THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

[FAHQTOO]

Scrutinizing doesn't mean making shit up and presenting false stats to support your view point. That's just weak-minded lying and propaganda.

When it comes to objectively learning more from the successes and failures of other countries, I wish the US would do more of that. Other countries have certainly learned a lot from our successes and failures.

Yes, it's why we are so loved as a country throughout the world.

They love the shit out of us when they need our help...or when we spend our US dollars on vacation.

[Maggot]

It's not us or our way of life they love...........It's the money bay bay.

[Maggot]

OK this is the bash Trump thread so here's a little tidbit...........
The reason Trump is not releasing his tax returns:

Back when real estate was tanking Trump was heavily invested in it, he owed the banks tons of money and things were going south fast. The banks could have bankrupted him, he was underwater with real estate and negotiations were getting frisky.
Banks at that time were not lending anything out never mind loaning Trump what he needed to get out from under his holdings enough to have a good showing at the end of the year. It was billions. What happened was..............

He was bailed out by the banks even though they were not re-negotiating anyone else's debt/profit ratio. I mean this was freaking Donald Trump his name was worth more than what he owed. They gave the money to shore up his holdings to prevent a loss betting that his name would come out ahead.
In the process his negative numbers prevented him from showing a tax liability effectively shielding him for my guess would be 5 years. Never paying a dime in taxes. He may quite possibly now be held hostage by these same banks putting pressure on him to not release them. It would look bad on not only Trump but on the same said banks that fluffed up his holdings based on his name alone without collateral.


There............ my yearly bi-partisan rant is complete. The banks have been paid back x10 and all is well in the Trump household. All very legal mind you but like his name it can giveth or taketh away.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's not us or our way of life they love...........It's the money bay bay.

"Listen here you, you, Swedes you, if you don't blow Americans kisses just for being us or when our President makes up shit about your country, you're a bunch of greedy fuckers living in a shithole that's going up in flames! Nevermind that Sweden has a low per-capita crime rate, doesn't get a damned dime in aid from the U.S., and makes very little from U.S. tourism -- Sweden stinks!"

Sweden helps the U.S. and other allies in that it's the world's leader in terms of humanitarian aid as a percent of GDP, and they take in more refugees and immigrants fleeing other nations' wars, per capita, than any other country -- which requires some big financial and social costs, but aligns with their ideals.

They're hitting max point and enacted stricter regulations and invoked a pause last year, are working to improve their integration efficiency and crime prevention/enforcement, have so far staved off a terrorist attack, and have as much right to be patriotic and defend themselves against bullshit as Americans or anyone else. I sure don't wish them any ill.

But, Trump bone-chasers are happy to make Sweden, of all places, a target of their ire because Donald Trump got called out for making a false statement about Sweden. DERP.

You can defend and deflect President Trump's fuck-ups all you want, and you can continue to resent those of us who instead acknowledge reality. He was right when he said he could shoot someone on 5^th Avenue and wouldn't lose support from some of his blind followers. It takes all kinds.

Personally, I hope Donald Trump succeeds in some of his agenda and acknowledge when I think he's right -- like gutting bad and unnecessary regulations, exempting Dreamers from deportation targeting, appointing McMaster as the new NSA Adviser... But, I won't deny, ignore or support his frequent spreading of misinformation, fear-mongering, unconstitutional proposals, and threats against people's rights. If he stops doing it, I'll stop acknowledging and lamenting the obvious. I don't think he'll stop, but hope he can at least cut back on the blatant bullshit -- I'm a realist and an optimist.

[sally]

I'm sure they have their immigration problems, but I'll admit Sweden was very low on my thought radar until recently.

Fucking Trump.

[HairOfTheDog]

OK this is the bash Trump thread so here's a little tidbit...........
The reason Trump is not releasing his tax returns:

Back when real estate was tanking Trump was heavily invested in it, he owed the banks tons of money and things were going south fast. The banks could have bankrupted him, he was underwater with real estate and negotiations were getting frisky.
Banks at that time were not lending anything out never mind loaning Trump what he needed to get out from under his holdings enough to have a good showing at the end of the year. It was billions. What happened was..............

