The Trump Presidency – 2016

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

There are some priceless quotes in this Time article:

http://time.com/4775040/donald-trump...ing-president/

The state governments are in much better position to, you know, help people. In terms of, you know, just the size, the mere size of it. But we’re putting in $8bn and you’re going to have absolute coverage. You’re going to have absolute guaranteed coverage. You’re going to have it if you’re a person going in…don’t forget, this was not supposed to be the way insurance works. Insurance is, you’re 20 years old, you just graduated from college, and you start paying $15 a month for the rest of your life and by the time you’re 70, and you really need it, you’re still paying the same amount and that’s really insurance.

He managed to learn you get absolute, guaranteed coverage by paying $15 a month in a short period of time. I bet it takes most people years to understand that's what health care is.

You know the catapult is quite important. So I said what is this? Sir, this is our digital catapult system. He said well, we’re going to this because we wanted to keep up with modern [technology]. I said you don’t use steam anymore for catapult? No sir. I said, "Ah, how is it working?" "Sir, not good. Not good. Doesn’t have the power. You know the steam is just brutal. You see that sucker going and steam’s going all over the place, there’s planes thrown in the air."

It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said–and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said what system are you going to be–"Sir, we’re staying with digital." I said no you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good.

Trump Wants ‘Goddamned Steam,’ Not Digital Catapults on Aircraft Carriers

Navy officials were “blindsided” on Thursday, a spokesman told me, by President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he has convinced the Navy to abandon a long-planned digital launching system in favor of steam on its newest aircraft carrier.
...
The Navy says it is scrambling to figure out how to address the president’s concerns. A spokesman said it will issue a statement on Thursday afternoon, and figure out talking points for Naval leaders should the question come up at public events.

Good luck coming up with what to say about that.

[Easy Mac]

See, there wasn’t a second attempt. There was only one attempt. There was a mistake, was we set a date. Now had we not set that date, we would have had one time. What we did was we started off and it changed until three or four days ago when it got passed. But we set a date. And when we didn’t vote, everyone said Trump fails with health care.

That's pretty much how I describe the first time I had sex too.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Trump Wants ‘Goddamned Steam,’ Not Digital Catapults on Aircraft Carriers



Good luck coming up with what to say about that.

Next secretary of the navy?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Next secretary of the navy?

Given the direction of the Trump Presidency, I nominate this guy:

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Trump Wants ‘Goddamned Steam,’ Not Digital Catapults on Aircraft Carriers

Far be it for me to defend Trump, but steam is still the standard launch method, and from what my son says there has been numerous delays and issues with the digital system on the Ford. This has caused huge cost overruns and has not proven to be dependable at this point in time. To the point where it is a potential hazard to pilots. So it seems like Trump is just rallying for the system that is currently most dependable.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Far be it for me to defend Trump, but steam is still the standard launch method, and from what my son says there has been numerous delays and issues with the digital system on the Ford. This has caused huge cost overruns and has not proven to be dependable at this point in time. To the point where it is a potential hazard to pilots. So it seems like Trump is just rallying for the system that is currently most dependable.

That is all true from what I've read, but it's already done, and the commitment has been made to the new system.

I won't link to the Gawker article on it, but :

Maybe I’m crazy though. So to find out, I asked Dr. Robert Farley, a specialist in military diffusion, maritime affairs, and national security at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, and our resident carrier expert, if this was all nuts. And it turns out, maybe not.

“I can confirm that this is absolutely nuts,” he said. The whole idea of ripping out the launch system in the already-built Ford, and re-designing the following carriers (including the already-under construction USS Enterprise), would be “immensely expensive.”



As with any new system, its development hasn’t always been a smooth ride. It’s been beset by reliability issues over the years, and if anything, carriers need to be reliable. Without the ability to launch planes, the ship is a proverbial sitting duck.


But like most new things, the kinks will probably be worked out. The system is needed for the future, and if we turned our back on every system that was necessary but didn’t quite work out perfectly as a prototype, we’d still be living in the stone age.

