Trump 36: We Shall Overcome

[fraurosena]

He’s stacking the courts in his personal favor. Of course his lickspittles in Congress are all looking the other way.

 

[Rachel333]

Well, he is talking about ending the policy of giving citizenship to children born in the US to non citizens. This would directly contradict the constitution, which means he probably can't do it. Just, WTF ? He is horrible. 

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, Rachel333 said:

This would directly contradict the constitution, which means he probably can't do it.

If there is no blue wave there is nothing to stop him from violating the constitution. And if he gets away with violating it once he will shred it into pieces until we have no country left. 

[Audrey2]

3 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

Well, he is talking about ending the policy of giving citizenship to children born in the US to non citizens. This would directly contradict the constitution, which means he probably can't do it. Just, WTF ? He is horrible. 

This 

If he feels like he can wipe out one sentence or one part of an amendment to the Constitution using an executive order, what's to say he couldn't wipe out more? I can see freedom of speech and freedom of the press getting wiped out by an executive order if he thinks he can get away with this.

[Howl]

Way back, after Trump made some breathtakingly ignorant remark, Evan McMullin speculated that it's highly likely that Trump has never read the Constitution. 

There are elements of our government that provide restraints to the Executive branch, which is unbearable to Trump, who assumes that he should have no restraints of any kind, ever. 

[formergothardite]

19 minutes ago, Howl said:

that it's highly likely that Trump has never read the Constitution. 

I think it is safe to say that it is 100% likely he has never read it and doesn't have a clue what is in it.  

I personally think that being able to pass a basic test about the constitution and American laws should be required for those who run for president. 

[Howl]

Trump is also on a tear about putting all asylum seekers in tent cities.  Who else has put people in tent cities and has probably provided Trump with a little advice?  Why, none other than disgusting racist and notorious asshole "Sheriff Joe" Arpaio, fortunately now ex-sheriff of Maricopa County, AZ, and one of the few people who has been pardoned by Trump. 

He cost Maricopa County untold millions from lawsuits brought when his ill treatment of prisoners resulted in injury and death to those who were incarcerated under his regime.  

[fraurosena]

20 minutes ago, Howl said:

There are elements of our government that provide restraints to the Executive branch, which is unbearable to Trump, who assumes that he should have no restraints of any kind, ever. 

Sad thing is, those elements of government that should provide those restraints on the Executive branch, purposely aren't. And because they aren't, the presidunce can do whatever he pleases anyway.

[Howl]

1 minute ago, fraurosena said:

Sad thing is, those elements of government that should provide those restraints on the Executive branch, purposely aren't. And because they aren't, the presidunce can do whatever he pleases anyway.

Yes, we are truly in a worst case scenario. 

[Alisamer]

3 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

I think it is safe to say that it is 100% likely he has never read it and doesn't have a clue what is in it.  

I personally think that being able to pass a basic test about the constitution and American laws should be required for those who run for president. 

Perhaps they should make sure the president can pass the citizenship test people have to pass before becoming naturalized US citizens. I believe it covers most of the basics. Which is probably why, despite being an immigrant, Melania is the one who has to keep reminding him of the basics. "Put your hand over your heart, Donald." "Don't leave without signing the bill, Donald." "Don't look at the eclipse without glasses on, Donald." 

I'm not convince they see each other on a daily basis, or he might do slightly better at some other things - "push the button to close the umbrella, Donald." "Use the government phone, Donald, China's listening to the other one." "What you're saying and what you're doing are exact opposites, Donald." "Socks first, then shoes, Donald." "This is a country, not one of your businesses, Donald."

[formergothardite]

1 minute ago, Alisamer said:

Perhaps they should make sure the president can pass the citizenship test people have to pass before becoming naturalized US citizens.

A live televised test to ensure no one takes the test for the candidate would be a good idea. Trump would have never run if he had to first understand the basics of America. 

