His base carried him to the the White House. And if articles like this can be believed, then it is certainly enough.

Maybe voters changed their minds in the last 2 months. I don't know.

Each side is going to get ~40% regardless of who's running. Mondale got 40.6% and McGovern got 37.5% It's the 20% in the middle that decides it.

And he was right! No pressure now!

The White House has issued a statement in response to this story from the failing fake news New York Times.

The WaPo is reporting that a White House official has been named a person of interest in the FBI Russia investigation.

Maybe they should stop writing stuff down... or saying stuff...

This news cycle pic.twitter.com/bqb5Tz04yX

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 19, 2017

Felix Salmon‏Verified account @felixsalmon









Act 1: Donald Trump finds himself on a plane for 14 hours with a senior aide under FBI investigation and a bunch of journalists.

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner 'person of interest in Russia investigation' | The Independent

A few articles worth a read, at least I think.

The Nightmares and the Realities of Never Trump - American Greatness

This Is A Coup Against Our Right To Govern Ourselves - Kurt Schlichter

And finally this, from August 2015.
Clown Genius | Scott Adams' Blog

I'm thinking of subscribing to WaPo just to support the awesome coverage they've been doing.

I am rarely surprised by the ignorance of the masses, but the crazy proliferation on social media of the meme with Hillary and Michelle wearing head coverings and Melania not wearing one today is raising an eyebrow with me today. It was widely reported when Michelle dldn't wear a hijab in Saudi Arabia just a year or two ago. Are these people just ill-informed dolts who just started paying attention when Trump was running, or willing to be completely abandon/ignore facts to try to advance their team.

And Trump even tweeted about it, because of course he did.

Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted.We have enuf enemies

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2015

Eh, might it have been her decision and Trump doesn't agree with it? It's a little 1950s to blame the husband for not controlling his wife properly.

I'm more concerned about Trump's crimes, general incompetence and recklessness, and the danger of a terrorist attack or world war 3.

I'm not so much surprised by the ignorance of the masses, just deeply saddened and almost fearful. Trump has empowered these closet idiots and legitimized their ignorance, so they will loudly support him until a more delusional maniac comes along who does it better. Nothing feels better to a fool than that feeling of having "the most powerful man in the country" behind them.

We had a family of these simpletons working with us at my hotel, and they were good people up until Trump was elected, which prompted their true colors to come out. After that, they would go around threatening our mexican housekeeper constantly, tried instigating several schemes to cause her and others they don't agree with to get fired.. Then when they were caught at their stupid game after they posted several fake reviews on tripadvisor talking bad about the hotel (The hotel they worked at and relied on for income), they had the gall to call my boss a sand nigger to his face. This was after he loaned them 500 dollars to help them get their car fixed when they were in a bind and really needed the help.

These kinds of people are in high supply in a rural town like this, and that's the backbone of what got Trump elected. Him out there spouting this borderline racist bullshit and basically legitimizing being a xenophobe while "saying whatever he wants" is all these people needed to support him. They'll support anyone else who does the same, because in their eyes anyone who acts like that is something to aspire to.

I've checked in no shortage of people who would glance at the lobby TV while Trump happened to be on there and say "Fuck Obummer, I'm glad he's gone finally. Trumps gonna get shit done." They would say this out loud, to a total stranger behind a desk. They would say it proudly. It's bonkers.

All you need to do is read two posts up to see the idiocy.

Not idiotic-proof up here lol. An editiorial in yesterday's paper:

Most of that was opinionated name calling and BS, but there was at least one salient point in there. And that is that it is true that the Dems are not working for the benefit of the country but for themselves alone. They will work so hard at stopping anything that Trump and the GOP does, regardless of whether what they are doing is right or wrong or for the best of the country or not.

This is, BTW, the same crap the Republicans did for eight years. Same crap, both sides.

I have said before many times, and I will say it again. The macro-problems in this country have at their core the basic truth that the population has split into two sides, and the two sides are far more interested in being "right" than in being better (for themselves or for the country or for both).

