I guess I everything is back to normal...

n’t!

The new Air Force One will be red, white and blue, although not necessarily in that order. Need to check with Putin to make sure he's happy putting the Russian flag on our airplanes first.

When I saw Trump wanted it repainted I was assuming it would be gold.

Wouldn’t and Would both mean the same thing when you’re smart apparently

Real wages fell again. Seems like all those companies didn't get the memo that those tax cuts were supposed to trickle down to their employees.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wa...nds-2018-07-17

This stuff is pretty out there.

I think it probably comes down to his businesses. Looks like they've been doing a lot of money laundering over the years for Russian oligarchs and they can kind of hold that over him. His loans have always been sketchy too. I don't think it's overt or anything, but he knows he can't really fuck with them.

There's also the part of him that admires authoritarians. And there is a sizable portion of the US who likes that style of rule despite talking pretending to be for democracy and freedom.

KGB vs. KFC

I'm shocked that this seems to be good enough for GOP electeds to move on.

edit: Should be NOT SHOCKED

This is literally my FB feed today...all about the DNC server and the lies of the Obama administration and this summit reaction was all manufactured media outrage.

Sounds fair enough to me :jester:

This is going to revolutionize speech-writing, watch for people to purposefully construct sentences this way in the future. One, you can just adjust on the fly based on the feel of the room and two, retroactively claim you misspoke.


Any chance you have a link at hand ? Really don't want to go off into that particular wilderness right now but would still like to read an article like that.

I was referring to the comments from those supporting how he handled the meeting with Putin, like the commentator on Fox saying "Come on, snap out of it, everybody. The guy is doing what he is supposed to be doing, and that is protecting us… What was he supposed to do? Take a gun out and shoot Putin? Putin said ‘I didn’t meddle in your election.’ So the president should say, ‘Hang on, let me execute this guy.'"

I forget, German does not have contractions, right? Been a minute since I studied it, only thing I really remember is Sheiskopf. Which seems like it should have been Trump's nickname in college.

Thanks for the link :)


There are a few, but not really as many as in the english language and definitely not as 'funky' as yours with the apostrophe and all ;) And none in a way where you turn a 'positive' into a 'negative' like that , more like to differentiate between persons and places/things while still keeping the preposition short and general.

Like for example: Ich gehe zu Marko (going to see Marko) // Ich gehe zum Training (Going to practice) --> Normally it would have to be "Ich gehe zu dem Training" but that would be a useless specification (essentially: Going to that practice), so it's left out.

And now you have a talking point the next time you meet a german and want to prove you actually did take german ;)

Coincidence that this allows non-profits like the NRA to easily commit treason.

Dark Money Groups Get A Little Darker, Thanks To IRS : NPR

Kavanaugh's opinion on foreign donations has already come up in a Mueller case.

And this gives corporations a way to dump millions without their shareholders or customers ever knowing. But that's freedom, right?

Don't know if requesting immunity for five witnesses is unusual in a case like this but it sounds like alot.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/17/muel...fort-case.html

Trump told Tucker Carlson that he didn't understand the mutual defense obligations of NATO.

And how exactly can a law like this be said to "in no way limit transparency" ? I mean, isn't it enough to say that this is to protect "personal information" and be done with this ? Since when has it become mandatory to not only tout the (real or imagined) positive changes AND then spout nonsense about the negative aspects ?
(certain political parties are doing the same song and dance in germany)

So the DNC has been trying to serve Jared Kushner with a subpoena in their lawsuit against the Trump campaign. He's ignored them or had the Secret Service block any one attempting to serve him. They've had to go to a judge and ask for the US Marshal's service to serve him.


https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...4-ee7f62cc0000

Thanks Comey but no thanks.

Don't know if Comey caused Hillary the election but he certainly adversely impacted her in the last days. It was certainly a situation where "damned if you do and damned if you don't" but I think "don't" would have been better for the country (and our allies).

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/polit...eet/index.html

It's incredible the incredible ease that he flip-flops and how he says so many things without true conviction (or he forgets about them). It's like lying to get what you want or to sound good and then forgetting what you said before.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/polit...fox/index.html

It only took a few months for this second obvious rebuke of "trickle down" to come out.

