Trump 51: The Lame Duck a l‘Orange

[onekidanddone]

7 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Yeah I heard about man baby having a sad over Cleveland’s announcement. 

In a little under 40 days we’ll have a President who doesn’t act like a horse’s ass. 

 

[thoughtful]

If we made him listen to this over and over, starting now, I think it would be about 100,000 times.

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Cartmann99]

[Cartmann99]

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

29 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

Do you all ever get the feeling that something very, very bad is going to happen and we're going to look back on this kind of stuff and wonder why dismissed their threats as rantings and propaganda?

(We as a people, not we as in personally us on FJ)

Edited December 15, 2020 by HerNameIsBuffy

[church_of_dog]

48 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Do you all ever get the feeling that something very, very bad is going to happen and we're going to look back on this kind of stuff and wonder why dismissed their threats as rantings and propaganda?

(We as a people, not we as in personally us on FJ)

I have a conspiracy theorist in my life and when I (used to) listen to him, I would/do get concerned.  Because there are crazy people out there who will do crazy things, especially when prompted and revved up by others.

I also think about history, and some of the dramatic things that have happened (such as assassinations and the seemingly hair triggers for war) which we tend to relegate to past history, but in the grand scheme of things were not that long ago, and nothing fundamental has changed since then to make those kinds of acts unthinkable any more now than then, other than those acts being in the active memory of fewer and fewer people.

Even purely "innocent" events such as natural disasters, I tend to think that a few calm years (localized, of course, since there are plenty of hurricanes and mudslides and floods and quakes happening) leads people to no longer feel the need to be prepared.

We humans may have invented lots of gadgets to distract ourselves and to alter our environment, but ultimately nature (including human nature, to bring this comment full circle) bats last.

Edited December 15, 2020 by church_of_dog

[Xan]

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Do you all ever get the feeling that something very, very bad is going to happen and we're going to look back on this kind of stuff and wonder why dismissed their threats as rantings and propaganda?

(We as a people, not we as in personally us on FJ)

I think Stephen Miller is whispering in Trump's ear about enacting martial law.  For what it's worth, I doubt it would work.  Putin and McConnell have now both admitted that Biden won the election.  And Trump hasn't exactly charmed the military.  The whole farce would do some damage to the reputation of the country and to our general unrest.  But, at this point, Baby Donny has about run out of options.  

The thing is, he could have done better without a lot of effort.  If he'd contributed some of the collected funds to the GA senators, he might have gotten backing from the Senate.  He didn't have to fire Barr.  He didn't have to put 30-something civilian know-nothings into the Pentagon.  His chain of command now is fragile.  He could probably order his army of Trumpies  in electric scooters to attack but they'd be easily repelled.  And there aren't enough Proud Boys to do much harm to the real military.

[AmazonGrace]

 

I'm sure this is somehow Hunter Biden's fault.

[onekidanddone]

22 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

I'm sure this is somehow Hunter Biden's fault.

Butter E-mails

[church_of_dog]

Can someone give me the Cliff Notes version of the Insurrection Act and whether it is the same/better/worse than martial law?

Also is it completely at the discretion of the POTUS or are there any checks on whether it's being called appropriately?

TIA

[GreyhoundFan]

LOL -- "Mar-a-Lago neighbors to Trump: Spend your post-presidency elsewhere"

Quote

Next-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don’t want you to be our neighbor.

That message was formally delivered Tuesday morning in a demand letter delivered to the town of Palm Beach and also addressed to the U.S. Secret Service asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago because of an agreement he signed in the early 1990s when he converted the storied estate from his private residence to a private club. The legal maneuver could, at long last, force Palm Beach to publicly address whether Trump can make Mar-a-Lago his legal residence and home, as he has been expected to do, when he becomes an ex-president after the swearing-in of Joe Biden on Jan. 20.

The contretemps sets up a potentially awkward scenario, unique in recent history, in which a former Oval Office occupant would find himself having to officially defend his choice of a place to live during his post-presidency. It also could create a legal headache for Trump because he changed his official domicile to Mar-a-Lago, leaving behind Manhattan, where he lived before being elected president and came to fame as a brash, self-promoting developer. (Trump originally tried to register to vote in Florida using the White House in Washington as his address, which is not allowed under Florida law. He later changed the registration to the Mar-a-Lago address.)

In the demand letter, obtained by The Washington Post, an attorney for the Mar-a-Lago neighbors says the town should notify Trump that he cannot use Mar-a-Lago as his residence. Making that move would “avoid an embarrassing situation” if the outgoing president moves to the club and later has to be ordered to leave, according to the letter sent on behalf of the neighbors, the DeMoss family, which runs an international missionary foundation.

