The Trump Presidency – 2016

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

So what do you think the odds are of effective gun legislation happening because of these marches?

I don’t, do you? I think a better question would be- how does this movement, and its critics, compare to other successful society changing movements? I fear without historical context your comment is merely vapid

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by whomario

You have taken/presented the position that knowing CPR somehow makes these protests redundant, no one said that doing these protests (or even improved gun regulation) makes CPR redundant.

And what you call "a solution" is actually just another treatment for the symptoms with which one can pat oneself on the back and feel good about doing something.

I mean, it isn't the same level as arming teachers but the line of argument is not without similarities.

I've only claimed that in order to save lives learning CPR is a more effective method than protesting is.

Lots of words are being put into my mouth in this thread. You guys should just make up quotes in my name and debate them.

[miked]

The context of the discussion was what we should be doing to make our kids safer in school regarding gun violence. The answer is not teaching them first aid. It is a good skill to have, as is say, math, reading, and things like that. Those are all things we can do to teach our kids to take care of themselves. These are not effective tools for combating violence. Marching to bring attention to your cause it actually better than learning CPR if you want to change the issue.

The idea that it is wrong that the kids are looking at us to solve their problems (in the context of gun violence) is absurd, and that is what Google Santorum was saying. Adults and gun culture have created these problems, so should it not be up to the adults to fix them?

[whomario]

Not only that, but 1) is it basically saying “well, they should mind their own business and be good little kids“ and 2) is this again a statement that would not happen in other areas of life.

I mean, he does get what a politicians/governments job is supposed to be, like working for the citizens and stuff ? Like passing laws and regulations to protect them ? And that Not only that, but 1) is it basically saying “well, they should mind their own business and be good little kids“ and 2) is this again a statement that would not happen in other areas of life.

I mean, he does get what a politicians/governments job is supposed to be, like working for the citizens and stuff ? Like passing laws and regulations to protect them ? Or why free speech and the right to assembly (protest) is guaranteed by the First Ammendment ? I bet it has something to do with this democracy thingie ...

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

First Aid is never a bad thing to learn and would probably be a more effective solution at savings lives than marching.

Doing CPR on a gunshot victim will accelerate them bleeding out, but one can never go wrong betting on Rick Santorum saying something stupid. Are you suggesting he's *not* being a dumbass?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

First Aid is never a bad thing to learn and would probably be a more effective solution at savings lives than marching.

Trump should learn CPR rather than try to disarm North Korea.

[tarcone]

What has been presented for more effective gun control? Age restrictions? Better mental health screening? Closing loopholes in gun purchases?

I don't think these are bad things, though I think there should be a waiver for military personnel owning guns.

Has there been any concrete ideas or are we just spitballing to see what sticks and what deosnt?

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

[NobodyHere]

Well they aren't the first (18th amendment anyone?)

[digamma]

Originally Posted by tarcone

What has been presented for more effective gun control? Age restrictions? Better mental health screening? Closing loopholes in gun purchases?

I don't think these are bad things, though I think there should be a waiver for military personnel owning guns.

Has there been any concrete ideas or are we just spitballing to see what sticks and what deosnt?

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

Honestly, dude, how many times do we have to do this?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

I don't know. We just had a generation fighting pretty hard to ban porn and contraceptives.

And the argument doesn't even make sense. I support laws against child molestation. Does that mean I'm fighting to have less freedom too?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Thanks for chiming in on this Sack. So is there any movement by Dems to impeach Walker? Most people in Wis fed up about him and R's actions?

Impeachment is a legislative thing, and Republicans have gerrymandered this state such that if the Supreme Court doesn't rule against them in June, it's going to take a heavy, heavy lift to ever again see a legislature in this state that would hold a Republican executive accountable.

Remember, this is a state that voted twice for Obama, voted to elect the first openly lesbian (liberal!) Senator in US history, and STILL hasn't had Democratic control of either house of the state Legislature since before 2011. That's how fucked the districts are here.

He's won three separate elections - the original, the recall, and re-election - though there were circumstances for the latter two. I'll get to that in a moment.

Originally Posted by lungs

Dems have been energized against Walker for eight years and he's still survived a recall and regular election. Problem is that he's never faced an opponent that can either a) Win the western swing counties or b) energize turnout in Milwaukee and Madison.

Not quite sure who that right person is in this crowded primary in 2018.

What's funny is that one of the Democratic candidates is a fella named Matt Flynn. No, not the former Packers backup QB, but I guarantee there will be some "WOO PACK" votes for him anyway.