[thesloppy]

It's kind of nutty to think how much steam still runs the world. For many, many years I assumed nuclear power involved directly harnessing and collecting the massive energy created from a fusion reaction....nope, just boiling up some water real good.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump is pledging to release a "certified letter" that will prove their are no Russian connections.

So that's that, I guess.

I am so sure Lindsay Graham is going to back down now. unbelievable.

[Ben E Lou]

I am pretty sure that the certified letter was signed by Epstein's mother.

[Thomkal]

LOL

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Oh, and the Deputy Press Secretary did the press briefing today because Sean Spicer didn't come in today after hiding behind bushes yesterday to avoid the press.

She's way better at it than him. Wouldn't be surprised if they used her instead of him for big briefings.

[JPhillips]

Trump admits to obstruction of justice during the Lester Holt interview:

"When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story."

[stevew]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

It's kind of nutty to think how much steam still runs the world. For many, many years I assumed nuclear power involved directly harnessing and collecting the massive energy created from a fusion reaction....nope, just boiling up some water real good.

lol, me too. You aren't alone.

[JPhillips]

What an asshole:

The waiters know well Trump’s personal preferences. As he settles down, they bring him a Diet Coke, while the rest of us are served water, with the Vice President sitting at one end of the table. With the salad course, Trump is served what appears to be Thousand Island dressing instead of the creamy vinaigrette for his guests. When the chicken arrives, he is the only one given an extra dish of sauce. At the dessert course, he gets two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie, instead of the single scoop for everyone else.

[Neon_Chaos]

Stephen Colbert is the best thing to come out of the Trump presidency.

Stephen Reacts To Trump Calling Him 'A No-Talent Guy' - YouTube

[Ben E Lou]

Shut The Hell Up, Mr. President | The Resurgent

Rod Rosenstein wrote an excellent and articulate memorandum explaining the need to fire his direct report, James Comey. Comey had, on several occasions, overstepped his bounds. Most recently, Comey testified under oath to Congress and much of what he said was not true. The FBI, embarrassingly, had to retract his testimony.

The Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General recommended Comey be fired. They cited Comey’s several missteps, the bipartisan complaints about him, and the recent testimony. President Trump fired him.

Vice President Pence and the entire White House apparatus swung into defense to defend the decision. The decision was made with consideration and consultation and was not made lightly.

The press ran with a report that Rod Rosenstein was angry at being made the man responsible. The press said Rosenstein was going to quit as a result. Turns out that was not true.

The press ran with a report that James Comey had asked for additional funds for the FBI’s investigation into Russia shortly before his firing. That was not true either.

The press ran with a report that Rod Rosenstein asked for and was granted an emergency meeting with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Turns out the meeting was scheduled prior to Comey’s firing.


Everything made sense and was justified, despite the partisan outrage. It was defensible, even if the timing looked bad.

But God help us all, the President felt overshadowed. He was subservient to checks, balances, systems, and recommendations. So what did the President do? He lashed out and said he’d made up his mind to fire James Comey even before the Department of Justice recommendation. On top of that, he said he would have fired Comey regardless of Justice’s recommendation.

In one short interview, the President made liars of every single person who mounted a credible defense of the decision — a decision that remains defensible.

But the decision is not defensible if the President did it just because Comey wasn’t loyal to him personally. The decision was not defensible if the President did it because he felt personally offended by the FBI Director.

The President’s behavior is juvenile and asinine. He undermines his Vice President, his communications team, and the very foundational reasons for firing Comey. He can’t help but make it about himself and in so doing he undermines his own integrity in the process.

The President needs to shut the hell up. He does himself and those around him absolutely no favors. He has done more harm than good. And the kicker is I think he is lying to boot. Donald Trump has an overwhelming need to make it all about himself. And if he fired Comey based on someone else’s advice, it would not be about him and his brilliant skills.

Our President is an idiot.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I am guilty of being one of those who have been trying to glean insight into his tactics, and trying to sort out the whole stupid/savvy thing.