And I have seen that here at FOFC and have ripped many people here for it, although it usually falls on deaf ears.

This guy is a colossal fucking moron.

Excellent counter points!
Great discussion.

What exactly do you want to discuss about it?

The guy doesn't understand what the word coup means. It implies Trump is some anti-establishment politician when everything he has done since taking office has been what the establishment has done for decades. It completely avoids any of the actual stories that have come up to focus on strawmen arguments.

His act is what hacks do to cater to simpletons. There are plenty of these dopes on both sides. His archives read like an angry man writing some homoerotic fan fiction he has for a 70 year old man.

Do you want me to link to some Daily Kos article written by some equally angry pseudo-intellectual with a personality disorder too to counter it? Can't we all just accept that these sites are catering to morons and written by wannabe pundits desperately seeking relevance?

Sigh.

I feel like its pointless to respond but for some reason I will, I guess I am a glutton for punishment.

I understand you dont agree with his meta point. I'll concede and agree that the piece is definitely biased. But when you cant make an argument that doesnt includes insult then I dismiss you as either incapable of comprehending logic and reason, or incapable of separating emotion and intellect. Either way, a further discussion is basically hopeless.

I've been very open here that I was anyone but Clinton. I'm far from a Trump fan or supporter, though I did vote for him.

However I do think there is some credence to the notion that we have never seen a united media so thoroughly dismiss a sitting President and to cluster lump all his supporters as ignorant sheep. Yet those ignorant sheep, voted for this clown candidate because they thought he was preferable to the alternative.

At some point I think there is a discussion about if the opposition ones arent the minority and they the ones who are out of place.

Here are some previous columns from the guy worried that the left is not respectful enough of the president:

With Clinton We Will Be Under Occupation In Our Own Country

Hillary Hates You

Obama Is Too Incompetent To Pull Off A Coup

You Owe Them Nothing - Not Respect, Not Loyalty, Not Obedience

More Lame Virtue Signaling From President Faily McWorseThanCarter

Your Life Means Nothing to Liberals

Liberals, Stop Lying About Everything

Liberals’ Refusal To Secure Our Borders Invites Ebola . . . And Worse

Liberals Hate Civil Rights - Especially When Conservatives Exercise Them


So, yeah, he can take his snowflake act and go fuck himself.

I honestly don't think we've had a sitting President this stupid in the modern history. We're also living in a time where information can spread in a fraction of a second so every story is magnified more than it would have been 30 years ago.

The media has a bias. I've said it a ton. I don't think they are working out a coup or whatever this author is insinuating. I don't think that bias is as dramatic as some imply either, especially when Trump really doesn't stand for anything (he isn't a liberal or a conservative).

What I think is happening is a mix of an information age making it easier for media to communicate with people mixed with a President who is rather stupid and unable to avoid pitfalls because he's a raging narcissist who craves attention. The country put a reality TV star into office. We wanted and expected this kind of chaos. If we put a hermit in office, it'd be just as silly to complain that he's too quiet.

Don't forget this too.

If you are Jewish and supporting Barack Obama and John Kerry, well, you would have made a fine helper at Auschwitz.

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) December 28, 2016

I somewhat agree with this. Don't think its as "united" or as "thoroughly" as you say but its there.

Not to say he doesn't deserve it as he is an attention-twitter-king and alot of it is self-inflicted.

The fan fiction thing wasn't making stuff up either. He literally writes it.

Just a moment...

I do think we have to be careful not to lump all of Trump's supporters as ignorant sheep. So many people are so outraged at every individual who voted for Trump that they are willing to lump every single republican as a racist, sexist, hopeless moron. That's not helpful. Its not a healthy thing to do either. So yeah we should avoid that.

That said, the article you linked is at the right edge of the current right talking points. There is an assumption currently made by those on the right that EVERY SINGLE LEAK leading to a story is fake. That the Washington Post is making up every word they write. If anyone actually cared they'd put their name on it. That investigative journalism is dead and nothing can be trusted (except for Sean Hannity, some might say). I don't believe that's true. I believe that some stories are rushed to print some of the time and that's very very bad.