And now the "extenuating circumstances" I mentioned earlier.

So as lungs said, Walker has won a recall and subsequent regular election.

But here's the thing. The recall election, his OWN PEOPLE filed the recall paperwork early so that he could a) get a jumpstart on unlimited fundraising and b) the law requires the recall election be scheduled within a certain amount of time after that paperwork, so by filing against himself early, he and his team ensured that the recall election could be scheduled for summer 2012, rather than having to share a ballot with Barack Obama in November.

A Governor Walker facing recall on a Presidential ballot would probably not have ended well for him.

And then the next election after that was a midterm election year, 2014. Wisconsin gubernatorial elections are always in midterm years absent extraordinary circumstances like recall elections.

So, I mean, I don't know if Walker is necessarily Mr. Popular here, but he's also never had to face an energized Democratic electorate in a "regular" election, either. This year might be different. Might not. I think it's gonna depend on how depressed Republican turnout is for Congressional races.

[NobodyHere]

Highlights from 60 Minutes' Stormy Daniels interview

Originally Posted by Article

The spanking

Daniels says that when she first went to Donald Trump's hotel suite in July 2006, he talked about himself and bragged about his photo on the cover of a magazine. "Someone should take that magazine and spank you with it," Daniel recalls telling Mr. Trump.

"You wouldn't," Daniels remembers Mr. Trump replying.

"Hand it over," she recalls saying.

"So he turned around and pulled his pants down a little—you know had underwear on and stuff—and I just gave him a couple swats," Daniels says.

From that moment on, she recalls, he was a "completely different person. He quit talking about himself and he asked me things and I asked him things and it just became like you know more appropriate."

"He was like, 'Wow, you-- you are special. You remind me of my daughter,'" Daniels says. "You know, he was like, 'You're smart and beautiful, and a woman to be reckoned with, and I like you. I like you.'"

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

These kids weren't alive when we all fully supported the Patriot Act, so...

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by tarcone

What has been presented for more effective gun control? Age restrictions? Better mental health screening? Closing loopholes in gun purchases?

I don't think these are bad things, though I think there should be a waiver for military personnel owning guns.

Has there been any concrete ideas or are we just spitballing to see what sticks and what deosnt?

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

You can't own a cannon or an RPG or a machine gun. They aren't fighting for anything other than moving the line that already exists.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by tarcone

What has been presented for more effective gun control? Age restrictions? Better mental health screening? Closing loopholes in gun purchases?

I don't think these are bad things, though I think there should be a waiver for military personnel owning guns.

Has there been any concrete ideas or are we just spitballing to see what sticks and what deosnt?

I do like the thing I saw on facebook about this being the first generation to fight to have less freedom. Thought that was kind of funny.

since digamma seems (understandably) a bit fatigued, here's his post after the florida shooting, it likely has the most reason to it out of anything on either side, but it quickly gets drowned out by all the crazy talk surrounding the specific incident of the day:

It is always hard to talk about specific incidents and I'm not sure it is the best policy to react to specific incidents. But hey, most of us take our shoes off at the airport now!

When you look at it from a broader perspective, the most effective way to reduce gun violence is to have background checks for all gun sales, including private gun sales arranged through the internet or at gun shows. Data shows (and we actually have this because there are about 20 states and DC that have these laws) that background checks for all gun sales reduce gun deaths by up to 50% across the board. This includes suicides, which in many states account for more than half of gun deaths. It includes domestic violence related shootings and it includes officer involved shootings. Would background checks stop every shooting? No, but they have proven hugely effective.

There are lots of other smaller things we can do around permitting and training requirements that also show positive impact.

We can also try to get rid of bad laws like Stand Your Ground laws and Permitless Carry laws which show an uptick in gun deaths.

"Data shows (and we actually have this because there are about 20 states and DC that have these laws) that background checks for all gun sales reduce gun deaths by up to 50% across the board."

It seems like there are reasonable things that can be done that may not be done in immediate and direct response to the latest tragedy but that could make an big overall impact and very few people are opposed to them, but the NRA does an amazing job of driving the narrative and scaring people and controlling the political landscape. Shame.

[Edward64]

I like how Stormy's attorney Michael Avenatti is handling this.

Applying constant pressure, teasing and daring Trump to deny etc.

Melania must be having lots of fun visualizing Donald being spanked. I want to feel sorry for her but I really don't. I'm pretty sure she was the "other woman" at one point.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I like how Stormy's attorney Michael Avenatti is handling this.