What a shock.

Never too soon to speculate for 2020 for the Dem nominee.

73% of Democrats Want ‘A Fresh Face’ As 2020 Nominee - Rasmussen Reports®

Of the three listed, I don't see Hillary or Bernie. Biden is probably the best of the three since he is relatively untainted by 2016.

I would prefer someone new (Dem or Rep, anyone but Trump).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/u...ates-2020.html

At some point the sun will burn out, so eventually NK will denuclearize.

Count me in as wanting someone new for the Dems. Clinton just has too much controversy and "smell" about her. Most of the stuff about her was made up by fear-mongering Republicans, but people both Dem and Rep just outright hate her. Biden, Bernie, Warren are just too old for me. Harris and Booker are sure to have the same white supremacist factor against them as Obama, but I need to see more from them in a leadership role if they want to be a serious candidate for me.



There is a guy I've been seeing on CNN and MSNBC (and Fox apparently) recently that I'm intrigued by, but can't remember his name. Think he is from California-Eric maybe, Swarell?

You mean against the guy that won two terms in office?

dola,

Count me in the group that wants a fresh face from the Democrats for president. They seem to do better when there's a youthful idealistic energy from the candidate. See Obama and Bill Clinton.

We all know it's going to be Trump vs Avenatti

It's what we deserve.

The baby boomers have had their chance to run this country. Time for the next generation to take over.

Eric Swalwell, but he has that lip thing going on that bugs me so I can't vote for him.

I hope the Democrats put someone in who is more moderate and younger. I want someone who is a social liberal but fiscally conservative/moderate. I do not want to pay crazy taxes but I am okay if there is a defined plan for the money.

Isn't Obama a Gen X? I know there are not clear lines but always thought 1964 was the last of the boomers.

I'm kinda like you but it doesn't seem "fiscally conservative" survives the first year of the Presidency.

Sanders is 150 years old but, but still worshiped by young far-left liberals who consider him a victim of 2016, not part of the problem like Clinton. He seems to be gearing up for another run and I could see him as the early frontrunner unless someone else steps up to get the angry liberal vote. I don't know how "anybody but Trump" will play out in 2020, whether that's enough to get people to the polls in the way a boring Democrat like Clinton could not, but I think a lot of people will be looking for something "exciting" to oppose him, and that's more important the chronological age.

Or put another way, the top 5 candidates right now include 2 of the leaders of the group who want to disband ICE, Bernie Sanders and Biden, who has said he won't run and will be in his late 70s by the time the election comes around.

The Dems should be able to put forward a moderate candidate and get 50% of the country as a never Trump vote relatively easily, but good luck doing that and not getting torn to shreds by the liberal wing of the party. I can't wait.

+1000

I'd have considered Obama a damn good start to passing the torch to the next generation if we didn't backslide to the current jackass in the White House.

Dola

I would add that I don't want to see an Obama clone next time in terms of leadership style. I personally like Obama's leadership style but think the Dems need somebody with the political capabilities of somebody like Lyndon Johnson. A ruthless politician.

Remember how the Trump folks savaged the CBO for its "partisan" deficit projections? Well the OMB is now projecting a trillion dollar deficit for 2019, and it will only be that low if GDP growth in 2018 and 2019 is greater than 5% annually.

And did I mention that this is with a booming economy and full employment? We're so fucked when the next recession hits.

dola

Holy fuck. Sanders said that Trump is considering handing over the former ambassador to Russia for questioning by Putin.

Thanks for giving me the right name-guess I will have to not look at his lips :)

Manafort loses motion to move trial to Roanoke:


Judge turns down Manafort's bid to move Virginia trial - POLITICO


Edit: And lost a motion to suppress evidence from his home in VA.

If the Presidency doesn't work, he'd make a killer LAX coach.

Biden apparently is the front runner right now.