You can tell me that you don't necessarily believe that Trump asked Comey to stop investigating him. I can respect that belief if you are trying to hold out until an investigation is completed, fine. But if your opinion is that the intelligence agencies in the United States are investigating Trump because they don't like him, and its some "deep state" Obama conspiracy, and that its a waste of taxpayer dollars because the left just can't admit that they lost... now you've lost me. And that is a current talking point on the right.



Why?

--Trump did not win the popular vote (i'm not saying Hillary "won", i'm speaking to your minority point only).
-- https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...roval-ratings/ Trump's approval rating is literally at historic lows at every point of his presidency so far, compared to every single presidency since Truman
-- Poll: 78 percent want independent Russian probe | TheHill 6 days ago 78% of those polled felt a special procecutor/independent commission was needed to handle the Russia investigation.



As for article selection, look at the shit jphillips posted. I try pretty hard to avoid confirmation bias myself and to check the site/author posting things, to doublecheck facts before I rant, b/c its so easy to sit in an echo chamber and believe every negative thing abut Trump since I don't like him. Like Ben mentioned earlier about outrage over basic facts like hillary/michelle obama not wearing head coverings in Saudi Arabia, not that I'd really make that a point to pick on that myself no matter what, but the point people are making is just false.

Though, of course, if you agree with the general lean and bias this author takes in general, then yeah, we're all just wasting our time. :)

I wonder how he's dealing with Trump using "violent extremism" rather than "radical Islamic terrorism."

We don't have to rush to judgement either. Comey will be testifying under oath soon. Mueller is a pretty straight shooter from everything I've read (both sides seem to have a ton of respect for him) and will put out what he finds. People calling for impeachment are crazy. Let things play out.

There are legitimate reasons to vote Trump. If you are wealthy and looking at a massive tax cut, voting in your own self-interest is expected. If you work or own stock in companies that create military supplies his Presidency is going to be a boast. Same goes for energy companies and banks with his push to deregulate the industry.


I can understand the belief that the reports are going too far. For instance, I don't think the Russians were hacking voting machines and I think the election stuff is all sour grapes from the left. Russia played a propaganda game to get the person they wanted elected. Countries do that all the time. Our CIA has a rich history of it.

On the other hand I don't know how someone can believe that there isn't something fishy going on. I mean Flynn was being paid a lot of money by a foreign government and was covering it up. There are a lot of communication between people on Trump's team and the Russian government. And if it was all on the up and up, they wouldn't have repeatedly lied about it or failed to disclose. Plus Trump did stand on stage during the campaign and request that the Russian government hack his opponent.

The truth of what happened probably falls somewhere in the middle. Shady dealings likely occurred (there is too much smoke) but it's not some elaborate plot by Trump and the Russians to steal elections and form some fascist regime as some on the left are crying. It's likely the Russians saw a good mark. Our country has been doing it for years across the globe.

Let me say, wow. Never saw that before and it'seems uhhh....interesting...
I don't know the author's history extremely well. I'm not a big politico, I just ran across it elsewhere and found the original article presenting a point I feel (although it goes a bit extreme) has merit and is being ignored.

May be too soon to tell but NK called our bluff twice now and no real reaction? Here's hoping we do something about it beyond just empty threats.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/asia/n...ile/index.html

I'm not sure about that on the basis I haven't seen the Republicans try to do anything I approve of or want this presidency so far ... why they didn't start with the infrastructure investments I don't know, that is something which it would be hard for Democrats to rail against ... while I dislike their concept for funding it, I'd be in favor of it regardless.

So this is language from the article you posted:







By your words, you've completely dismissed him, right?

More seriously, I think there's room to recognize Trump won the election and connected with voters who elected him and believe that many of the chaos in the White House currently has been self inflicted by Trump's verifiable lies and potentially dangerous behavior, both of which have nothing to do with his voters. I can also believe that we should have a full and independent investigation of possibly criminal acts without it being an attack on a Trump voter.