Applying constant pressure, teasing and daring Trump to deny etc.

Melania must be having lots of fun visualizing Donald being spanked. I want to feel sorry for her but I really don't. I'm pretty sure she was the "other woman" at one point.

Agree.
One of my favorite Nixon stories is how Hoover had Nixon convinced he had his campaign plane bugged and had the tapes. He didn’t, but Nixon knew he said awful and illegal stuff on the plane (namely, purposely derailing Vietnam talks). Nixion went crazy trying to get/steal/blow up the non existent tapes.

Anyways, it seems her lawyer maybe playing the Hoover card. Should be fun.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I like how Stormy's attorney Michael Avenatti is handling this.

Applying constant pressure, teasing and daring Trump to deny etc.

Trump's go-to move for most of his career has been to convince others that it isn't worth fighting him and to get them to back down. It has been very successful for him.

But when it does not work and his adversary does not blink but instead says "let's fight!" he does not have much of a fallback.

He's like a pitcher who has one Hall-of-Fame-worthy pitch, but if it isn't working, he struggles to get anyone out.

[Cap Ologist]

I really wanted Stormy to say "It's true what they say about guys with small hands."

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Cap Ologist

I really wanted Stormy to say "It's true what they say about guys with small hands."

I'll let it slide if it means they're waiting to release the visual confirmation.

[JPhillips]

“I’m also more of a hawk on immigration than even the President,” he said. “My view was these DACA kids shouldn’t all be allowed to stay in the country legally.”

Mitt Romney going full white nationalist.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Mitt Romney going full white nationalist.

If only his family had it as easy as everyone else who was born in Mexico and moved here as a child.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Mitt Romney going full white nationalist.

Romney actually held those beliefs back in 2012 when he ran. It was Trump that changed a lot on immigration over the years.

[BBT]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...march-27-2018/

22 million viewers
CBS’s Sunday night news show “60 Minutes” had 22 million viewers Sunday night, its highest ratings in nearly a decade. The draw? Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who alleges to have had an affair with President Donald Trump. More people tuned in to the interview than watched either the Golden Globes or the Grammys this year.

[molson]

He's given up on Mexico paying for it.

Trump privately presses for military to pay for border wall - The Washington Post

[RainMaker]

Guess the troops will be paying for it.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Romney actually held those beliefs back in 2012 when he ran. It was Trump that changed a lot on immigration over the years.

Romney holds whatever political beliefs are most convenient to him at the moment, honestly.

He held these views on the DACA kids in 2012 because there was no way the moderate Republican he governed as was going to win over a conservative primary base to get the nomination.

He's repeating them because he's running for Senate in Utah, instead of a more liberal state like Massachusetts or California.

[PilotMan]

I'm really enjoying Trump getting a taste of his own medicine when it comes to legal maneuvering and bombast against him. He deserves every bit of embarrassment and brow beating that he gets. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. There is nothing that would make be see him as a victim or not deserving of facing the music on every one of these claims that people have levied against him.

[Thomkal]

Nope no chaos at all:

Trump says he'll nominate White House doctor Ronny Jackson to be VA secretary - POLITICO

[JPhillips]

According to a new Mueller filing, Manafort and Gates were in contact with a Russian that Gates knew to be connected to Russian intelligence.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Nope no chaos at all:

Trump says he'll nominate White House doctor Ronny Jackson to be VA secretary - POLITICO

Weird. This the physician that said Trump was in perfect health and EXACTLY one pound below obese?

edit: read the article. Yep.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Weird. This the physician that said Trump was in perfect health and EXACTLY one pound below obese?

edit: read the article. Yep.

yep its him. Find it very hard that a military doctor would lie about Trump's health, but how many 70+ years old have you heard been in perfect health? I think (hope) that this guy will be good for the VA though, they certainly need it.

It's pretty telling too that Trump trusts so few of his own staff-they keep getting moved from position to position, like this guy. Rick Perry was rumored to be moving to this spot from Energy.

[cuervo72]

I liked the fact that barely into his first term he declared him healthy enough to finish not just this term, but a possible second. Because yeah, nothing could possibly happen to the health of a chubby, fast food fan in his 70s.

[Thomkal]

Walker's stalling tactics in Wisconsin not working:

Court rejects Wisconsin GOP appeal to halt special elections | TheHill

[NobodyHere]

Trump Attacks Amazon, Saying It Does Not Pay Enough Taxes - The New York Times

I thought Amazon is just being smart, you know like Trump is when he doesn't pay taxes.