Or, put another way....

Democrats trying to figure out what Trump is doing vs. what Trump is actually doing (h/t @Daniel_Smyton) pic.twitter.com/4DfNmxelal

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 12, 2017

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Shut The Hell Up, Mr. President | The Resurgent

Isn't the more likely answer that Trump said he wanted to fire Comey, the staff put together a defensible justification for the firing, and then Trump shit all over their work because he has no impulse control?

[digamma]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I know there are more sexy things to fret over, but at some point, doesn't the horrifying lack of actual leadership in government matter? We've seen this in bits and pieces... of the top jobs at the State Department, they have filled something like one of 100... of all these senior US Attorneys fired for being Obama holdovers simply have not been replaced... and so forth. It's pretty clear (regardless of what side you're on, I'd think) that this President and Administration have less interest than usual in the actual day-to-day conduct of government business, and I guess we knew we were getting that. But doesn't this actually matter at some point? Or is this just yet another left/right talking point where the true believers will tell us that since the sun continue to rise in the East, that's evidence that we don't actually need a true State Department, and can get by with an occasional official visit somewhere from Ivanka instead? (and so on and so forth)

I had dinner with an old professor last night who swims in some of these waters. He had an interesting thought on this that also buttresses the goldfish theory. His point was that if Trump was really playing 3D Chess or Bannon, et. al., had some grand scheme, then these spots like assistant secretaries of state, ambassadors to major allies, deputy department heads, etc. are the first ones you fill to start having your world view filter through the government. It's easy to do. There aren't huge confirmation battles and you start "winning" by brute force. Instead, goldfish.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by digamma

Gonna nominate this one too:




Yeah, let's turn a question about China into a two paragraph ad for my private club.

I agree with him that the only time I've ever been able to sit down and talk for hours is when sitting in the chairs at Mar-a-lago.

[mckerney]

None "of any type" with "few exceptions?"

[Toddzilla]

How was that tweet posted 6 hours in the future?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

How was that tweet posted 6 hours in the future?

time zone...

[digamma]

Is that the current time in.....RUSSIA?

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

time zone...

I'd turn 360-degrees and run away

[Thomkal]

I think the key words in that tweet are actually; Trump Lawyer not any of the rest of it.

[digamma]

#withfewexceptions already trending.

Not to state the obvious, but I'm much less concerned with income from Russian sources than I am with expenses (namely interest expense) to Russian sources.

[SirFozzie]

Plus ol Donnie is having a tweetstorm up threatening to cancel all press conferences and replace them with written statements.

edit: Oh, not to mentioning "threatening" Comey if there's leaks.

Yeah, I'm SURE that will go well

[Logan]

Don't worry guys, we're going back to locking up all those minori- I mean, non-violent drug offenders for the maximum amount possible. So we'll be safe again.

[SirFozzie]

The White House Press Room right now:

Y2K | This is SportsCenter - YouTube

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Logan

Don't worry guys, we're going back to locking up all those minori- I mean, non-violent drug offenders for the maximum amount possible. So we'll be safe again.

To be fair locking up minorities for non-violent drug crimes has broad bi-partisan support. I don't like popping up these threads because I think Trump is awful and his presidency is embarrassing. Seem people though seem to lose track that the war mongering, bank loving, Patriot act worshiping, drug shaming doesn't ever seem to stop no matter which side is in power. Ask Bernie Sanders how well opposing those topics really flys in the Democratic party.

[QuikSand]

BREAKING: Trump lawyer: Tax returns from past 10 years show no "income of any type from Russian sources," with few exceptions.

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 12, 2017

Fun stuff: #withfewexceptions hashtag on Twitter

[Thomkal]

very funny Quik, wonder if Donald reads them?

[JPhillips]

And as if we need anything else, now there's an Ebola outbreak in the Congo!

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by panerd

To be fair locking up minorities for non-violent drug crimes has broad bi-partisan support.

