OMG Politics, I'm over it already Mk III, The Search for Spock

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I’m with Howie here.

The investigation may put a few people in prison, and that will be well-deserved and of real value in and of itself. But we’re not going to get what we want: a Greek tragedy with a deus ex machina ending and the king falling. Wishful thinking is dangerous thinking.

We already know that Trump has done more to deserve punishment than any president before. And yet he’s still here because the right people want him there, and because the rules are being changed to secure it.
 
The president's behavior and activities are the exact reason why the US needs several more political parties. Imagine the Republicans trying to save him from an impeachment if they controlled 11 percent of the elected seats in Congress. Their bullshit investigations and attempts to discredit the DOJ investigation would also have never even made the floor of the chamber. The two party system makes the very Constitution everyone professes to love, and the practices described therein, essentially nonfunctional. Any issue you pick becomes hyperpolarized and there is no compromise or prospect of compromise. Immigration reform skips past logical discussion of reforms that better reflect the needs of America to a child prison state on one hand and sanctuary cities refusing to enforce existing laws on the other. How can necessary reforms happen in that environment? There is no path forward. The end result is bickering in the media and inaction.
 
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A long but easy read from a lawyer friend, Robert Fickman:


In 1995, Italian Writer Umberto Eco, penned an important essay on fascism. Eco identified 14 basic characteristics of fascism.
Unfortunately, within Trump’s Administration we find many of the 14 characteristics Eco identified with fascism. The Greatest Generation fought and defeated the fascists. We owe it to those Americans who defeated fascism in Europe, to fight Trump’s attempt to normalize fascism in America.

1. Trump’s mantra is that he will Make America Great Again. He claims that he alone will restore our true superior heritage. Such claims that the “leader” will restore a superior heritage, are common in fascism.

2. Trump rejects science and global warming. Fascism commonly rejects modern thought and legitimate scientific thought.

3. Trump daily attacks the free press and refers to the press as “the enemy”. The free press is critical to our Democracy. Condemnation of the free press and critical thinking is a common characteristic of fascism.

4. Trump began his campaign by attacking Mexicans and illegal aliens. He persisted in attacking Moslems. Attacking and Condemning “outside groups” is a critical component of fascism.

5. Trump blames the problems of the middle class on “outsiders”; this is also common in fascist systems.

6. Trump claims that there is a “Deep State” plot against him. He claims the Russia investigation is baseless and Mueller cannot be trusted. False claims of a baseless plot against the leader are also common in fascism.

7. Trump’s Presidency has been marred by chaos. From day to day we don’t know what he will do or say. Maintaining a constant state of agitation is a common characteristic of a fascist system.

8. Trump doesn’t seek to protect the weak. Trump is a coward and he Attacks the weakest among us. Attacking the weak is common in fascism.

9. Trump heaps praise on his supporters. He asserts that his base are superior Americans by virtue of the fact they follow him. In fascism, the leader’s followers are commonly held up as superior patriots, simply by virtue of their cult-like loyalty.

10. Trump has shown a disrespect for women from the beginning. The Woman’s March was in direct response to Trump’s endless barrage of attacks on women. Male domination and Disdain for women is common in fascism.

11. Unlike any President in history, Trump communicates about the most critical matters, by tweet. His message is dumbed down into slogans and name calling. Fascism is characterized by slogans and an impoverished vocabulary.

12. Trump is a pathological liar . His subordinates repeat and bolster his most outlandish lies. Repetition of outrageous lies is a fundamental and necessary trait of any fascist system.

13. Trump attacks his adversaries, simultaneously as having too much power and having no power. His contempt for the press involves attacking the press as being too strong and too weak. Fascism is characterized by constant attacks on an enemy. The enemy is described as both strong and weak depending on the rhetorical needs of the moment.

14. Trump stirs up hate-mongers in his base through tweets and at rallies. He then points to the riled mob as reflective of middle America. Selective Populism , claiming that a select group’s manufactured response, represents the will of the people is false and common in fascism.

The Republican label has been co-opted by Trump’s Fascism. In an extraordinary development,l ong time Republicans, like George Will and Steve Schmidt have left the Republican Party. Why? Because the Republican Party under Trump is not simply a Conservative party. The Republican Party under Trump is now a fascist party. Those who support Trump, are not supporting conservatism. Those who support Trump are supporting Fascism.
 
sunvalleylaw said:
"Sometimes you are just in a church basement and eating cold pizza."

"Stop moping."

President Obama

A related message to the one put forth by Rather then other day.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/politics/obama-democrats-fundraiser/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_content=2018-06-29T14:embarrassed:1:embarrassed:3&utm_source=fbCNN&utm_medium=social
Click to expand...

i think that one of the best things that could happen to the DNC would be for Barak to be involved and provide guidance. the party is like a boat with no rudder, but the prop is turning. we're getting nowhere because we have no focused direction other than defeating the fascists. and that's not enough of a direction. that's like "i have to breath air to live"....yea, no shit. there's a little more to it than that. just him being involved, publicly, provides a some focus and a center.
imo.
 
because it's all just a big coincidence.

Trump's business career is more connected to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy than we ever knew
http://www.businessinsider.com/anth...president-trump-over-a-billion-dollars-2018-6

"The son of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was leading a real-estate division of Deutsche Bank as it gave President Donald Trump over $1 billion in loans to finance his real-estate projects when other banks wouldn't, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Justin Kennedy, the former global head of Deutsche Bank's real-estate capital markets division, was one of Trump's close business associates, The Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Because of Trump's inconsistent track record in business, which included multiple bankruptcy filings and frequent lawsuits, most other major banks would not lend to him. Deutsche Bank loaned Trump the funds to construct and renovate skyscrapers and other developments in New York City and Chicago, The Times reported.

