Lots of grandstanding on both sides then.

Pence has every right to do whatever he wants, but I'd also argue that he took an oath to govern the entire country and shouldn't be going out of his way to
publicly take sides on pop culture boolshit, especially when he had to know it was coming and he could've so easily chosen to make any kind of more reasonable, more direct & less infantile response to the issue beforehand.

Love it. I predict comedians are going to have fun next week.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/08/politi...ets/index.html

He wasted at least a quarter million in taxpayer money over a publicity stunt.

His own office mentioned that he had to be at a California fundraiser @6:30, meaning that it was planned in advance.

They supported a man who denigrated John McCain's service and belittled a gold star family. Can't play the patriotism card anymore. Not buying it.

Only one of which is in an official position associated with governing (the whole) country. It's most decidedly not the Government's or it's members job to essentially protest the protest.

I don't care if he speaks out on pop culture shit but don't waste a ton of taxpayer money doing it.

Was Pence even actually at the game!?

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports...est/744447001/

I think we can find precedence where members of government of both parties in the Executive and Legislative branches "protested the protest" in the past.

I would agree that its not government members job to be "full time " (or spend the majority of their time) protesting the protest.

Now if you want to say its wasting tax payers dollars, that is an angle I can maybe support (but don't know all the details yet).

There's another picture of him at the game and he's in different clothes.

The first tweet where he used the picture was sent this morning saying he was excited to go to the game. It's weird to use the same picture but I don't think he was trying to pawn it off as live action.

Some reporters have said they were told to wait outside because Pence wasn't going to be there for long. So if true this was an orchestrated move on his part because he knew Niners would kneel, which is much different than a genuine (which this fucking administration knows nothing about) and spontaneous response to an act that offended his patriotic sensibilities. In other words just as fake as his boss.

This whole thing is like a magician telling you to look over here while they do the trick where you aren't looking. This administration is great at this.

They're purposefully beating this dead horse because it draws the most attention. In the meantime, its less time that people are talking about the failures in Puerto Rico, the failures with repealing Obamacare, the ridiculous tax reform that they are trying to push, and anything else they don't want you scrutinizing too hard.

That's how the Repubs obtained their base and how Trump eventually took over that base as he's been the master of that tactic for decades.

I don't think it's some magic act. His base cares more about the racist stuff than it does anything else.

It’s not the cost of Pence’s trip that was galling. It was the preparation for it. - The Washington Post

So Lindsey Graham tweeted that Trump shot a 73 in windy and wet conditions.

We really are becoming North Korea.

Well, he's certainly had enough practice time.

It was only a 9 hole course :p

It's really really sad isn't it? Who in the world would read that tweet and be like "fuck yeah the Donald tore it up"? Not even republicans could they?

I always look for a conspiracy/other side is it possible Graham was sent out there to golf and told to tweet to stroke his ego and push off World War III for another couple weeks?

Looks like Corker was right about adult day care:

White House aides lean on delays and distraction to manage Trump - POLITICO

Don't worry, he's still focused on the important issues, like seemingly taking to Twitter to change the NFL's tax-exempt status that was already changed two years ago.

From what I've heard, Trump is actually a really good golfer. 73 does not seem improbable if that's true.

And don't forget comparing IQ tests with his Secretary Of State!

Whatever Corker said a couple of days ago about the White House babysitting crew seems doubly true this morning.

It's possible - he appears to be a pretty good golfer, from all accounts ... although I've a feeling he's only logging the better scores for public consumption, the article says as much when it mentions he's only played '20' rounds since 1999 ...

That's a bit like me making a soccer highlight reel from clips of 20 matches over the last 20 years when I play 2-3 matches a week on average, even I manage to do something half decent now and again ;)

How Good is Donald Trump the Golfer? - Golf Digest

PS - There are also various reports that his score recording is a little dubious at times in friendly games which seems self defeating to me tbh, but it would probably be in line with his other public behavior, its obvious he doesn't like to be told he's not been a success at anything.

but then again...

https://www.salon.com/2017/08/02/com...-his-handicap/

Can we just hit fast forward already?

If an overweight, 71 year old man is regularly shooting par, that would be extraordinary.

He is the healthiest person ever elected president.

I also hear he gave up a career as a pro golfer because he wanted to serve his country

I hate it when you misquote the facts. The complete quote.....

"He is the healthiest person on any country ever elected president, wonderful, abundant, health, many doctors have never seen a person in such great, great health"

Tillerson only has one move here, counter challenge Trump to a Billy Madison style academic decathlon.

