Re: US General Election 2016

by azriel Wed Feb 22, 2017 11:12 am

So do Seagulls, crows, Hyenas & Monkeys Laughing

by Mrs Figg Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:30 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{ Credit to Trump on the seemingly rare occasions its due- but that McMasters seems a reasonably solid pick and I say half of the speech he gave at the African-American Museum. It was still, Trumpy, in its delivery but he condemned prejudice and intolerance and he was respectful and gracious to those around him. I dont know, as I only saw half of it if he then went off the rails again and started ranting about the media or boasting about his win, but hopefully not. As whilst the delivery was not exactly Presidential the substance of what I saw in that speech at least was. If we got a lot more of that Trump and a lot less of ego bragging, twitter addicted, cable news addicted Trump there might be a glimmer of hope.
Also I am finding some of his negotiating tactics interesting. NATO for example. His tactic there, if it has been a deliberate tactic, has been to run it down, play down its worth and value in the modern world, but to attach that analysis to the fact only 4 members fully pay their way. Stage two he sends out his actual negotiators who reassure now worried NATO members that the US does indeed value the releationship and will honour and back its commitments, but you really do need to make the spending commitments. And I suspect most will. Something former Presidents have tried to achieve and failed at.
The risk of course with this strategy is that you are dealing with allies in a manner which has a good chance to cause offense and resentment further down the line. But certainly short-term I predict it will look like a win.}}}

yeah when he tones it down He Who Must Be Orange isn't so bad.

by halfwise Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:35 pm

If you see clips of him when he's young he's actually quite charming. But this nasty streak took over with age.

Here's him saying the same thing as now, 20 years ago. Not as offensive.

http://fusion.net/story/174515/donald-trump-president-oprah-interview/

by Eldorion Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:49 pm

1988 is almost 30 years ago, not 20. Pokey Tongue

I agree that Trump was much better-spoken in the past. Also, in clips from the early '80s especially his New York accent sounds a lot more pronounced to me for some reason.

by azriel Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:11 pm

We all change over the years. Trumpy looks a golden boy with his blonde hair & his nicely spoken voice Smile

I wonder if he looks back on those days ?

by David H Fri Feb 24, 2017 6:24 pm

It's always seemed to me that, however well spoken, his eyes have always been shifty. He's never been the kind of man to look you directly in the eye for any length of time.

by Mrs Figg Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:51 pm

when he is quiet and respectful I like him, its his shouty self that bugs me. but he is Trump a phenomena unique. never boring.

by Pettytyrant101 Fri Feb 24, 2017 8:35 pm

{{Well we got bat-shit crazy bug-eyed Trump today- back to boasting about his win, back to shouting about his wall and how its ready to go despite the evidence, back to encouraging chants of 'lock her up' from the crowd, and a repetition of his hugely damaging and unspeakably dangerous calling of the press as 'the enemy of the people'. He is now demanding reporters should not be allowed to have anonymous sources (which would destroy a free press at one stroke) and even more dangerously they have started banning press they dont like from briefings- CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed and instead brought in only pro-Trump media to replace them - Breitbart News, The Washington Times and One America News Network.
Bye bye First Amendment- bye bye 'freedom' and if you go all the way down the path he is walking, bye bye democracy. }}}

by halfwise Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:24 pm

I was all ready to get bug-eyed crazy about the dust-up with select members of the press being disinvited, then all the stories suddenly disappeared. scratch

Turned out it was just an invitation to Sean Spicer's office. This doesn't bother me so much. I'm guessing the press realized they were beginning to blow things out of proportion, then put a lid on it when it came out it was probably just a hip flask being passed around during a right-wing cozy-up.