[Howl]

A bazillion Scaramuccis ago (which is to say Oct. 24th), Rick Wilson dropped this scathing piece at The Daily Beast about Trump self-identifying as a nationalist.  I've noticed a change in tone from some writers/posters/tweeters/bloggers in recent weeks -- maybe related to looming elections? -- and that tone relates to serious concern that we are close to a free fall into authoritarianism. These concerns predate, but are now amplified by, the violence of the last week or so.  You can definitely see it in this piece.  

Trump Shoves Nationalist Needle Into His Followers’ Veins

[GreyhoundFan]

5 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I think it is safe to say that it is 100% likely he has never read it and doesn't have a clue what is in it.  

I personally think that being able to pass a basic test about the constitution and American laws should be required for those who run for president. 

I think it's safe to say that Dumpy hasn't read a book or pamphlet since he left school, if even then.

I believe that passing a basic test should be required for anyone seeking federal office, including congress and the judiciary. It should also be required of political appointees.

[fraurosena]

38 minutes ago, Howl said:

A bazillion Scaramuccis ago (which is to say Oct. 24th), Rick Wilson dropped this scathing piece at The Daily Beast about Trump self-identifying as a nationalist.  I've noticed a change in tone from some writers/posters/tweeters/bloggers in recent weeks -- maybe related to looming elections? -- and that tone relates to serious concern that we are close to a free fall into authoritarianism. These concerns predate, but are now amplified by, the violence of the last week or so.  You can definitely see it in this piece.  

Trump Shoves Nationalist Needle Into His Followers’ Veins

It's this, coupled with his claims that he can change the Constitution by simply signing an executive order that is underlining the imminent danger of an authoritarian coup. The only thing to stand in his way is if that blue wave happens. 

That said, I think you should be fully prepared for a full on attack of any election results that go against him.

You are truly living in scary, dangerous times. 

[Howl]

Trying to keep up with Trump's order to send troops to the southern border. This is blatant theater; the latest surge is supposed to be in place by TOMORROW, Oct. 31 and Trump is obviously jerking the military around to emphasize the narrative of a dangerous horde approaching our border before the elections.   It's hardly  a horde......a lot of women pushing bebes in strollers and children.  And about two months away from getting to the US.  

This is doing several things.  It is enraging and disturbing to people (mostly Latinos) in border cities.  It will cause huge disruption to landowners, particularly farmers,  on the border.  There was a comment about the military stringing concertina wire between entry points. 

I read recently that support for Trump is about 50/50 among active military personnel, who I tend to think are more conservative.  I wonder if these active duty personnel are wondering what the fuck they are doing at our border, wondering why they had only a few days to put everything in order so they can dash to the border to.......

Anyway, there's a big military presence in San Antonio, an Air Force base near Tucson, Fort Bliss near El Paso, Fort Huachuca Army Base in Cochise, AZ, a Marine Corps presence near San Diego and I'm not sure if there are other military installations near or on the border. 

[older than allosaurs]

On a slightly cheerier note, someone went to the trouble of calling a megachurch's bluff on the whole church/state separation thing:

https://www.wthrockmorton.com/2018/10/22/gateway-church-pranked-with-fake-voter-guides/

[Audrey2]

39 minutes ago, Howl said:

Trying to keep up with Trump's order to send troops to the southern border. This is blatant theater; the latest surge is supposed to be in place by TOMORROW, Oct. 31 and Trump is obviously jerking the military around to emphasize the narrative of a dangerous horde approaching our border before the elections.   It's hardly  a horde......a lot of women pushing bebes in strollers and children.  And about two months away from getting to the US.  

This is doing several things.  It is enraging and disturbing to people (mostly Latinos) in border cities.  It will cause huge disruption to landowners, particularly farmers,  on the border.  There was a comment about the military stringing concertina wire between entry points. 

I read recently that support for Trump is about 50/50 among active military personnel, who I tend to think are more conservative.  I wonder if these active duty personnel are wondering what the fuck they are doing at our border, wondering why they had only a few days to put everything in order so they can dash to the border to.......

Anyway, there's a big military presence in San Antonio, an Air Force base near Tucson, Fort Bliss near El Paso, Fort Huachuca Army Base in Cochise, AZ, a Marine Corps presence near San Diego and I'm not sure if there are other military installations near or on the border. 

Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Yuma Proving Ground (Army), Naval Air Facility Air Base, El Centro CA, Luke Air Force Base, Glendale... The Tucson Air Force Base is Davis-Monthan

[JenniferJuniper]

I've been avoiding the news since the Kavanaugh nightmare, but I returned for an hour or so today.  And now I have the lyrics of this very old Bob Dylan song running in my head.

And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket
On a pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
'Til I’m sure that you are dead

Have a few more Big Macs, you fascist orange asshole.

[Howl]

Good CNN post on the entire troops-to-the-border fiasco.  

Veterans slam Trump for border 'stunt'

I wonder if this will be Mattis' Everything Trump Touches Dies moment. He's definitely being compromised by going along with this craziness.  From the article linked above: 

Quote

Anger about the deployment and the perception that Mattis is allowing the military to be used for political purposes led one former Pentagon official to call for him to step down.

"This is a craven political stunt by President Trump ahead of the US midterms, and a cynical capitulation by a secretary of defense who has prided himself on improving the readiness, focus and lethality of the US armed forces," Kelly Magsamen, a National Security Council official under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, wrote in Defense One.

"If Mattis does not believe the migrants are a threat that warrants tasking 5,000 active troops to the border, he should say so and resign," Magsamen wrote.

I also wonder if this is Trump's way of testing Mattis' loyalty or just jerking him around.  

[GreyhoundFan]

This is a good piece by Dana Milbank: "The latest lesson in Trumponomics 101"

Spoiler

Tuesday morning brought a textbook illustration of Trumponomics.

Under this economic theory — defined roughly as “when it’s sunny, credit me; when it rains, blame them” — President Trump has been claiming sole responsibility for a bull market that began nearly eight years before his presidency.

But this month, wild swings in the market threaten to erase the year’s gains, and on Tuesday, Trump offered an explanation: The Democrats did it! The market “is now taking a little pause — people want to see what happens with the Midterms,” he tweeted. “If you want your Stocks to go down, I strongly suggest voting Democrat.”

Most attribute the swoon to higher tariffs set off by Trump’s trade war and higher interest rates aggravated by Trump’s tax cut. But Trumponomics holds otherwise.

Previous lessons from Trumponomics 101:

During the campaign, Trump said that official unemployment figures were “phony” and a “hoax” and that the rate was really as high as 42 percent. Now he highlights the official figures as evidence of his success.

During the campaign, the rising stock market was “a big, fat, ugly bubble.” After his election, it became a reflection of Trumpian genius — at least until Democrats caused it to tank.

Less than three hours after his stock-market tweet Tuesday, Trump issued a new boast: “Consumer Confidence hits highest level since 2000.” To summarize: Blame Democrats for stocks going down but give Trump credit for confidence simultaneously going up.

In fairness, the theory of Trumponomics is more complex than merely blaming Democrats (or the Federal Reserve) for bad things. It also rests on the presumption that Democrats are evil and their ideas ruinous. This can be seen in a report released by the White House last week, by the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Titled “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” the report finds that Democrats who wish to expand the popular Medicare program into Medicare-for-all are in league with Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and other leaders whose policies have resulted in “deaths in purges, massacres, concentration camps, forced migration, and both escape attempts and famines.”

The White House economists’ evidence tying today’s Democrats to murderous figures from the 20th century? They used a similar word.

Mao “described ‘the ruthless economic exploitation and political oppression of the peasants by the landlord class,’ ” the White House writes. “. . . Expressing similar concerns, current American senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have stated that ‘large corporations . . . exploit human misery and insecurity.’ ”

Further, the council argues, “The socialist narrative names the oppressors of the vulnerable, such as the bourgeoisie (Marx), kulaks (Lenin), landlords (Mao), and giant corporations (Sanders and Warren).”

From there, the White House officials argue that certain Democrats’ health-care proposals “are similar in spirit to Lenin and Mao” and on par with communist dictators’ disastrous attempts at forced collectivization of agriculture. With an intellectual rigor closer to Groucho than Karl, the White House lists socialists alternately as “Marx, Stalin, Senator Sanders, Senator Warren, and Fidel Castro,” and as “Karl Marx to Vladimir Lenin to Mao Zedong to current American socialists.”