In the year 2017 Mensa has offered to host an IQ duel between the President of the United States and his Secretary of State.

Seriously?

Really, what the hell is going on?

State Department on Tillerson's IQ: 'It's high' | TheHill

Well, we already covered hand size during the primaries. This is just the next logical step.

“He made a joke. Maybe you guys should get a sense of humor and try it some time,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.

Says the woman who probably only laughs when small animals are tortured.

And penis size.

How has there been no response yet to Eminems diss?

I have to say though that when this admin makes an obvious joke it is heavily reported on and articles are written and there is mass anger. Obama made a joke and the media would stand there lapping it up like a blushing schoolgirl. I get it... Trump's policies and governing are very sub par and when they do make a joke its like the awkward uncle making a joke at Christmas. But it sure doesn't help with the "fake news" aspect that Trump's followers actually believe in when stuff like the golf score and IQ are "BREAKING NEWS". Go after him for the heavy stuff but just give up trying to bust him on everything its only going to get him reelected. Blame the Russians or other things all you want but Trump's election was partially in part to this lopsided media coverage.

So, you feel that Trump challenging Tillerson to an IQ test after being publicly referred to as a "moron" is a joke?

From a man whose ego is so large that he is tweeting us into WWIII due to name calling of a deranged leader of another nuclear nation?

Obama also had high ranking Cabinet members publicly calling him out as being incompetent? When was that? I forget.

But this is just us being sheeple. Got it. We're definitely the problem here.

The problem is that's the excuse his staff and Trump use all the time to explain away his behavior and tweets. The Tillerson IQ test seemed like a joke to me and more obvious than most, and shame on the media in this case for not realizing that and trying to make a bigger issue out of it. But when you need a staff to explain his every word, then maybe you need to stop with the jokes?

But the thing is-he's not a very good joke teller, and half the time I think he's testing the response to see what he can't get away with/really believes. You are the leader of the free world, maybe save the jokes for private or the Correspondents Dinner (or yeah you won't go to that anymore).

Or maybe it is hard to tell when they are making a joke since so much utter nonsense comes out of the WH.

I think it's more like they are half jokes, half serious. Like when somebody picks on somebody else, then they turn around to whip the bully's ass and they're like "hey, I was just joking man!"

Like that.

I think that sums it up quite well, always leave yourself a two way go. Kind of risky though when you play that game with the maniacal leaders of isolated countries that have nukes.

How do you guys not see this for what it is?

This is How To Be a Bully:101.

A bully pulls as much shit on someone as he thinks he can get away with. When he crosses the line and he gets called into the principals office or to the parent he denies, laughs it off, or says he was just kidding.

Trump has done this exact thing over and over. It's no mystery what it is. He can't help himself. He is a bully who has used his power to bully contractors, women and anyone else he decides isn't worth standing in the same room as he is. He is every bit the asshole that Weinstein is. They are both power hungry, egotistical men out to get people to serve them and damage anyone who dares deny them what they want.

This is no shock. It's not a joke. He's a bully at heart and he can't change who he is.

Yup. Could not have said it better.

Source close to WH tells me Trump was not joking when he said he and Tillerson should compare IQ tests, contrary to comments at briefing.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 10, 2017

Source: "he spouted off about the IQ test because he was mad." https://t.co/vPuyqIXBYi

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 10, 2017

Anyway, guess I'll just wait to find out whether this one is a joke or not before reacting to it.

With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017

Same goes for what to think after he decides to nuke North Korea. Wouldn't want to get to upset if it was just a prank rather than something he really meant.

Anyone who voted for Trump because "LIBRUL MEDIAZ SO UNFAIR" was going to vote for Trump anyway.

Excellent Op-Ed by Brian Klaas, a fellow in comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...umn/746119001/

The fight against Trump has become something akin to a fight for facts. We have to prove that there is a set of facts that constitute "truth". And no matter what stupid bullshit he has to say, there is still one unquestionable set of circumstances that has actually occurred which makes up reality.

It's really really really stupid that it has come to this. But letting any of his stupid "jokes" or offhand comments slide in the name of "hey, we should just go after the important stuff" then just validates that he can indeed shape some of the less important reality into things that are not actually true.

Nope. Every single falsehood needs to be called out and reported. I don't care if it causes fatigue. It should. It is ridiculous that our country has come to this. But the stupidity of it needs put front and center every day if that's what it takes.

This.

I wonder if Trump is going to blast the Boy Scouts for being PC with their announcement today?

