Donald Trump and the Deathly Fallout (Part 15)

[Cartmann99]

It's time for another exciting episode of "Dammit, I'm a white Trump supporter, his policies aren't supposed to hurt me!!!"

Quote

 

Trump supporters in Texas are coming to the realization that their vote for the president may force some out them of their homes for less than they are worth, with others finding out that — if they stay — they’ll be living in Mexico if his wall is built.

As part of a CNN special report on the impact the wall between the U.S. and Mexico will have on border dwellers in the state that went overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump, the network found there is already an extensive history of government lawsuits filed to take property from homeowners. With Trump’s wall planned for the entire border, some of his supporters are now saying they will fight his administration in the courts.

 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/if-i-have-to-get-a-lawyer-i-will-trump-voter-upset-his-border-wall-will-put-her-house-on-mexico-side/?comments=disqus

 

[Childless]

2 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

It's time for another exciting episode of "Dammit, I'm a white Trump supporter, his policies aren't supposed to hurt me!!!"

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/if-i-have-to-get-a-lawyer-i-will-trump-voter-upset-his-border-wall-will-put-her-house-on-mexico-side/?comments=disqus

 

*sigh* I have no words.  Where did these people think he was going to put the wall?

[Childless]

6 hours ago, PreciousPantsofDoom said:

 

And he's giving them under $80 000? Even if he actually does it (not holding my breath) that is just insulting.  

 

Or, instead of donating that money, he could move his damn trophy wife and their spawn to the fucking White House where they belong and save us all a half mil a day.

[onekidanddone]

Okay a rare daytime posting (using my own computer and not work laptop).  I'm here to say Help!  Somebody talk me down off the ceiling.

Trump and the house fucksticks are talking about working together another health care bill.  This after shit stain threatened to "come after" any member of congress who opposed him.  After said members said fuck off and voted  he way they wanted, we have the bill back alive.I liked it better when there were at war.  Please somebody talk me down.  I need more Xanax

[JMO]

I was watching the Today Show this morning and one of the news reporters was doing a recap of the news about the Russian ties, etc and it ended by discussing that this came out because of the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the election and how they are continuing to investigate.   It just really hit me that this was THE TODAY SHOW talking about THE FBI investigating the PRESIDENT.  I'm so glad they are but there is no precendant for this.  It's unbelievable.  This wasn't a segment on MSNBC or CNN discussing possible ties, this is a morning talk show.  My husband thinks Trump is going to be out by July.  I don't know, I'm too pessimistic.  Man I hope so.  Then we just have to deal with the normal right wing agenda. I do hope it pulls as many of his crew as possible down with him.  

I wish I could talk you down @onekidanddone.  I saw that too.  He's managed to fck it up royally already.  We'll see what he does this time.  I'm betting he goes even more hard right to try and get the Freedom Caucus on board.  

[GreyhoundFan]

"Trump and Republicans have a new plan to destroy Obamacare. But they face a big problem."

Quote

The news of the morning is that the White House and congressional conservatives are suddenly optimistic that a new compromise is within reach that would enable repeal-and-replace to pass the House. The White House may roll out this plan today, and no doubt President Trump is excited that the “win” he craves — wiping out his predecessor’s signature achievement, regardless of the promises it breaks or the human toll it enacts — may again be within reach.

But Trump and Republicans face a problem: There’s a decent chance that his new proposal probably could not pass the Senate by a simple majority because of procedural obstacles, a congressional expert tells me, which would make its passage a lot less likely.

The new proposal would further relax some of the Affordable Care Act’s regulations, to placate conservatives who thought the previous GOP bill didn’t deregulate enough of it. States could seek waivers to opt out of the ACA’s requirement that insurers cover “Essential Health Benefits,” such as visits to the doctor, prescription drugs and maternity care. They could also opt out of the prohibition against insurers charging more from the sick than from the healthy. House conservatives are now saying this might get them on board.

But the problem is that, since this is a deregulatory change, a bill with this feature in it might not be able to pass the Senate by a simple majority under the “reconciliation” process, which is reserved for provisions with a budgetary dimension, according to Sarah Binder, a congressional scholar at George Washington University. This would trigger a so-called “Byrd Rule” challenge from Democrats, and to get around it, Republicans would have to appeal to the Senate parliamentarian.