After Trump's first address to Congress, in February 2017, he reportedly stopped to chat with Anthony Kennedy, saying: "Say hello to your boy. Special guy."

yep, no coordinated effort. just a big coincidence. hasn't been orchestrating this thing for a while. nope, not at all.
 
mongooz said:
because it's all just a big coincidence.

Trump's business career is more connected to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy than we ever knew
http://www.businessinsider.com/anth...president-trump-over-a-billion-dollars-2018-6

"The son of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was leading a real-estate division of Deutsche Bank as it gave President Donald Trump over $1 billion in loans to finance his real-estate projects when other banks wouldn't, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Justin Kennedy, the former global head of Deutsche Bank's real-estate capital markets division, was one of Trump's close business associates, The Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Because of Trump's inconsistent track record in business, which included multiple bankruptcy filings and frequent lawsuits, most other major banks would not lend to him. Deutsche Bank loaned Trump the funds to construct and renovate skyscrapers and other developments in New York City and Chicago, The Times reported.

After Trump's first address to Congress, in February 2017, he reportedly stopped to chat with Anthony Kennedy, saying: "Say hello to your boy. Special guy."

yep, no coordinated effort. just a big coincidence. hasn't been orchestrating this thing for a while. nope, not at all.
Click to expand...

Wow.
 
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Trump’s top economics adviser lies about ‘rapidly’ falling budget deficit
https://thinkprogress.org/larry-kudlow-lies-about-federal-deficit-on-fox-business-7f4c5caac6d5/
There's just one problem.

"Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said that the deficit is “coming down rapidly” in a Friday morning appearance on Fox Business.

The problem for President Trump’s top economic adviser is that the deficit is actually rising.

“As the economy gears up, more people working, better jobs and careers, those revenues come rolling in and the deficit, which was one of the other criticisms, is coming down,” Kudlow told host Maria Bartiromo. “It’s coming down rapidly. Growth solves a lot of problems.”

"However, the deficit is actually increasing, and is projected to do so well into the future. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected as of April 2018 that the FY 2018 deficit is $804 billion. Fiscal Year 2017’s deficit was $666 billion, increasing from $586 billion in FY 2016. This leads to an even worse projection for the federal debt. The CBO concluded in a report earlier this week: “At 78 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), federal debt held by the public is now at its highest level since shortly after World War II.”
 
sunvalleylaw said:
Always insist on a lawyer for any interview (traffic stops don't count unless/until you are taken into custody. You may be asked questions during field sobriety tests and initial dui investigation with no right to a lawyer). Don't let any officials into your home without a warrant. Video proceedings if you feel threatened.

In the past, I may have felt that a more collegial approach to initial contact with the authorities could be better, and maybe still at initial contact. But my trigger finger for insisting on my rights has gotten itchier.
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That said, I personally think being calm and professional around officers. No need to escalate things. One can assert rights without getting aggro. This is my approach only, as an obviously white guy. YMMV.
 
Flamencology said:
We already know that Trump has done more to deserve punishment than any president before.
Click to expand...

Cthulhu forbid that I deflect any blame from Trump (shudder .... the very thought makes we want to take 3 showers and sacrifice a goat) but Reagan's Iran-Contra was actual, as-defined-by-Article-III treason, committed in the obsolete name of fighting Communism. As was Nixon's treacherous sabotage of the 1968 Vietnam peace talks, committed for electoral advantage.

We don't know that Trump's crime rise to those levels yet. But give him time ... there seems to be no level to which he will not sink.
 
sunvalleylaw said:
"Sometimes you are just in a church basement and eating cold pizza."

"Stop moping."

President Obama

A related message to the one put forth by Rather then other day.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/politics/obama-democrats-fundraiser/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_content=2018-06-29T14:embarrassed:1:embarrassed:3&utm_source=fbCNN&utm_medium=social
Click to expand...


“All these people that are out here kvetching and wringing their hands and stressed and anxious and constantly watching cable TV and howling at the moon, ‘What are we going to do?,’ their hair’s falling out, they can’t sleep,” Obama said. “The majority of the American people prefer a story of hope. A majority of the American people prefer a country that comes together rather than being divided. The majority of the country doesn’t want to see a dog-eat-dog world where everybody is angry all the time.”

Obama mocked Trump and others for being among the angry: “They’re mad even when they win.”

Trump’s executive actions and legal maneuvers to cut down Obamacare after failing to repeal it in Congress are a perfect example of what he means, Obama said.

“I am not surprised that instead of replacing what we had done with something better, they just have done their best to undermine and erode what’s already in place,” he said. “Of course people are going to be angry about that, because if you had health care and suddenly somebody who says they’re going to make it better comes in and makes it worse, you’ll be pissed. You should go out and vote.”

Obama called that an opportunity for Democrats.

“Reality has an interesting way of coming up and biting you, and the other side has been peddling a lot of stuff that is so patently untrue that you can get away with it for a while, but at a certain point, you confront reality,” he said. “The Democrats’ job is not to exaggerate; the Democrats’ job is not to simply mimic the tactics of the other side. All we have to do is work hard on behalf of that truth. And if we do, we’ll get better outcomes.”
 
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