His son is already on the case.

As a current Den leader, I can practically guarantee you that this has nothing to do with being PC. It has more to do with declining membership, little sisters being dragged along by single parents because there's nowhere else to go for an hour, etc., etc., and related resource issues (of the human capital kind) in local operations than anything else. Think "family friendly" rather than "girl friendly", because honestly, we're competing with sports, churches, and other after school activities for your kids time and attention if we want the organization to survive for another 100 years.

Maybe larger communities don't have as much of a problem getting people to volunteer, but in my town, Boy Scouts had been defunct for a decade prior to last year because there weren't enough boys and their parents interested in doing the work.

So, bottom line for me on all the people complaining about it is this: if you're not willing to give up one night a week plus prep time to do something like teach a bunch of rowdy 10-11 y.o. boys to set shit on fire and dual wield pocket knives without anybody getting killed, then you don't get a vote on whether or not this is a good idea or whether or not it was a needed step.

I'm just hoping we get some fucking cookie-selling reciprocity out of this deal, because thirty-bucks-a-bag popcorn is some fucking bullshit.

* yeah, I'm teaching your kids. That's what happens when qualified people don't volunteer, motherfuckers.

You remind me of the SNL Peyton Manning commercial

My son got a few drops of blood on the middle school cafeteria floor trying to whittle some soap...

But yeah. I wound up being a sort of assistant den leader for a couple of years of Cub Scouts. And an assistant soccer coach. Now I'm a band treasurer. And I'm a parent who typically tries to dodge things.

Regarding the state of scouting in general, my son was in it for a while but at some point it got pushed down then dropped from the list. I felt like he didn't necessarily need extra direction, had enough going on with school and extra-curriculars to keep him occupied.

I think my daughter would have preferred Boy Scouts to Girl Scouts. Some of the GS stuff was absolutely pointless. Like, "hey girls, color this stuff for a while while we figure out how the hell we're supposed to sell all these cookies."

Trump is such a bullshitter. Tonight he said that the 5.2 trillion made on the stock market is actually a reduction to the national debt.

The ever aspiring dictator continues to ramp up his rhetoric to squash free press because that is as American as it gets...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Trump's let the Jones Act exemption expire for Puerto Rico; still no electricity, still not a lot of clean water or food. Body count is already trending up and will probably keep growing.

Sad state of affairs.

I'm shocked that the man who took hid Daddy's money and bankrupted himself over and over doesn't understand basic economics.

Trump's latest tirade on PR is really awful. Basically it's, fuck you guys, we're going home.

Are the PR threats just one of Trump's "obvious jokes" that we shouldn't pay attention too?

He got the message across to his base (boo Hispanics!). And his PR people can tell the rest of us to lighten up.

Americans are dying, and he's not even pretending to care. Indeed, he's going out of his way to show that he does not. And the worst part is that that's probably the right thing for a GOP politician to do in 2017.

.@realDonaldTrump to Texas, and today, Puerto Rico pic.twitter.com/pw53T9gRAs

— Katie Leslie (@katieleslienews) October 12, 2017

Just another joke I'm sure. And certainly not that he has zero clue about what it actually was.

A good case to be fired for disrespecting the flag.

Watch Trump and His Entire Crowd Joke and Laugh Through Solemn Military Flag Ceremony

No which is kind of the point I was making. When the media runs non-stop IQ, golf score, etc BREAKING NEWS and then throws this in it just makes his supporters think he is a target. Butter and others gave me the response I expected where they were defensive and said I called them Sheep but my point was actually the exact opposite. Don't take the bait on the NFL shit, don't get all worked up about his golfing or his IQ nonsense. Call him out on Puerto Rico, his recklessness on North Korea, etc... Anti-Obama people did the same thing with the birth certificate, being outraged at him hanging with celebrities, etc and it grew tiresome. I just think if you went through the 138 pages of this thread about 50+% is trivial nonsense and just feeds into his base who think the media is just out to get him.

Whatever though I'm no fan of Trump and am not defending any of his dumb jokes and reckless presidency I just think the pushback on every single thing he does runs the high risk of him getting reelected.

It is far more disrespectful for the Commander in Chief to not acknowledge revelry or retreat than a football player to kneel during the anthem. He lost any standing he had with NFL players but I don't doubt his supporters understand or care.

A lack of outrage here does nothing but confirm its about taking down millionaire black athletes and not about the flag or anthem.