I don't know how well Biden and Warren mesh but that may be an interesting combination for optics.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...oll/740370002/

Predict It has it: Harris, Biden, Sanders as the clear top three, Warren, Booker, Gillibrand, below them, and then a drop off to everyone else. No Clinton anywhere, people buy that she's disappeared and/or wouldn't be welcomed back.

I can't do Biden, I can't do Sanders. It's got to be strong, fresh blood I'm so tired of the also-rans that they feel like trotting out. It's time to move on.

1 Trump's staff's denials since then take on a whole new light.

2 Mueller's got all of this. They're all fucked.

I still think patience is the name of the game. Speculation only sows the seeds of disappointment and folly.

And the House GOP is going to let election security funding lapse.

I dislike the rabid liberal wing of the party almost as much as I dislike rabid right-wing folks. Neither one of them can seem to shut the fuck up about things they think I have to do in order to be a good American/person/citizen/human being.

I wish we could just go back to laughing at them like nutters instead of thinking we had to bring them into (or keep them inside of) the tent.

I might just feel this way because I work on a college campus and have to hear these dumbasses cry about their social/political vision every day...and the university frowns when I tell them to get the fuck off my lawn, since it's not really my lawn.

She's probably chilling to get the lay of the land before deciding. I don't think she has given up all hope. I do agree you are right, she's done.

I know college professors heavily lean left but your statement made me wonder about college students.

There is a chart that shows the neutral trend decreasing from 51.9 in 2000 to 42.3 in 2016. But its still a fairly large %.

https://www.theatlantic.com/educatio...entury/525135/

Says Rosenstein gave Trump the option of before/after the summit.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...e-russia-probe

The Mike McFaul question from yesterday is ridiculous. The administration continues to show itself as either woefully unprepared or incredibly malicious, and maybe both.

Heck, Trump would probably ask the Russians to "question" Brennan and Clapper and Comey, too.

Don't forget Killary!

Mueller's list of exhibits for the Manafort trial includes communications with Tad Devine and Kilimnik. Kilimnok is a Russian already indicted and Devine was Bernie's campaign manager. Devine left the firm in 2014 when he joined Bernie's campaign and all the exhibits are from 2010-2014.

Trump has asked Bolton to invite Putin to Washington in the Fall. Maybe a guest for his big military parade?

Doesn't seem like GOP incumbents would want that reminder of the past week shortly before the election.

Now we know why Trump wants the parade: Putin must have demanded to inspect and assess the US weaponry and capacity...

Not even Trump could get away with taking him around military hardware in factories and on bases, so the only way is to parade them through the streets and invite Putin!

Makes perfect sense now!

You may have something there. I think the parade is scheduled for Nov 11.

Trump says stock market gains since election give him opportunity to wage a trade war: 'We’re playing with the bank's money'

Bank's money, people's jobs and farmer's. Oh well, at least we weren't taken advantage of by, um, I guess having more than double the stock market gains we've had since Trump too office.

I'm starting to think Trump night not know what he's talking about in trade.

It's totally understandable, given that the press is so barraged by absurdities and lies in this environment, but it's a completely bizarre notion that our President still clearly doesn't even understand the basic concepts of national debt, budget deficit, trade deficit, and stock market valuation...and essentially nobody cares beyond it being "baked in" to the generic outrage.

In this thread, I think we saw the phrase "enthusiastically ignorant." That seems to be it, right? Don't know, don't wanna know.

Oh my.

Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation with Donald Trump two months before the presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model. https://t.co/gxbJK3XS4F

— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) July 20, 2018

So would such a recording fall under attorney-client privilege?

I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know.

Politically, though, it's quite damning because we were told over and over that the President had no knowledge of any payment.

Weren't those denials specific to Stormy? I think this is a different woman.

Whoops. It's hard to keep track of Trump's mistress hush money payments.

But aren't there denials regarding this woman as well?

Yeah, believe this one was for significantly more money, 1mil+.

Stormy is a shitty negotiator.

I think this is the playboy model whose story was bought by the National Enquirer and then buried before the election.

I do believe there were denials of this story as well. Just not the well-known Air Force One interview where he denied things.