For years, various neighbors have raised concerns about disruptions, such as clogged traffic and blocked streets, caused by the president’s frequent trips to the club. Even before he was president, Trump created ill will in the town by refusing to comply with even basic local requirements, such as adhering to height limits for a massive flagpole he installed, and frequently attempting to get out of the promises he had made when he converted Mar-a-Lago into a private club.

“There’s absolutely no legal theory under which he can use that property as both a residence and a club,” said Glenn Zeitz, another nearby Palm Beach homeowner who has joined the fight against Trump and had previously tangled with him over Trump’s attempt to seize a private home to expand his Atlantic City casino. “Basically he’s playing a dead hand. He’s not going to intimidate or bluff people because we’re going to be there.”

A White House spokesperson, Trump’s local attorney and Palm Beach’s mayor did not respond to requests for comment. To date, Palm Beach has made no public attempt to prevent Trump from living at Mar-a-Lago or from using it as his legal residence.

The current residency controversy tracks back to a deal Trump cut in 1993 when his finances were foundering, and the cost of maintaining Mar-a-Lago was soaring into the multimillions each year. Under the agreement, club members are banned from spending more than 21 days a year in the club’s guest suites and cannot stay there for any longer than seven consecutive days. Before the arrangement was sealed, an attorney for Trump assured the town council in a public meeting that he would not live at Mar-a-Lago.

At the time, the town’s leaders were wary of Trump because he had sued them after they blocked his attempt to subdivide the historic Mar-a-Lago property into multiple housing lots. Placing the limitations on lengths of stays assured that Trump’s property would remain a private club, as he had promised, rather than a residential hotel.

Documents obtained by The Post via a public records request suggest there may be gaps in Palm Beach’s enforcement of key provisions of the agreement that could affect Trump’s ability to live at the club. Each year, the club is required to report whether at least 50 percent of Mar-a-Lago’s members live or work in Palm Beach; that the club has fewer than 500 members; and that no one is using the guest suites more than 21 days a year. However, the town says it has no records of the reports for four of the past 20 years.

Trump has repeatedly attempted to change parts of his agreement. In 2018 he asked the town to waive a provision banning him from building a dock at the club, initially saying the Secret Service and local law enforcement officials needed the structure for his protection. The reasoning was later changed to say the dock was for the private use of the president and first lady Melania Trump. Neighbors feared that the dock would be used for rowdy booze cruises. Trump withdrew the dock request early this year — three days after a Washington Post report that unearthed the details of his 1993 agreement with the town.

Trump has traveled to Mar-a-Lago at least 30 times during his presidency, and spent at least 130 days there, according to a Post tally. There has been no public indication that the town has raised objections about that practice. Trump also has appeared to openly flout the agreement, stating on Mar-a-Lago’s website that he maintains private quarters there.

During his presidency, Palm Beach has shown deference on security issues, allowing a helipad that was expressly prohibited in his 1993 agreement. Once Trump leaves office, he will no longer have use of the helipad.

The 1993 Palm Beach agreement isn’t the only document that raises questions about whether Trump can legally live at Mar-a-Lago. He also signed a document deeding development rights for Mar-a-Lago to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Washington-based, privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save historic sites around the country. As part of the National Trust deal, Trump agreed to “forever” relinquish his rights to develop Mar-a-Lago or to use it for “any purpose other than club use.”

The National Trust did not respond to requests for comment.

The controversy over Trump’s expected move to Mar-a-Lago could muddy matters for the Secret Service, which will continue to protect him after he leaves office. Government agencies take pains to comply with all federal and local laws in their activities, and a legal dispute over Trump’s right to set up residence at Mar-a-Lago could complicate the Secret Service’s ongoing work to prepare for staff to secure his home and safety there.

A Secret Service spokesperson declined to comment.

Since this year’s election, the Secret Service has been preparing for Trump’s life after the White House and the protections he is legally due as a former president. A much-reduced set of Secret Service agents will shadow him in his private life, and the agency will man and occupy a separate room at his property as a base of security operations.

The protective service would need to make living arrangements for its agents in advance of Trump leaving the White House — wherever he ends up living. If he is suddenly blocked from living at Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service would most likely have to scramble to develop a new plan to protect him at a different location.

The Mar-a-Lago neighbors would be okay with Trump finding a new place to bunk. Their letter, written by West Palm Beach attorney Reginald Stambaugh, includes a zinger that harks to the vibe of the old money enclave on Florida’s east coast: “Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale, and we are confident President Trump will find one which meets his needs.”

 

[Howl]

6 hours ago, Xan said:

I think Stephen Miller is whispering in Trump's ear about enacting martial law.  For what it's worth, I doubt it would work.  Putin and McConnell have now both admitted that Biden won the election.  And Trump hasn't exactly charmed the military.

