt Lauer.

"Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive, and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power."

Bush was asked about the media's role in light of President Donald Trump's recent characterization of the media as "enemies of America." He noted he spent a lot of time during his two terms trying to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to embrace an independent press.

"It’s kind of hard to tell others to have an independent free press when we’re not willing to have one ourselves," he said. (...)

Bush also addressed the controversy over Trump advisers and the role they may have played in the scandal involving Russian hackers who tried to intervene in the election (...) “I think we all need answers,” he said

GOP, are you listening?

Yeah, I thought not... 

[GreyhoundFan]

Great editorial in Vanity Fair: "Trump’s White House: The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight". An assortment of my favorite lines:

Quote

...

Exhausted from the West Wing circus of misfits, clowns, and ghouls—politics’ answer to the Kardashians. Exhausted from the preening arrogance of the members of the First Family. Exhausted from waking up and not knowing what fresh hell this new president and his birdcage of a mind have cooked up overnight.

...

As it stands, the president’s wife is not turning out to be the paparazzi bait one would have expected. Aside from her strained appearances on Inauguration Day, walking politely behind her husband or working up a forced smile when he looked in her direction, she has been as quiet as he has been loud. She gamely showed up for the post-inauguration balls—which on television looked about as festive as a Walmart on a Sunday morning. And as for the First Couple on the dance floor, I’ve seen cozier body language in a hostage situation.

...

With all the grace of a Mob boss, he charged out of his motorcade car ahead of his wife when meeting the Obamas and later swaggered through the Capitol on the way to his swearing-in. It’s rare when you see a man with both his jacket and his overcoat unbuttoned. When you couple that with the enormous length of a clearly overcompensatory red tie—the stubby end underneath held in place with cellophane tape—well, it was a spectacle that only Tony Soprano would have appreciated.

...

The president’s muted response to the North Korean launch could have something to do with the fact that he may understand that he has more in common with his counterpart in that country than he would care to admit. Goofy haircut? Check. Boxy frame and ill-fitting suits? Check. Erratic and unstable personality? Check. Simplistic way of looking at the world? Check. Primitive vocabulary? Check. Hates the country to the south? Check. Brooks no opposition from underlings? Check. Thin skin and a tendency to disproportionately lash out at critics? Check. Father gave him his career? Check.

...

If you’ve ever worked with or for a narcissist with a loose grasp of the truth and a bottomless desire for approval, you will know how easy it is to manipulate them. You flatter. You listen intently to stories of victory you’ve heard many times before. You flatter again. You agree about perceived slights. You flatter a bit more. And then you push your case and walk away with what you came for. On her birthday recently, Kellyanne Conway tweeted that the “best gift” was having Donald Trump as president. That’s how you keep your standing in this White House.

...

Under the direction of the man who is really running the country, Trump Whisperer Steve Bannon, the West Wing is a murky brew of talky misfits. Not since the Nixon era have so many members of an administration been so well known to the public so quickly. And everybody seems to have his or her favorite West Wing oddity. Fans of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story no doubt have photos of Bannon on their refrigerators. Cruella de Vil buffs likely go for Kellyanne Conway. Ira Levin aficionados probably favor Stephen Miller. My personal favorite is Melissa McC … er, Sean Spicer, who is everyone’s favorite White House chew toy. Like his boss, he is now a global joke, a laughingstock. Melissa McCarthy’s astounding first impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live hit such a level of magnificence that it became a moment in time. Like the moon landing. The thing is, it was so much more layered and nuanced than it even needed to be. It may be one of the finest comedy bits of all time—up there in the pantheon alongside Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on first?”

...

Since the inauguration, it seems that the world has suddenly become a room filled with gas. And in our leader we have an ignorant strongman about to light a $20 cigar with a match.

I love Graydon Carter and agree with pretty much everything he wrote in the editorial.

[RoseWilder]

I have a few more Russia stories to share. Russian Round-Up time: 

1. Here's an interesting story about how the NRA has been cozying up to Russia. I would LOVE to see the NRA get knocked down a couple pegs because of this Russia stuff. The article is too long to quote all of it here, but this is the beginning of the explanation. It's definitely worth reading the wholel thing: 

https://thinkprogress.org/nra-and-russian-cousin-18f607d40240#.p924ksc8r

Quote

But no attention was given to the ties between the NRA, a Russian gun-rights group run by a twenty-something gun activist named Maria Butina, and her close friend and boss, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank, Alexander Torshin.

Why does an American gun group that promotes gun rights as a defense against tyranny align itself with a group with close ties to an authoritarian regime? Why would Putin allies build a grassroots non-profit to loosen Russia’s gun laws, rather than just enact them? Experts who spoke to ThinkProgress say they are not sure, but they discussed whether the whole arrangement is a cover for a larger effort to undermine American sanctions against Russia.

A meeting in Moscow

On December 11, 2015, in the depths of a biting Moscow winter, The Right to Bear Arms hosted a delegation from its American counterpart, the NRA. David Keene, an NRA board member and former national president of the organization, flew to Russia to attend the event. Also at that meeting were NRA First Vice President Pete Brownell, CEO of the world’s largest firearm accessories supplier; NRA funder Dr. Arnold Goldschlager and his daughter, NRA Women’s Leadership Forum executive committee member Hilary Goldschalger; and Outdoor Life channel head Jim Liberatore. Perhaps the most famous guest at the gathering, trading his customary uniform for a black leather vest over a button-down shirt, was Milwaukee County Sheriff and Fox News regular David A. Clarke.