“At first blush, it would sure seem that these are policy changes,” Binder told me this morning. “If these changes are primarily regulatory, they would likely be tripped up by the Byrd Rule.”

This scenario arose with the last bill. Recall that Republicans weakened the ACA’s Essential Health Benefits package in the last GOP bill to win over conservatives, but it didn’t prove enough. That, too, would have triggered a Byrd Rule challenge, and at the time top Senate Republicans even warned that it was unlikely to succeed. (White House officials had also been warning as much, but abruptly switched gears in a last-minute effort to win conservatives.)

But the new version appears to add an additional deregulatory component. It doesn’t just provide a waiver for Essential Health Benefits; it also provides one for allowing insurers a freer hand to jack up prices for the sick. “This doesn’t solve the challenge of getting it through the Senate,” Binder said. “One reason it would likely not pass the Senate would be the procedural trap set by the Byrd Rule.”

The crucial point here is that this poses a short-term political obstacle, not just a long-term procedural one. Here’s why: House moderates — who balked at the last bill because it took coverage from millions — may be less likely to support this new proposal, for both substantive and procedural reasons. As Margot Sanger-Katz explains, the option to allow insurers to charge more could also wreak havoc on another key element of the ACA: the prohibition on discrimination against people with preexisting conditions.

Technically, the deal would still prevent insurers from denying coverage to people with a history of illness. But without community rating, health plans would be free to charge those patients as much as they wanted … the hypothetical cancer patient might be able to buy only a plan, without chemotherapy coverage, that costs many times more than a similar plan costs a healthy customer. Only cancer patients with extraordinary financial resources and little interest in the fine print would sign up.

There is a reason that many conservatives want to do away with these provisions. Because they help people with substantial health care needs buy relatively affordable coverage, they drive up the price of insurance for people who are healthy. An insurance market that did not include cancer care — or even any cancer patients — would be one where premiums for the remaining customers were much lower. The result might be a market that is much more affordable for people with a clean bill of health. But it would become largely inaccessible to anyone who really needs help paying for medical care.

Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, notes that this could “raise costs for the sick.”

The rub of the matter is that House moderates might be even less likely to support this compromise if it is unlikely to pass the Senate for procedural reasons (or political reasons — Senate moderates, too, might also balk). “The question remains whether moderates would want to vote for a bill that would probably not pass the Senate,” Binder says.

Now, there are ways around this problem, but they create other difficulties. Republicans could simply override the parliamentarian with the help of the Senate’s presiding officer — some guy named Mike Pence — but that would really nuke the upper chamber’s norms. Or Republicans might be able to pass the bill through the House with conservative help even after losing moderate support. But recall that the protections for preexisting conditions are very popular, and moderates would now be asked to vote for something that undermines those protections, while also cutting spending on Medicaid — health coverage for the poor — by $800 billion and leaving 24 million more people overall without coverage. That may well put a lot of moderates in a very tough spot — the Democratic ads against them write themselves — meaning more could bolt this time.

...

 

[JMarie]

5 hours ago, Childless said:

Or, instead of donating that money, he could move his damn trophy wife and their spawn to the fucking White House where they belong and save us all a half mil a day.

And stop going on vacation EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND!

 

The beginning of the end for Fox News?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/03/media/mercedes-ads-bill-oreilly/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

Quote

"The O'Reilly Factor" is facing a growing advertiser revolt, as three major automakers and two other companies pulled their commercials from the show amid a scandal involving the host, Bill O'Reilly.

Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW of North America, Constant Contact and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition are pulling ads from "The O'Reilly Factor" after a report about five settlements with women who alleged sexual harassment or verbal abuse by O'Reilly.

The decisions signal the potential of financial damage for "The O'Reilly Factor," the most popular show on cable news, and its network, Fox News.

If Fox News goes down, how will Trump get his news??

[JMO]

I'm also done, DONE with the Trump voters who are upset that he actually enacted the policies he campaigned on.  How much did he harp on building a wall?  How much did he harp on smacking down on immigration and doing illegal immigrant round ups?  Did he not talk frequently about revoking the ACA?  So cry me a river now that he's gone and tried to do all these things.  You are on the Mexico border and now your going to lose your house?  Wah Wah.  You have a pre-existing condition and can't afford health insurance without the ACA?  Should have voted against him. You thought that your husband would be safe since he's been in the country for 20 yrs and owns a business and is loved by his community? Guess what?  Trump still views him as an illegal immigrant since he did come here illegally in 1996.            These people kill me. 