He was bailed out by the banks even though they were not re-negotiating anyone else's debt/profit ratio. I mean this was freaking Donald Trump his name was worth more than what he owed. They gave the money to shore up his holdings to prevent a loss betting that his name would come out ahead.
In the process his negative numbers prevented him from showing a tax liability effectively shielding him for my guess would be 5 years. Never paying a dime in taxes. He may quite possibly now be held hostage by these same banks putting pressure on him to not release them. It would look bad on not only Trump but on the same said banks that fluffed up his holdings based on his name alone without collateral.


There............ my yearly bi-partisan rant is complete. The banks have been paid back x10 and all is well in the Trump household. All very legal mind you but like his name it can giveth or taketh away.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you've cracked the great Trump Tax caper.

Do you at least have the clarity of mind to then admit that Trump was full of it when he told the American people........that he'd release his tax returns when Obama released his birth certificate, that Romney should release his returns because it was precedent and he would if he ran, that he'd release his tax returns when Hillary Clinton released her emails, that he'd release his tax returns when the IRS audit was finished, etc etc etc?

[BigMark]

He emailed them to Hillary.

[Duchess]

Ahahaha! Go, Hillary.

Goddamn I hope she's gettin' some satisfaction out of this shit show just like I am.

[Duchess]

OK this is the bash Trump thread so here's a little tidbit...........

Aww, now, c'mon. We're discussing his presidency. Much of what I see posted are comments relating to things he has said & done. The fact that it's all so mockable is just an added gift.

[Duchess]

Jason Chaffetz said, "people at my town hall intended to bully & intimidate me".

Hillary is right, if you can't take the heat, get out of Congress.

[HairOfTheDog]

Jason Chaffetz said, "people at my town hall intended to bully & intimidate me".

Hillary is right, if you can't take the heat, get out of Congress.

The disgruntled liberals clearly seem to be following the disgruntled conservative playbook of the Tea Party. The Tea Party protesters' presence at Town Halls definitely helped the Republicans take over both the house and the senate during Obama's presidency, in my opinion.

I don't know if the liberals will be able to get the same results. The Dems seem to be struggling with direction -- should they go progressive left or should they move more to the center. If Keith Ellison wins the DNC Chair, the push will be more to the left. If Tom Perez wins the DNC Chair, the push will be more to the center. I don't know which is the best strategy for fund-raising and gaining momentum to win Congressional seats and governorships, but the 2018 elections are just around the corner and the Democratic party has a lot of organizing to do to take over at least the senate. I hope they can make it happen.

I heard Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon do a PR bit and pep talk at CPAC this morning. I don't agree with much of what Bannon said, but I can see where those on the far right get fired up by him and thought he and Priebus did a good job of putting a positive spin on the president, the administration, and their relationship. They were speaking to conservatives of all stripes -- nationalists, traditional Republican conservatives, libertarians, independents, anarchists... If they and President Trump can keep all of those factions fired up and attract new independents and younger voters into that fold, it'll be tough for the Dems.

A lot will depend on how President Trump does over the next year and how quickly and effectively the DNC can organize and unite. Should be interesting. In any case, I'm glad the DNC isn't still stuck with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

[Duchess]

I've seen several clips recently of Democrats behaving as badly. *cringe* So many of these people have no shame, they sound ridiculous. Each side is as bad as the other.

[username]

I've seen several clips recently of Democrats behaving as badly. *cringe* So many of these people have no shame, they sound ridiculous. Each side is as bad as the other.

Amen to that but nobody can top Trump.

I read the following this morning:

James Brosnahan, one of the country’s most distinguished trial lawyers, predicted the eventual vanquishment of President Donald Trump, while addressing the Marin County Bar Association in San Rafael on Tuesday.

Brosnahan, the attorney who defended John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban” from San Anselmo, and obtained a $32 million decision for Marin General Hospital against Sutter Health in 2013, spoke to about 50 Marin lawyers during a luncheon at Embassy Suites.

‘Trump’s not going to make it. He will not make it,” Brosnahan said. “This is America.