I'm not sure this is a hands-down true statement. In the last decade or so, lots of states have been moving the other direction, with reforms to criminal justice systems designed to lessen incarcerations for non violent offenses, especially drug related. More treatment, fewer inmates. Serves both justice and the taxpayer. This has been happening in both red and blue states, too.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

And as if we need anything else, now there's an Ebola outbreak in the Congo!

that's sounds like a song .... Car 54, Where Are You theme song maybe?

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Shut The Hell Up, Mr. President | The Resurgent

Hey Ben,

some of this stuff it mentioned, the things the press said that turned out not to be true-I've not seen that reported elsewhere-so is this article correct about them?

[QuikSand]

If you read my last number of tweets, only one opinion can be formed - that our President, and therefore "leader," is grossly incompetent!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2014

It's almost like the United States has no President - we are a rudderless ship heading for a major disaster. Good luck everyone!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2014

Fish. Barrel.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I'm not sure this is a hands-down true statement. In the last decade or so, lots of states have been moving the other direction, with reforms to criminal justice systems designed to lessen incarcerations for non violent offenses, especially drug related. More treatment, fewer inmates. Serves both justice and the taxpayer. This has been happening in both red and blue states, too.

I am talking more federal than state/local. Obviously some states like California and more recently Colorado have figured this out. But nationally the Obama administration had a lot of talk about the failed drug war but they had 8 years to move marijuana off schedule I and never did. I call that a lack of any commitment at all to ending the drug war.

[Kodos]

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by panerd

But nationally the Obama administration had a lot of talk about the failed drug war but they had 8 years to move marijuana off schedule I and never did. I call that a lack of any commitment at all to ending the drug war.

I'd definitely agree on that point.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Shut The Hell Up, Mr. President | The Resurgent

The key phrase in that for me:
The President’s behavior is juvenile and asinine.

That is his biggest issue - he just comes across like an immature kid most of the time, and overrides everything else.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Fun stuff: #withfewexceptions hashtag on Twitter

Morgan Lewis (name of this law firm) was awarded the 2016 Russia Law Firm of the year. Derp.

https://www.morganlewis.com/news/cha...rm-of-the-year

[Easy Mac]

Paraphrasing:

Reporter - Is the President taping conversations?
Spicer - I can't not confirm.

Is anyone watching his blinks to see if he's doing Morse code? He a reserve.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

Stephen Colbert is the best thing to come out of the Trump presidency.

Stephen Reacts To Trump Calling Him 'A No-Talent Guy' - YouTube

That was awesome. Favorite part was when he said there was one easy way to destroy Colbert's ratings...resign

[AlexB]

Good line on Have I Got News For You:

The order to fire Comey came from the very top...

Vladimir Putin.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by panerd

I am talking more federal than state/local. Obviously some states like California and more recently Colorado have figured this out. But nationally the Obama administration had a lot of talk about the failed drug war but they had 8 years to move marijuana off schedule I and never did. I call that a lack of any commitment at all to ending the drug war.

I agree with this. I do think there is some debate on who has the power to do that (I believe many have argued it's Congress). Even if he had just rescheduled it so that the banking restrictions are changed it would have helped immensely.

[tarcone]

Why would they end the drug war? The Federal Government isnt going to do something that shrinks itself. If it ends the drug war, all that money has to go somewhere else.

If the Fed was smart, they would legalize weed and tax it. Take it away from the states and set up federal weed shops in states. Think of the money it would make.

[cuervo72]

Sessions is pro for-profit prisons -- of course he's going to want to increase drug incarcerations.

[SirFozzie]

Senior administration officials have grown accustomed to learning about their boss’s whims in unorthodox ways but it doesn’t mean they like it or are prepared for the sudden swings of emotion. For instance, one official was having a conversation with a Daily Beast reporter on Friday morning when the reporter interrupted the official to inform them that Trump was on Twitter again.

After a brief pause to check Twitter, the senior Trump aide informed of the unfolding rant, responded, “Jesus.”

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

This was about the Comey threat.