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, JMarie said:

And stop going on vacation EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND!

 

The beginning of the end for Fox News?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/03/media/mercedes-ads-bill-oreilly/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

If Fox News goes down, how will Trump get his news??

From Breitbart and Alex Jones. Because they tell him what he wants to hear.

[sawasdee]

1 hour ago, JMarie said:

And stop going on vacation EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND!

 

The beginning of the end for Fox News?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/03/media/mercedes-ads-bill-oreilly/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

If Fox News goes down, how will Trump get his news??

This won't send Faux down.We may lose a couple of the more egregiously slanted shows, but that's all.

There would have to be a concerted effort by a great number of advertisers to boycott Faux before they shift their political position at all.

 

And there would still be Breitbart - the same boycott would have to apply there  - but I have a horrid feeling that the Mercers would cover losses indefinitely to get their 'message' across.

[GreyhoundFan]

"‘It went off the rails almost immediately’: How Trump’s messy transition led to a chaotic presidency"

Quote

Two days after the November election, leaders of President Trump’s transition team presented his inner circle with more than 100 names of candidates for key Cabinet and other senior positions in the new administration. Missing from the list for the post of national security adviser was retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, according to two knowledgeable officials.

Flynn was a loyalist who had a close relationship with Trump. It was obvious to the transition team that Trump would give him a prominent appointment. But among some of those tasked with bringing forward prospective candidates, there was a belief that Flynn was ill-suited for the critically important job of coordinating national security policy in the new White House.

Trump, however, had his own list of candidates, and Flynn was at the top. Eleven days after winning the election, he announced Flynn as his choice. Twenty-four days after Trump was sworn in as president, Flynn was forced out for having misled Vice President Pence and others about communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn later acknowledged that he had worked on behalf of the Turkish government while serving as a campaign adviser. Last week, through his lawyer, he offered to testify, in exchange for immunity, in the ongoing investigations of Russian interference in the election.

Viewed through the lens of the first months of the new administration, Trump’s transition provided the template for what has unfolded since Inauguration Day on personnel and other matters. No transition goes exactly as planned, but Trump’s proved messier than most, and that has carried over into the first months of his presidency.

Throughout the campaign, Trump took a hands-off approach to transition preparations. It was bad karma, he believed, to start planning a presidency before he won the election. Once elected, he decided to run things his own way. “It went off the rails almost immediately after the election,” said one knowledgeable person who declined to be identified to offer a candid assessment

One effect was that the Trump team could not scale up quickly enough during the transition and therefore failed to maintain a full pipeline of appointees for the new administration. The Partnership for Public Service, in collaboration with The Washington Post, has been tracking 553 key administration positions that require Senate confirmation. To date, just 21 nominees have been confirmed and another 44 await confirmation.

The pace of critical subcabinet appointments remains a serious problem, with many agencies still sparsely populated at the top. An administration official said announcements generally have been held back until proper vetting can take place, which did not occur during the transition. The hope is that, once nominated, confirmations can be completed more quickly.

...

Instead of an orderly rollout, however, the process quickly went Trumpian. Candidates were called to meet with Trump at Trump Tower or at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., in a process that critics likened to a reality television show. Announcements sometimes were made through press release rather than by the candidate in a public setting. The process rather than the announcements became the theater — and the narrative.

 

[sawasdee]

He still thinks he is the star of a reality show. And expects the producers to do all the real work. But there ain't no producers in the WH.

[onekidanddone]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Trump and Republicans have a new plan to destroy Obamacare. But they face a big problem."

 

How is Agent going to sell this to the American people. Really?  He promised us nobody would get dropped from their plans.  That pre-existing conditions would be covered.  I'd think this plan would get the same reaction of only whopping 17 (or lower).  He is going to stand by his promises right?  D'oh! what was I thinking..  Agent cares?  Agent  has empathy  Oh One Kid you silly fool .

Well time to toss dinner in the oven.  Going to the Social Justice meeting at a UU church later.