I see your point, and I sort of agree with it when it comes to right-leaning, on the fence voters, but his supporters are going to stick with him unless he suddenly changes parties. They've been willing to stick with him through everything else, including quite a few flip-flops, and will continue to say the media is after him even if the targeting is reduced. That 37-38% is locked in no matter what.

mckerney: That gif is great.

White House Lawyer Denies Trump Team Is Considering Interview With Mueller


He does realize who he works for right?

That Mueller is simply doing his thing in quiet has to be disturbing for Trump.

Trump does so much better when he's fighting. And his enemies tend to play into that because they are other politicians or people who otherwise want the spotlight that open conflict brings.

I don't think he knows what to do with an enemy who shuns the cameras.

Either that or he left out a massive increase in capital gains taxes when talking about his tax plan.

Also on Trump's tax speech, truck drivers in this country must be doing way better than I'd if they are cheering on the elimination of the estate tax.

Trump has been President for 9 months & doesn't know what "Retreat" is at a military installation.

Its when we take down & honor the flag. pic.twitter.com/tkzQPDmnvf

— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) October 12, 2017

Remember that he also attended New York Military Academy.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with race.

Boy, I guess the NFL is is the hook because I'm sure the "Respect the Flag" crowd is going to be absolutely furious about this one.

The guy trashed John McCain's service and belittled a Gold Star family. It's never been about "patriotism".

Nope. Here is what they are saying; "This is neither the national anthem, nor is it a ceremony. It is background music. But leave it to libs to twist facts that have no relation with the issue at-hand. Typical."

It's so funny and sad that these individuals can't see past their own ignorance (and/or hatred).

...but, but, Obama saluted that guy with the wrong hand while holding coffee and trying to stuff his birth certificate into his pants where no one would see it...

I see this anger in a lot of my HS friends.

donald-trump-twitter-damaging-republican-character

Didn't know about this, its an interesting possibility but would say fat chance of it happening.

I do like to think that Pence, Ryan, McConnell has something drawn up ready for signatures though.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/11/politi...air/index.html

According to the CBO, Trump ending CSR payments to insurance companies will mean fewer covered, higher premiums and an increase in the deficit.

He hit for the cycle!

wtf?

My state's criminal code still has statutes making premarital sex and adultery illegal, but those statutes aren't actually enforceable in 2017. The state legislature would have to actually pass new legislation to remove those kinds of statutes, and Alabama would actually have to go through whatever process they use to amend their constitution to clean remnants like that out of them. It'd be nice if state legislatures took some time to do those things, but for whatever reason it rarely happens.

The only reason I found out about this is that Roy Moore led the fight against removing it a few years ago.

Watching him speak to the values voter summit one has to wonder. 1-When will people finally tire of his broad generalizations with no facts. "We are making great strides against ISIS, great strides, I don't know if you have noticed.....great strides" SMH.

And two, how can folks listen to him talk about morals with a straight face when he is literally devoid of morals. Just spouts whatever bullshit will appeal to his audience du jour.

Trump: “I met with the president of the Virgin Islands.” (That would be him…)

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 13, 2017

I think it's possible that Trump STILL doesn't understand that Puerto Ricans are natural-born U.S. citizens. Or that people keep telling him that but his brain isn't able to retain that information.

As Rick Wilson said, he sees them as sea-Mexicans.

Until 2002 the Oregon constitution contained the words “no free Negro, or mulatto . . . shall come, reside, or be within this State, or hold any real estate.”, and even when it was put to vote in 2002, 30% of the state population still voted AGAINST removing that language.

...but plenty of folks still think oppression is imaginary. Go figure.

McMaster Wants to Save the Iran Deal by Hiding It From Trump



This all seems fine.

Not to mention the fact that Hannity is providing consultation to Trump. No fucking agenda there.

I think that's the case. He goes along with it because everyone keeps telling him that Puerto Rico is a part of the US, but he just can't seem to grasp the concept.

After Trump Travel Ban, Chad Pulls Troops From Boko Haram Fight in Niger

Lost the support of one of the strongest militaries in Africa because of the Travel ban. Not good considering we just lost 4 soldiers in Niger this week.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn...nce/index.html

The world finally respects us again!

:shakes head: Fuckin' Chad.

The people buying that kool-aid are remarkably stupid. Results really don't matter. Guy was right that he could shoot a person on the street and not lose a vote.

Depends on who he shoots.

edit: Hell, we still don't have an end to Obamacare, we still don't have significant improvement in the invasion of illegals.
He doesn't have to shoot anybody to lose this vote.