As for Trump insisting on naming sources, I hope this just encourages more leaks to drive him bonkers.

by Pettytyrant101 Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:38 pm

{{It wasn't the main WH briefing no, but it was slightly more than just a get around at Spicers place too.
It was in place of the main WH briefing as with Trump at the conference thing there was no normal WH briefing, they got this instead.
Also the WH themselves said those invited were 'the pool' which is the term used to refer to the normal media allowed which includes all those banned and is the same list as for WH Briefings.
Its certainly been concerning enough to the media involved for them to have lodged protests and for the White House Correspondent Association to do likewise.}}

by halfwise Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:40 pm

But why did all the stories disappear unless the original posters pulled them for some reason? If it was really a true briefing they should be plastering the entire web in protest.

by halfwise Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:43 pm

Ah - just coming on national news. It was indeed regularly scheduled briefing, but it was in his office, so there had to be some selection process anyway. Let's see what happens at the next official briefing, should be vveerryy interesting.

by Pettytyrant101 Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:20 am

{{Mmm I had CNN open and it was their main headline on the main page since it happened scratch

Also been a ton of youtube politcs videos, so I saw it on a few of the US network news stations. I never noticed it vanishing for any time. }}

by Pettytyrant101 Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:49 am

{{There might be an unexpected saving grace in this Trump administration- Ivanka. According to reports in the Wall St Journal she successfully got two executive orders changed, one to remove criticism of the Paris Climate Change Deal and the other to do with LGBT folks. And she is trying to persuade Republicans to include in their tax plan breaks for child care. In short she appears to be the democrat her father used to pretend to be. But she does seem to have influence, sitting in on policy meetings and having meetings with Senators.

Though there should always be concern I feel about someone completely unelected whose views were never made public in the campaigning and who has no formal job title or role in government having such a position and influence, whether you agree with their ideas or not. She is basically just another citizen but one who is allowed to sit in on top level government meetings and influence policy just because of who her Dad is. Didn't you lot go to all that trouble of creating a republic to stop that sort of thing? scratch

}}}

by halfwise Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:40 am

Well, you can't stop a man's family from influencing him. In which case, Ivanka's the best moderating effect we've got.

Though she is pushing a major child care initiative which will mainly benefit the well-off, at least her heart's in the right place. I think she's just a bit blind to the idea that poor people don't pay taxes so tax cuts for child care won't do diddly-squat for them. Hopefully she'll pick up on the blind spot. Or perhaps she's just doing this to get something past the republicans in hopes that it can be fixed later.

by Pettytyrant101 Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:43 am

you can't stop a man's family from influencing him- Halfy

{{No you can't, but you can question if they should be allowed to sit in on top level government meetings that may contain sensitive information. }}}

by halfwise Sat Feb 25, 2017 3:25 am

Absolutely fascinating. Steve Bannon comes across as a visionary anyone would approve of.

http://www.popsugar.com/news/Video-Steve-Bannon-Bill-Maher-43223586

by halfwise Sat Feb 25, 2017 5:13 am

The one Muslim in the White House who had held over from the Obama Administration couldn't take it any longer and quit.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/rumana-ahmed-trump/517521/?utm_source=twb

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Feb 26, 2017 2:16 am

{{ Given Trump is not going to attend the annual White House Corespondent dinner in which the President is generally ribbed by the speakers and which every President has attended I believe for 100 years before Trump, there is a phrase much used in Scotland which seems to rather fit his thin skinned cowardice- he is a big girls blouse. Very Happy

}}}

by halfwise Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:07 am

Actually many presidents don't attend their first year, it comes too soon and they are too busy. Having said that, my money's on him NEVER attending, which WOULD be a first.

by halfwise Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:27 pm

Okay, I was wrong. Only Reagan had skipped due to being in the hospital from a gunshot wound, but he called in. I said something I had remembered reading somewhere, but now everything I find contradicts the statement.

by David H Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:51 pm

halfwise wrote: I said something I had remembered reading somewhere, but now everything I find contradicts the statement.

No worries Halfy! Just double down. Everybody else is doing it. Nod

by halfwise Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:19 pm

It's the new American way. USA

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Feb 27, 2017 1:54 am

{{This WH is comedy gold. In attempt to stop the leaks resident angry face Spicer dragged a bunch of folk into his office and demanded they hand over their phones- official and private- to check if they were in touch with reporters then threatened them this was only the beginning of how far he would go to catch the leakers and further warned no one was to even to hint that he was doing this or making threats.
So how do we know this? Someone leaked it! slap laugh

}}}

by halfwise Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:26 am

Any teacher with classroom experience will tell you the way to deal with nascent insurrection is not to clamp down harder, but to keep them occupied instead with quality, interesting activities.