When Mattis was SecDef, he notably did not support Milley for Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

When Milley showed up at Trump's side in camo in Lafayette Square, Mattis was so  infuriated  that he made his first statement since leaving DoD in  a blistering opinion piece published in the Atlantic.  In large part, this response was triggered by seeing Milley appear with Trump after protesters were dispersed. 

I worried that Trump had done his usual thing of asking Milley if he'd be loyal to Trump and Milley was indeed a Trump loyalist, a la Michael Flynn. 

However, in August, Milley in a letter 

Quote

told members of Congress that the military will not play a role in November's election and won't help settle any disputes if the results are contested.

"The Constitution and laws of the US and the states establish procedures for carrying out elections, and for resolving disputes over the outcome of elections ... I do not see the US military as part of this process..." 

Let's hope Milley holds the line on this and has already telegraphed this to the WH. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Howl

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

LOL -- "Mar-a-Lago neighbors to Trump: Spend your post-presidency elsewhere"

I know, and the best part of this, according to the Daily Fail, is that the neighbors leading the charge against the tRumps are none other than the DeMoss clan, family of Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth:

Quote

The DeMoss family has made its distaste for Trump known.

In 2016, Mark DeMoss, the son of the late patriarch and insurance magnate Arthur DeMoss, resigned from the board of trustees at Liberty University after its then-head, Jerry Falwell Jr, endorsed Trump for president.

Mark’s sister, Elizabeth DeMoss, publicly opposed Trump’s plan to build a dock at Mar-a-Lago even though Trump pledged that he would not seek to build one as part of the 1993 use agreement.

I LOVE this -- it's a classic case of the assholes getting in a fight with each other. 

More seriously, tRump has still not resolved the issue of his alleged FL residency and exactly what Mar-A-Lago is: a resort or a residence. If it's the former, then he can't claim it as his FL residence. If it's the latter, then he has to shut down the business operations pronto.

Edited December 16, 2020 by hoipolloi
Fixed formatting

[AmazonGrace]

 

The transition is too long, they should have had the moving crews packing  Trump's shit up December 1st at the latest. 

[GreyhoundFan]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

The transition is too long, they should have had the moving crews packing  Trump's shit up December 1st at the latest. 

It would have been worse if the 20th Amendment hadn't been passed in 1933. Back then, the inauguration wasn't until March 4th.

[GreyhoundFan]

Twitler can rest easy, his obsession with showerheads has paid off. Of course, Mother Earth pays the price.

 

[AmazonGrace]

Isn't Mitch taking his calls? 

It makes Trump look rather weak that he quotes his friends. Look, this quacky lawyer that got all his lawsuits slapped back, and this criminal I pardoned are angry at you, Mitch! 

[AmazonGrace]

Does he think Hillary Clinton and Biden are Obama in disguise?

[fraurosena]

Fox News is dead, y'all.

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

30 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Does he think Hillary Clinton and Biden are Obama in disguise?

He doesn't understand that math needs to account for all the variables, does he?  Like total voters?

[TuringMachine]

12 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Does he think Hillary Clinton and Biden are Obama in disguise?

Ok so I figured out what he's saying. The 3 million vote loss is approximately how many less votes Obama got in 2012 vs 2008. So I guess because Obama went from having about 9.5 million more votes than McCain to about 5 million more than Romney, the fact that trump went from having about 3 million less votes than Clinton to about 7 million less votes than Biden is proof of a rigged election. Somehow. Also worth noting he is rounding up. He was closer to 74 million votes, and the increase was closer to 11 million.

It's ok trump, I'll fix your tweet to be less confusing:
"I went from 63,000,000 Votes to 75,000,000 Votes, a record 12,000,000 Vote increase. The democrats went from 66,000,000* Votes, to 82,000,000* Votes, an even more record 16,000,000* Vote increase. Wow I am such a huge loser."

*These numbers, like those used in his original tweet, are not really accurate due to always rounding up

[GreyhoundFan]

2 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

He doesn't understand that math needs to account for all the variables, does he?  Like total voters?

To him, math is a four-letter word. And he paid someone to take his tests, so it's not like he had to actually learn it.

[thoughtful]

55 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

He doesn't understand that math needs to account for all the variables

FTFY.

[Xan]

52 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

He doesn't understand that math needs to account for all the variables, does he?  Like total voters?

I think he does understand.  He's just doing this for the bumpkins who are still sending him money.  It only has to make sense to them.  They hear him saying, "Last time I won with 63 million votes.  This time I got 75 million votes and still lost?  Impossible!"  For people like JillRod and Bro Gary, this is perfectly reasonable.  

If he can keep it up, he hopes there's some Hail Mary stunt that the Congress can pull to keep him in office.  If that doesn't happen, at least he's got those sweet donations (over $200 million last time I looked) that he will keep.  And he'll give pricey speeches and milk the rubes for as long as he can.  Don has always conned other people out of their money.