I don't think cheating on your wife, or being embarrassed enough/worried enough about it to pay off the person is impeachable, so I mostly don't care about this at all. And Trump has admitted to so very much worse than this that I don't see it impacting anything in 2020, so the trashy details of this I just have no interest in. However, I'm very interested to learn if the handling of any payments/reimbursements were done in such a way that violated Campaign Finance Law, which was something that came up many times in the Stormy Daniels conversations.

Rudy says there are other recordings.

#NothingMatters

Iran has laid groundwork for cyberwar attack on the US:


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...icials-n893081

I agree with you. No one cares about him sleeping around, he's gotten that pass by mostly everyone like it or not. The time to bring up the trashy details was before the elections.

With Cohen seemingly in Mueller's sights, that would imply possible campaign finance problem. That would be sweet.

New York only requires one side to be aware that something is being recorded


Probably because of the 150 or so years of gangsters in New York City.

More than 100 former students at Ohio State have come forward to say they were sexually abused.



https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...m_npd_nn_tw_ma


Jordan's response-a deep-state (and time traveling) choreography from the left attack on him:


Jordan suggests left-wing conspiracy on Ohio State wrestling charges - News - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH

jeepers

Burn down B1G athletics.

I see Trump is going with the tried and true Deflect option #3 out of the playbook...NFL players and the anthem.

I don't think the personal life stuff is important. The issue would be more that the party that never shut up about "family values" supports this. Just pointing out that they never cared about that stuff and are massive hypocrites (what's new?).

My biggest takeaway is that Cohen has to be the worlds worst fucking lawyer in the world. Why the fuck would you record this stuff?

DNI Coates gives away what dignity he had left.

CNBC‏Verified account @CNBC









Trump says stock market gains since election give him opportunity to wage a trade war: 'We’re playing with the bank's money'


Now I see why he couldn't run a casino, or sell steaks in America. He's an imbecile.

I mentioned earlier in this thread about a real problem with either no theology being taught at all in churches, or a watered-down version being given out by preachers who just want to tickle ears. Here’s an horrific example.

Reference: God, Trump and the meaning of morality - The Washington Post


If you’re part of a theological tradition that wrongly interpreted Scriptures when it came to slavery, Jim Crow, interracial marriage, and the Civil Rights movement, you might want to consider the possibility that it’s also wrong about refugees, immigrants, and Trump.

I assume they skip the part where the Holy Family were refugees in Egypt to avoid Herod.

Ben: I had never heard the 15,000 mile-wide heaven bit. I'm familiar with the numerology around the end times, but do you know where the precise dimensions for heaven come from?

If you take Revelation 21&22 100% literally, and then somehow twist it to claim the city mentioned there is the only aspect of heaven (at least one giant leap, imho, and probably two,) you'd have a city that's 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles high, and 1,500 miles long. If that's what she's referring to, then she's off tenfold. *shurg*

Bad theology and bad math. That's a hard life, there.

Thanks. My tradition doesn't generally look at the Bible literally, and I hadn't heard that one before.

Meanwhile, Trump has flip-flopped in Russian interference yet again. Now he’s back to saying it didn’t happen. *shurg*

WBUR has an interesting story on the militarization of sports.

http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/0...store-francona

Good read. I've noticed something interesting in our national basketball league - most of the big budget teams over the past 2-3 years have been making conscious efforts to copy the game-day experience of the NBA, and this has included national anthems before the game, which was basically reserved for the Finals previously. I personally think it's a bit ridiculous and so does the rest of the crowd for the most part - not a lot of singing along.

Well, of course. After all, how many of them know the words to the American anthem? :D

"Oh say can you see, by the .... *mumble* *mumble* *mumble*

^^^ Every Aussie attempt to sing Star Spangled Banner. :D

Hey, just remember, you don't need actually know the SSB to be the president.

So Trump on the warpath this morning with Iran for some reason:


Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump









To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!

He also tweeted deep criticism of the Washington Post's coverage of his Korean "diplomacy."

Then, in a 100% unrelated move, a half hour later tweeted his thoughts about antitrust actions against Amazon.

Totally normal.