2. Palmer Report speculates on why they think the FBI ratted out Reince Priebus: 

http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/fbi-rats-out-reince-priebus-for-obstructing-justice-over-donald-trumps-russia-scandal/1643/

Quote

Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus recently tried to pressure FBI Director James Comey into helping scuttle the investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal, and Comey said no. We know this because the incident leaked to the media today. Based on who would have had knowledge of the incident, the leak almost certainly had to have come from Comey or his deputy or someone close to them in the FBI. And they’ve chosen to rat out Priebus for a reason.

The FBI could have simply said no to Reince Priebus in private, and then gone about its business continuing with the investigation, and we would never have known the exchange happened. But instead the FBI made a point of informing the American public today about Reince’s actions, which appear to have been illegal. By publicly ratting Priebus out over the matter, it appears the FBI is laying the groundwork for whatever action it intends to take against him next.

Is this the part where the FBI now tries to get Priebus to flip on Trump? If the FBI threatens Reince Priebus with charges, and offers to let him off the hook for flipping on Trump, then that’s the ballgame.

3. GQ has a good article on what the Trump-Russia dossier tells us: 

http://www.gq.com/story/trump-russia-dossier-matryoshka

Quote

When BuzzFeed News published the Steele dossier in January, the media was naturally drawn to the salacious details (hotels! hookers! golden showers!), but beyond the juicy bits there were also stories of backroom meetings between powerful figures in Russian politics and business. In the immediate aftermath, Trump dismissed the dossier as “crap” and outright refused to answer questions from outlets that published and retransmitted the dossier’s contents. Perhaps most telling, though, was Trump’s decision to repeatedly ignore and deflect questions about whether members of his campaign had made contact with Russian officials during the election—contact that has since been confirmed by intelligence officials and reported by The New York Times. U.S. investigators have since corroborated certain details, namely that, as CNN reports, “some of the conversations described in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier."

 

[47of74]

God bless the Germans...

thelocal.de/20170227/in-pics-german-carnival-floats-show-trump-no-mercy

Quote

The floats at Karneval parades across southern and western Germany are known for their biting satire. This year the main target of their derision was only ever going to be one man.

In the major cities of the Rhine region the inhabitants become Narren (jesters) for a week, mocking the political establishment of the day with satirical floats which parade through the city centres.

In Düsseldorf one of the central floats on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) showed US President Donald Trump standing next to French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders and Adolf Hitler - all of them sporting carefully coiffed blond manes.

Another float in Düsseldorf appeared to show Trump raping the Statue of Liberty, while a neighbouring sculpture inverted a controversial recent Spiegel cover by having the Statue of Liberty behead the US President.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Last night during the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel Tweeted to the tangerine toddler. Surprisingly, he didn't take the bait, but one of our least favorite surrogates, Katrina Pierson, did. Good gravy.

[Penny]

Katrina Pierson is mistaken. Trump and his minions are the ones pretending.

[47of74]

34 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Last night during the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel Tweeted to the tangerine toddler. Surprisingly, he didn't take the bait, but one of our least favorite surrogates, Katrina Pierson, did. Good gravy.

Well to be fair maybe Agent Orange was sleeping it off then and Jimmy's tweet got lost amongst all the other people trying to either lick the orange or call Agent Orange out on his bullshit.

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Last night during the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel Tweeted to the tangerine toddler. Surprisingly, he didn't take the bait, but one of our least favorite surrogates, Katrina Pierson, did. Good gravy.

She's gotta keep herself relevant, right?  If she keeps her name in the news, maybe somebody will offer her a job. 

I'm convinced that's the Palins' strategy.

[GreyhoundFan]

Another "You couldn't make this shit up" headline: "Trump: 'Nobody knew health care could be so complicated'"

Quote

President Donald Trump noted with some exasperation Monday the complexity of the nation's health laws, which he's vowed to reform as part of a bid to scrap Obamacare.

"We have come up with a solution that's really, really I think very good," Trump said at a meeting of the nation's governors at the White House.

"Now, I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject," he added. "Nobody knew health care could be so complicated."

Trump was speaking as Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to work toward developing a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era law which they argue is too costly and complicated. Trump has not yet gotten behind a GOP replacement measure, however, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan were hoping to convince Trump to support it during a meeting later Monday.

Trump is also expected to touch on health care during his first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening.

During a meeting with health insurers, Trump said a replacement plan would be unveiled soon.

"We have a plan that I think is going to be fantastic. It's going to be released fairly soon," Trump said Monday. "I think it's going to be something special ... I think you're going to like what you hear."

Trump promises CEOs they will like his 'fantastic plan'

But he told the CEOs that if the plan doesn't accomplish his goals, they'd face his ire.

"If things don't work out I'm blaming you anyway," he said.

Um, no, Drumpfy, people who are intelligent understand that health care in the US is terribly complicated because it's a for-profit industry. If we would get in line with the rest of the world and have single-payer insurance, we wouldn't have the extra moving parts of the greedy insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, maybe that would simplify things...

[formergothardite]

EVERYONE knew it was a very complicated subject. He apparently was the last one to learn. 

I'm pretty sure his plan will be terrible and he will accept no blame when it is a dismal failure.