“Why is he not going to make it?” Brosnahan continued. “Because Joseph McCarthy didn’t make it. Trump has attacked everybody. You cannot attack the intelligence community, because they will get you. They are scary people. They do stuff.

“And you can’t attack the press, because they will get you. That’s two out of three,” Brosnahan said. “Go ahead and attack the pope and let’s see what happens.”

Asked how he thinks Trump will be removed from office, Brosnahan predicted that Trump will either be impeached by Congress or removed through use of Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the president’s cabinet to transfer power to the vice president if the president is unable to discharge the duties of his office.

He goes on to describe Trump as "mentally limited".

http://www.marinij.com/government-and-po...mps-demise

[BigMark]

I can see you special folks throwing frisbees at the moon at the thought of that, but it is ridiculous.

[username]

I can see you special folks throwing frisbees at the moon at the thought of that, but it is ridiculous.

I have a $50 bet riding on his early departure so we'll see.

Prior to that article, I pointed out that Trump had/was pissing off the wrong people (primarily the intelligence community). There's been surprise expressed recently at the number of leaks coming out of the White House. Oh really?? Gee....

I wouldn't be surprised if the IC connected the dots back to Trump with regards to talking with the Russians about sanctions before he was President. But as far as I know they haven't done that yet so that might not be "it". But I firmly believe he will do something or they'll find some conflict of interest or action intolerable. It may well come about by the method stated regarding the 25^th amendment. If enough Republicans can't stand Trump, I could see a Republican coup d'etat with pressure on the VP and cabinet. He won't serve out his term, honey.

[BigMark]

Fwap fwap

[Duchess]

I don't suppose anyone wants to talk about the WH contacting the FBI and asking them to knock down the Russia stories.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't suppose anyone wants to talk about the WH contacting the FBI and asking them to knock down the Russia stories.

I read that Priebus asked the Deputy Director of the FBI to go on record denying that there were contacts between the Trump staff/campaign and Russian officials prior to the election, the day after a NYT piece about the allegations was published in February.

Seems as though Priebus thought the allegations were false. But, we were assured by the same administration that allegations Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia before the election were false too. And, we know Manafort was forced out as Trump's Campaign Manager due to conflicts of interest with Russia/Ukraine (which we also were originally told were false allegations).

Anyway, it's good to know that Priebus was told the FBI wouldn't do so because the allegations are part of an ongoing investigation and they don't respond to all of the news reports the White House doesn't like. Hopefully, a fair and thorough investigation is underway and we'll see solid evidence one way or the other sometime soon.

(Personally, I don't think President Trump's twitter tirade this morning about Priebus' request being reported is making the allegations seem less likely; just the opposite.)

[username]

Thanks HotD. Yes, I spoke too soon about the IC connecting (or not) the dots from Russia back to Trump directly. I've actually had some time to watch the news and it's obviously an active investigation.

I want $50, Clang. And no, some of your finest lingerie will NOT suffice. *shudders*

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks HotD. Yes, I spoke too soon about the IC connecting (or not) the dots from Russia back to Trump directly. I've actually had some time to watch the news and it's obviously an active investigation.

Yeah, there's still back and forth over whether there should be a separate independent investigation (of course, the Dems want one). But, the FBI has been investigating since before the election and the Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating too. I read an update about it this morning.

Snip:
Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of Russia's effort to influence last year's U.S. election is shaping up as an unexpectedly bipartisan effort that could take months to complete as it explores the most significant controversy shadowing the new Trump administration.

The investigation, which will involve scouring highly classified material, is still in its early stages, but Republicans are so far joining Democrats on the panel in pledging to conduct it in a serious manner.

The committee will examine the extent of contacts that President Donald Trump's associates had with Russian officials before and after the Nov. 8 vote. In particular, it plans to look into conversations that Michael Flynn, who was ousted last week as Trump's national security adviser, had with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition.

Senate Republicans don't want to be seen engaging in a cover-up -- especially if leaks about additional contacts between Russians and people in Trump's orbit continue to trickle out. But they also don't want investigations to mushroom the way GOP efforts to probe the Benghazi attacks did during the Obama administration.

Full story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/natio...story.html