[GreyhoundFan]

2 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

How is Agent going to sell this to the American people. Really?  He promised us nobody would get dropped from their plans.  That pre-existing conditions would be covered.  I'd think this plan would get the same reaction of only whopping 17 (or lower).  He is going to stand by his promises right?  D'oh! what was I thinking..  Agent cares?  Agent  has empathy  Oh One Kid you silly fool .

Well time to toss dinner in the oven.  Going to the Social Justice meeting at a UU church later.

It goes back to the statement that Agent Orange's believers take him seriously, but not literally and the rest of the world takes him literally, but not seriously. Also, he's a sociopath who couldn't care less about anyone other than himself.

[CTRLZero]

What does one do when the 35,000 year-old entity you channel wants to vote for Trump, but your wackadoodle self is a Democratic supporter?   I was driving by the JZ Knight/Ramtha School of Enlightenment yesterday, noticing the pyramids were needing some polish and moss was taking over the fencing, and wondering if it was still open for business.  I guess so, based on the following article.

Note: I worked with a Ramtha follower and have several more among my acquaintance.  They are interesting (and gullible) folks:

Ramtha and JZ Knight vote different tickets (Seattle Times)

Quote

 

President Donald Trump is channeling a new source of support: winning over the 35,000-year-old warrior spirit named Ramtha.

For years, JZ Knight, the Yelm, Thurston County, mystic who claims to channel Ramtha, has been a big Democratic donor, sending piles of money earned from her for-profit Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment.

That caused embarrassment to the party when videos surfaced in 2012 of Knight/Ramtha making offensive comments about Mexicans, gays, Jews and Catholics. After that flap, the state Democratic Party rid itself of $70,000 in Knight donations.

On Monday, Knight posted video excerpts of a Dec. 8 “prophetic vision” in which she declared in her Ramtha voice: “The greatest misjudgment of character came when you thought a woman should win this race.”

In the Breitbart-worthy spiel, Ramtha/Knight, smoking a tobacco pipe, goes on to attack the Clinton Foundation and says the FBI was behind the leaking of Democratic Party documents to WikiLeaks. “It was never Russia,” she says.

Ramtha cheers the new president: “That man is trumping deceit. He doesn’t smoke he doesn’t do drugs, he does business!”

As a kicker, Ramtha predicts Trump will receive the protection of UFOs while flying in his jet: “And the first time he looks out the window … when he sees two silver disks as escort, he is going to know it all — and this is a man who is not afraid — he is going to know it all.”

Mike Wright, a Knight spokesman, said in an emailed statement that Knight continues to support Democratic candidates and causes in local and state elections.

 

Bolded part for comic relief. 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This scares the crap out of me: "White House: 'The clock has now run out' on North Korean nuclear program"

Quote

A senior White House official issued a dire warning to reporters Tuesday on the state of North Korea's nuclear program, declaring "the clock has now run out and all options are on the table."

"The clock has now run out, and all options are on the table," the official said, pointing to the failure of successive administration's efforts to negotiate an end to North Korea's nuclear program.

The comments came as two senior White House officials briefed reporters ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week in Florida. The briefing took place on the condition of anonymity.

...

 

[JMarie]

5 hours ago, sawasdee said:

This won't send Faux down.We may lose a couple of the more egregiously slanted shows, but that's all.

There would have to be a concerted effort by a great number of advertisers to boycott Faux before they shift their political position at all.

 

And there would still be Breitbart - the same boycott would have to apply there  - but I have a horrid feeling that the Mercers would cover losses indefinitely to get their 'message' across.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/03/media/mercedes-ads-bill-oreilly/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

It's up to eighteen, in just one day.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Has Trump hit rock bottom yet?"

Quote

No matter how angry President Trump gets at the media or how furiously his willing right-wing media fans spin, the voters seem to think the president is losing. And because people don’t like losers, as Trump frequently reminds us, they don’t like him very much at all.

In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Trump’s job approval has sunk to 35 percent, with 57 percent disapproval — the worst he has rated to date. Interestingly, GOP support is down to 79 percent, a troubling sign for a president who previously held the base in the palm of his hand. The numbers are quite stunning:

• 61 percent say he is not honest;
• 55 percent say he does not have good leadership skills;
• 57 percent say he does not care about average Americans;
• 66 percent say he is not levelheaded;
• 64 percent say he is a strong person;
• 60 percent say he is intelligent;
• 61 percent say he does not share their values.