Trump: 'I'm smart' for not paying taxes

As for the USPS being Amazon's "delivery boy", well that's kind of their job isn't it?

[BBT]

Didn't he just sign a huge corporate tax cut?

[PilotMan]

God, if Obama had forced protectionist tariffs and floated the idea of making corporations pay a fair amount of tax, he'd have been branded a socialist and chastised to no end on Fox news for being an enemy of Capitalism.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by BBT

Didn't he just sign a huge corporate tax cut?

Consistency isn't his strong suit ... but he doesn't have to worry I doubt the people who voted for him will notice any more than they have that Mexico isn't paying for his wall and that coal isn't really making a comeback etc.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Trump Attacks Amazon, Saying It Does Not Pay Enough Taxes - The New York Times

I thought Amazon is just being smart, you know like Trump is when he doesn't pay taxes.

Trump: 'I'm smart' for not paying taxes

As for the USPS being Amazon's "delivery boy", well that's kind of their job isn't it?

It's nearly the only thing keeping the USPS afloat, tbh. Email and the like killed junk mail and people pay online more rather than mail bills.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by bronconick

It's nearly the only thing keeping the USPS afloat, tbh. Email and the like killed junk mail and people pay online more rather than mail bills.

What's killing the USPS is the way pensions and health care are paid. The right has tried to kill of the USPS and privatize all mail delivery by setting up a fund to pay 75 years in advance for retiree benefits. Force the USPS to fail and you have a $100 billion slush fund set aside for future pension payments that don't need to be paid. IIRC the USPS is losing $2-3 billion per year while making $5 billion a year in payments to future pensions.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Consistency isn't his strong suit ... but he doesn't have to worry I doubt the people who voted for him will notice any more than they have that Mexico isn't paying for his wall and that coal isn't really making a comeback etc.

This really makes me wonder about the Trump base.

They cheered when Trump said "Mexico is going to pay for the wall!", but not a peep when he's trying to get taxpayers and/or the military to pay for it without a dime from Mexico.

"Coal's gonna make a comeback!" But now: "Well, even if he can't make coal come back, I still support him."

It doesn't seem to bother them that these seemingly core promises have been broken. It makes me wonder why they REALLY support him.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

This really makes me wonder about the Trump base.

They cheered when Trump said "Mexico is going to pay for the wall!", but not a peep when he's trying to get taxpayers and/or the military to pay for it without a dime from Mexico.

"Coal's gonna make a comeback!" But now: "Well, even if he can't make coal come back, I still support him."

It doesn't seem to bother them that these seemingly core promises have been broken. It makes me wonder why they REALLY support him.

I don't think there's much doubt why his supporters continue to support him.

[BBT]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian...inkId=49874524

Russian ships are skulking around underwater communications cables, causing the U.S. and its allies to worry the Kremlin might be taking information warfare to new depths. Is Moscow interested in cutting or tapping the cables? Does it want the West to worry it might? Is there a more innocent explanation?

Unsurprisingly, Russia isn't saying.

But whatever Moscow's intentions, U.S. and Western officials are increasingly troubled by their rival's interest in the 400 fiber-optic cables that carry most of world's calls, emails and texts, as well as $10 trillion worth of daily financial transactions.

"We've seen activity in the Russian navy, and particularly undersea in their submarine activity, that we haven't seen since the '80s," Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the U.S. European Command, told Congress this month.

[stevew]

I can't believe the whole postal service as "delivery boy" shit coming out of this guy's tiny fingers. It's literally the only job of the USPS.

[Thomkal]

Well after a Happy Easter Tweet, Trump got to his real Easter Message:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 6h6 hours ago




Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!

[JPhillips]

I'm all for the GOP killing the filibuster. Trump must be obeyed!

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Well after a Happy Easter Tweet, Trump got to his real Easter Message:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 6h6 hours ago




Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!

Also, cue angry kid voice, "Need Wall !"

Never mind what Mexico (really or allegedly, no idea) sucking at keeping south americans out who then go on through to the US has to do with them laughing at dumb US immigration laws.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Well after a Happy Easter Tweet, Trump got to his real Easter Message:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 6h6 hours ago




Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!

Apparently posted just after a Fox & Friends story about a caravan of 1000 people crossing over. Definitely not influenced by TV!

[NobodyHere]

No more DACA deal?

But Trump said, "I have a great heart for the folks we are talking about, a great love for them".

I can not believe that our President of the United States would say something he didn't mean.

[cartman]

Now he is saying he will ELIMINATE, not reduce the entire federal debt by the end of a second term.