There may be sound reasons to oppose single-payer health care, but basing 21st-century health-care policy on an analysis of Soviet agriculture is like basing the Nuclear Posture Review on experiences in the Boer War. Unsurprisingly, this treatise has some problems.

First, if it’s true that any whiff of socialism puts us on the slippery slope to the Killing Fields, then we’ll also have to do away with Social Security and Medicare — which Trump claims to love. The White House economists also have trouble dismissing modern-day socialism in the Nordic countries, which enjoy the world’s highest quality of life; they attempt to debunk Nordic success by pointing to the high price of pickup trucks there, a curious metric.

If the same academic rigor were applied to Trump, we could use superficial similarities to come up with other compelling theories:

Because Trump shoved the prime minister of Montenegro, he is virtually indistinguishable from Attila the Hun, who terrorized and destroyed Eastern Europe.

Because Trump describes peaceful protesters as a “mob” that has to be defeated, he’s the same as Pol Pot, who said “he who protests is an enemy” — and killed one-fifth of his population.

Because Trump uses Joseph Stalin’s “enemy of the people” phrase, it’s logical to assume Trump, too, will kill 20 million people.

Trump is undiplomatic — just like Genghis Khan. Trump can be erratic — just like Ivan the Terrible. Trump can be cruel (seeking to deny U.S.-born children citizenship!) — just like Vlad the Impaler.

(And let’s not create a Führer by making Hitler comparisons.)

When you start from a place of intellectual dishonesty, there is no telling where you’ll end up. That is the very foundation of Trumponomics.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Since Dumpy wants to end birthright citizenship, he should start at home:

 

[Alisamer]

17 hours ago, Howl said:

I read recently that support for Trump is about 50/50 among active military personnel, who I tend to think are more conservative.  I wonder if these active duty personnel are wondering what the fuck they are doing at our border, wondering why they had only a few days to put everything in order so they can dash to the border to.......

It's cynical, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he tried to weed out the anti-trump military members and send THEM to the border. Right at election time. So they'll be away from home, where they are supposed to vote.

[BernRul]

Trump can't change the Constitution with an executive order. It would immediately be challenged by the courts, and I highly doubt that the Supreme Court would support it--they typically don't do things that diminsh their own power, like giving too much power into the hands of ONE president who will be voted out in 2020 or 2024, likely replaced with his political opposite. Just like the Senate wouldn't get rid of the filibuster when Trump demanded it: they know that they won't always have the majority. People are saying only a blue wave can stop it, but again, Republicans aren't stupid and know that Trump won't be president forever. They won't do something that will bite them in the ass like give the president power over the constitution.

For the constitution to be changed, an amendment has to be passed by a 2/3rds majority in BOTH the House and Senate, and then ratified by 2/3rds of the states. In this political climate, that will never happen, for any amendment. The consitution was designed that way so it's not subject to the whims of one party's term in power. 

Trump's only doing this to rile his base up for the midterms. Immigrants are his favorite punching bag. It might backfire on him though, because anyone with a brain should be alarmed by the idea of a president overriding the constitution, and that fear might motivate more to vote against Trump. I DO think that Trump believes he can or should be able to override the constitution, even if I don't think the courts will ever let him, so people should be alarmed for those reasons. 

[AmericanRose]

Quote

“They did everything in their power to … push people apart,” he said. “It was fake and it was make-believe. … The far-left media has spread lies and misinformation about the Trump administration.”

I... have no words.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-honors-pittsburgh-dead-—-and-knocks-‘far-left-media’-—-at-florida-rally/ar-BBPbQkB?ocid=spartanntp

[Rachel333]

10 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Since Dumpy wants to end birthright citizenship, he should start at home:

 

That doesn't make sense though since Trump was a citizen so his kids would have been citizens no matter where they were born. Trump's father, on the other hand, was born in the US to two recent immigrant parents.