On health care, only 28 percent approve, while 64 percent disapprove. On one of his signature issues, immigration, 57 percent of voters give him thumbs down, while 39 percent approve.

...

Trump should be especially worried about a consistent phenomenon: The public by a huge margin doesn’t believe what he says. In Quinnipiac’s poll 61 percent think he is dishonest, which is consistent with other polling. That might explain why they don’t believe him on Russia:

Of those following the story closely, 50% now say that the outcome of the election was “influenced by Russia.” When IBD asked this question in January, 50% said Russia didn’t influence the outcome.

The shift is largely due to changing views of independents. In January, 54% said Russia didn’t have any influence on the election. Now, 51% of independents think it did.

Trump also gets little support for his contention that President Obama surveilled Trump and his team before the inauguration. Just 38% say it’s likely that Obama did that, while 59% say it’s not likely.

Fewer than half (44%) believe Obama administration holdovers have been leaking classified information in order to undermine the current administration.

Perhaps Trump should stop highlighting a negative story for him (Russia) and start working to improve the lives of ordinary people who put him in office. Of course, he might not have the foggiest idea how to do that.

 

 

 

"Please, can someone brief the president on the unemployment rate?" Four more Pinocchios for Agent Orange.

Quote

When you look for a job, you can’t find it and you give up, you are now considered statistically employed. But I don’t consider those people employed.”
— President Trump, remarks to CEO town hall, April 4, 2017

The president made these comments as he described the method of calculating the unemployment rate as “ridiculous.” Since no one at the White House, apparently, has explained to the president how the unemployment rate is calculated, here’s a quick and easy briefing.

Spoiler alert: It’s exactly the opposite of what Trump said.

...

 

[JMarie]

John Oliver, clearing up stuff like only he can

 

 

[Scribber]

John Oliver, clearing up stuff like only he can
 
 

John Oliver's popularity is one of the best things to come of this shitstorm.

[47of74]

Here's that Orange fuckstick showing the world why some of us call him an Orange fuckstick

[RoseWilder]

10 hours ago, sawasdee said:

And there would still be Breitbart - the same boycott would have to apply there  - but I have a horrid feeling that the Mercers would cover losses indefinitely to get their 'message' across.

The Mercers appear to already be covering the losses at Breibart. They've lost over 1,700 advertisers and are somehow still in business. 

[GreyhoundFan]

From the AP: "'Winter White House' a winning brand for Trump's business"

Quote

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- No doubt Florida's oceanfront Mar-a-Lago resort is an impressive site for a summit between the presidents of the U.S. and China. And it's a pretty nice business advertisement, too, for the owner of the luxurious, members-only private property.

That would be Donald J. Trump.

Even before this week's summit, President Trump and his aides had begun referring to Mar-a-Lago as the "Winter White House," a marketing coup for a man who has made millions selling his personal brand. Now the president is writing his property deeper into American history books by meeting there with China's Xi Jinping.

The two-day summit, partly to discuss sensitive trade issues, follows five previous weekend trips that Trump has made to Mar-a-Lago in the 12 weeks he has been president. On his fourth weekend in office, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined him there, and the two heads of state huddled on the restaurant's patio before making headlines with a televised joint response to a North Korean missile test.

VIP visits to presidential homes are a tradition dating to shortly before World War II, when Franklin D. Roosevelt began inviting dignitaries to his Hyde Park estate north of New York City, according to the U.S. State Department's historical website. More recently, George H.W. Bush brought leaders to the family's Kennebunkport, Maine, compound, and his son George W. Bush invited them to his Crawford, Texas, ranch. President Barack Obama hosted Xi at Sunnylands, an estate in the California desert formerly owned by late philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg.

But Mar-a-Lago isn't just a vacation home for Trump. It's a for-profit part of his global real estate empire. That makes "Winter White House" more than a charming phrase; it's good for business.

Breaking with presidential precedent, Trump held onto ownership of his businesses when he took office, meaning he makes money when his properties do well. The resort doubled its membership fee to $200,000 after he was elected. And "Winter White House" is working its way into marketing materials. When Trump is in town, Mar-a-Lago's hotel rooms and restaurant reservations fill up fast.