I think there is a danger of a little boy who cried wolf syndrome, with everything being labeled a crisis. I think that does two things: 1) contributes to the feeling that there is a "vast left wing conspiracy" to stick it to Trump voters and 2) makes identifying real crises more difficult and less effective.

The other thing that shouldn't be conflated with the independent investigation is resistance to individual policies, such as health care and the Trump tax plan. That sort of disagreement and expression of disagreement is exactly what our government is built upon. Put forth a shitty health care plan and hear from your constituents. That's how it is supposed to work.

Trump curtsied to the Saudi king, refused to say Radical Islamic Terrorism, got tired and skipped an event, bragged about forcing an American company to cut the Saudis a better deal, and had his picture taken with the King while touching a glowing orb.

So far so good! I'd say there's at least a 50/50 chance that he makes a Jews/money joke while in Jerusalem.

I actually think this might be one of Trump's BETTER weeks because at least he's in his wheelhouse a little bit - meeting people, talking deals. I think he does have a certain charm that makes people like him in in personal conversations, and that's a useful thing for U.S. president on a foreign tour.

Really, IMO, the more time he spends abroad or in Florida the better for all of us.

His better weeks always align with him generally shutting the fuck up and not tweeting. You think he'll figure it out one of these days?

Part of what got him in the White house is that Hillary was out there screwing up to take up some of the news cycle. I really doubt he can figure it out now as President when the eyes are on him 24/7.

I hate the Saudis, but kowtowing to them is S.O.P. Even Obama who would privately disparage them never publicly went against them. I'd love it if we just let the Saudis fight their proxy war vs Iran & stopped helping them, but is that really something you want Trump to decide? And do what? China & South Korea don't want to deal with Seoul etc being shelled or the massive refugee crisis/reunification pain war would bring, so we're not actually starting one & North Korea knows it. Leave the economic sanctions, travel bans on top officials, etc in place, but there's no point to shows of force or military threats because we'll never go through with them.

Yeah I know there is hypocricy with Trump tweetstorms about Obama's Saudi visit and now Trump is doing hte same things but I just do not care about that. In the grand scheme of things with so many other stories worth so much more attention this is completely irrelevant to me.

Area Man Suffers Tragic Injury After Patting Self on Back

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/22/po...d-budget-cuts/

Straight as a corkscrew.

I went to urgent care the other day to get some pain meds for this. Turns it they aren't covered under Obamacare. Guess I'll just deal with it.

"Making deals" - seriously, does anyone believe that he 'cut' a billion dollar deal on the spot? ... I'd imagine these things take months if not years to setup, that's obviously something unconnected to his visit which they've chosen to announce to make things look nice.

From what I read, the deal has been in motion for over a year. So we can blame Obama for the cluster-F of a deal. Most "deals" Trump has touted were in the works long before he took office. I'd argue any deals for the next year are probably Obama's doing (Obama being a broad term for his admin), then we can start putting them in Trump's win column.

Chief, please read digamma's point and understand one thing that many of us believe. The government is supposed to function this way. The party that is in power presents policies. The party that is in minority objects. The two sides are SUPPOSED to come to an agreement, sometimes a compromise, sometimes the party in power gets what it wants.

When one of the parties finds something particularly disagreeable to its constituents, I would expect them to fight it HARD. What changed sometime in the past 15 years, is that it became OK to just become outright obstructionist. It is not ok. But for me personally as a Democrat, it would be far worse to see some of these more extreme policies enacted. So do what you need to do. What should happen is that we go back to the table and compromise.

But now it has always become a zero-sum game. The GOP wants to push through as much regressive shit as they can as long as they have this control on 2 of the 3 branches, and to gain control of the third. That, IMO, would be disastrous. I'm good with the fight. Can't just rollover on this one until they are willing to play ball like it used to be played. Things got done then, beyond just proving a side right.

I'm real tired of politics the way the game is played now, but make no mistake that if this is what it takes to fight for the soul of the country, I'm up for it. Not going to roll over no matter how much people like JiMGa tell me that I'm going to roll over and I'm going to like it.