The Trump Organization has agreed not to exploit any aspects of the presidency, but those who lease and visit the properties are more than happy to do that work. When the Distressed Investing Summit convened in Palm Beach last month, its brochure noted the opening reception would be "at the famed Mar-a-Lago club, one of the most highly regarded private lairs in the world and the new Winter White House."

Trump hasn't been shy about mentioning his Florida property, either. A few days before he took office, he tweeted a photo of himself with the message, "Writing my inaugural address at the Winter White House, Mar-a-Lago, three weeks ago."

While the president and vice president are exempt from the promotional prohibitions facing other government employees, there's an overarching principle that all public officials should avoid using their offices for private gain, said Kathleen Clark, a former ethics lawyer for the District of Columbia and a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

"The president's recurrent trips to Mar-a-Lago and other properties he owns, particularly with leaders that make the visits newsworthy, means he is in effect using the presidency to promote his business," Clark said. "He's a very effective marketer, and he's using the presidency as though it's just part of him being famous and doesn't come with other moral, if not legal, obligations."

Trump's presidential visits to his commercial properties go beyond Mar-a-Lago. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has made 17 trips to three of his golf courses (two in Florida and one in Virginia) and twice dined at his new hotel in Washington, just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.

Trump's son Eric, who is helping to lead the Trump Organization in his father's absence, said the Florida property is "his Crawford, Texas."

"You go back at it - all these foreign leaders remember their time in Crawford. They all talk about being there," Eric Trump said. He said his father similarly forges strong relationships at the Florida property.

"That's how you get a deal done," he said. "Mar-a-Lago is an impressive place; it makes sense to be there. He's working. This is how he works."

...

So far, Trump has not expressed any interest in using Camp David, the government-owned Maryland mountain retreat 62 miles northwest of the White House. Just as the positive P.R. from Trump's visits to his properties may boost his own bank account, Camp David would be less costly for taxpayers.

Trump could eventually face blowback from voters over that, said Clark, the former ethics lawyer.

"The combination of a perceived abuse of office to enrich himself and the irony of it happening while he is recommending deep budget cuts for public services - I think resentment will build," she said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer dismisses that possibility. Asked during a recent briefing whether the president is concerned about the pushback on the cost of his trips, Spicer said, "No, he feels great."

 

[Howl]

Here are the names on my current watch list; these are sleaze bags of the highest order and more dirt or just embarrassing shit will likely be oozing out in the weeks ahead --  whether to the Orange House or to them personally or both remains to be seen. 

• Ezra Cohen-Watnick: Okay, I Think That's Confirmed and No one can even find a photograph of Donald Trump’s favorite NSC deputy Ezra Cohen-Watnick
• Eric Prince:  The Possible Backstory behind the Secret Visit by Trump Envoy Erik Prince
• Carter Page:  How Did Page Get Picked?

 

Posted by @GreyhoundFan: 

Quote

"The combination of a perceived abuse of office to enrich himself and the irony of it happening while he is recommending deep budget cuts for public services - I think resentment will build," she said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer dismisses that possibility. Asked during a recent briefing whether the president is concerned about the pushback on the cost of his trips, Spicer said, "No, he feels great."

This is how you lose the fucking base -- the only people who are improbably hanging on, improbably STILL thinking that Really, Trump does care about what we feel, and our situation in life. 

[JMO]

Asked during a recent briefing whether the president is concerned about the pushback on the cost of his trips, Spicer said, "No, he feels great."

Wow, just wow. 

I've been reading a NY Magazine from over a month ago and it's chock full of great articles.  I'm going to link the one I've liked best so far (although I just started reading the main article on McCain.)

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/how-kellyanne-conway-and-sean-spicer-get-away-with-lying.html

Some of my favorite quotes:

"The irony of Flynn’s termination is that he was fired for lying while working in a house full of liars." 

"You get the sense with Spicer that his own awareness that he’s bullshitting (not very convincingly) at his boss’s behest is the reason for his hostility to the reporters in the room."

"Trump’s flacks have made increasing use of a variation of Bartleby’s “I would prefer not to”: “I can’t speak to that.” Or, as I like to translate it, “I haven’t prepared any lies to respond to that question.”

 

Oh, and Bannon has been bounced from the NSC!

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/bannon-kicked-off-national-security-council.html