General Political Discussion

[Martina]

On anything. Mueller. What's going to happen when the new House is in place. Anything. There's already a 2020 thread. But, otherwise any political discussion, drive-by comments or sustained discussion. Whatever.

[Martina]

Boy did I enjoy seeing Pelosi and Shumer stop Trump in his tracks. They kept saying maybe you want to have this discussion in private, proving how unexpected it was for him. He hasn't had serious opposition except in the Press, and we know how much he hates that. What fun! Also Pence poised behind them like a gargoyle. Hahahaha.

[homoe]

Trump campaign adviser gets 2 weeks in jail for lying to FBI.....




With a sentence like this, where is the incentive to tell the truth and do the right thing?

[homoe]

Lawyers for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn argued Tuesday that their client deserved to receive no more than a year of probation and 200 hours of community...

Originally Mueller's office charged him with making 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements' - an offense which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

I realize he's given Mueller information, but again IMHO this is just another slap on the wrist...

[cathexis]

Trump campaign adviser gets 2 weeks in jail for lying to FBI.....




With a sentence like this, where is the incentive to tell the truth and do the right thing?

However, can you imagine how humiliating it's going to be to a guy like that?
Actual jail time would be incentive enough for someone in his shoes
not to try emulating the behavior.

[nhplowboi]

Boy did I enjoy seeing Pelosi and Shumer stop Trump in his tracks. They kept saying maybe you want to have this discussion in private, proving how unexpected it was for him. He hasn't had serious opposition except in the Press, and we know how much he hates that. What fun! Also Pence poised behind them like a gargoyle. Hahahaha.

https://youtu.be/G6UErwiuLCM I think Jeanne Moos does some great clips. Sorry I do not know how to make the video visible without going to a different tab but it is worth a look/laugh.

[nhplowboi]

Oh and in that clip.....look at Stephen Miller's face when they cut over to show Chief of Staff Kelly smiling. Priceless.....Miller that racist, self important, ass knows it is all falling apart and coming down.

[charley]

Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison, + fine of $50,000...

[Martina]

Isn't Mueller's team recommending no jail time for Flynn? I am fine with that if he has thrown Trump, Don Jr., and Kushner under the bus.

Lawyers for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn argued Tuesday that their client deserved to receive no more than a year of probation and 200 hours of community...

Originally Mueller's office charged him with making 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements' - an offense which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

I realize he's given Mueller information, but again IMHO this is just another slap on the wrist...

[Martina]

https://youtu.be/G6UErwiuLCM I think Jeanne Moos does some great clips. Sorry I do not know how to make the video visible without going to a different tab but it is worth a look/laugh.

That was too funny. My favorite is Pence was powering down to save electricity.

[charley]

“The Senate on Thursday delivered back-to-back rebukes of President Trump’s embrace of Saudi Arabia, first voting to end U.S. participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen and then unanimously approving a measure blaming the kingdom’s crown prince for the ghastly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

https://www.msn.com/fi-fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/senate-votes-to-condemn-saudi-crown-prince-for-khashoggi-killing-end-support-for-yemen-war/ar-BBQVwF6

“It would end U.S. support of Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen, which is suffering from a humanitarian crisis thanks to the conflict. More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and 40,000 injured.”

Now, the outgoing Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, has blocked the House from taking up the Yemen bill.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/paul-ryan-blocks-house-from-taking-up-yemen-bill/ar-BBQRkgF

Moreover, The Guardian states that in Yemen “up to 85,000 young children dead from starvation” - children!! – a fact that I find horrific, and brings up a sadness in me. Every time I see that on the news, my eyes tear up. Because, in the main, it is with American bombs and American money that all this is happening.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/21/yemen-young-children-dead-starvation-disease-save-the-children

The Americans under Republican leadership is complicit (insofar as I am concerned) in this murder.

Ryan is a card carrying Catholic, and one of the most Conservative of the right wing Republicans. As such, he is an active pro-lifer, opposes abortion rights, opposes same-sex marriage, opposes equity pay.

Contrast Ryan with the New Zealand Prime Minister, a woman, Jacinda Ardern, who voted in favour of same-sex marriage, believes that abortion should be removed from their Criminal Code, as well as decriminalizing cannabis. She was even the first Prime Minister in New Zealand’s history who marched in a gay pride parade. Her work on pay equity for women is historic. “Pay equity deal will see women in education support roles receive 30 per cent pay rise.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/106263293/pay-equity-deal-will-see-women-in-education-support-roles-receive-30-per-cent-pay-rise

In Canada, the majority of Canadians tend to vote for a party rather than an individual (leader), as opposed to what happens in the States, where most Americans vote for a person who embodies their ideal of “leadership”; and, I think that is where the heart of the problem lies – a kind of cult of personality - of “leadership”, especially male leadership. And, I think that it is the belief in authority that lies at the heart of this problem. It is evident and, I think, unfortunate that most Americans are never taught to “question authority” per se. Because of this deliberate and inculcated belief leading to this overt omission (supported by organized religion), it follows that there is always a rise of nationalism and its ensuing violence, all at the expense of those who are poor, those who are women, those who do not fit into the GDP ideal of capitalism, where profit is the bottom line.

I really wonder when a large sector of American women (and if) will wake up to the damage they cause because of their support of male leaders.

Also, speaking of violence, please note that gun deaths in American have reached an all time high - 40,000 last year.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/gun-deaths-highest-40-years-cdc/index.html

[C0LLETTE]

Well, much as I appreciate charley's explanation of "Canadian" systems...please be aware that Canada has a "parliamentary system" ( despite having a snivelling lifetime appointment Senate, we don't have "checks and balances" ...tho seems you don't really have that either.

Leader of party with most members selected gets to be Prime Minister. That's it. They want to throw him/her out, they vote "no confidence" on a budgetary bill. No budget, no money, go away till we choose someone else.

Many many differences but this is at the core. We never have one guy who can have over- ruling say over a whole house of parliament. He is just one guy voted in to his seat in parliament ... just like everyone else...then selected to rep the majority party and be the PRIME minister ..everyone else is just a minister ( no PRIME) ). If he gets them to support him, and the majority and his policies, he gets them passed...otherwise too bad for him and his party.

Weird how US fought to overthrow a KING and ended up with a system that can't seem to evade having one....and Canada ended up with no revolution but an evolved representative system.

Be careful what you wish for.

[Martina]

We do have checks and balances. So not perfect, but the courts have have put he brakes on Trump and the Executive many times in the last two years. And now a Democratic House means he will have to negotiate if he wants to get anything done. Trump learned he can't ignore the Courts or laws passed by Congress.

There's a lot wrong with our system. Guaranteeing two Senators to what have become pretty much depopulated states is one. Allowing partisan politicians to oversee elections. Continuing to allow gerrymandering. Allowing corporate money to influence elections via PACs, etc. The fact that third parties have no way to influence policy.

But our checks and balances are still there. It was hard seeing this fascist fuck with everything when the Republicans had both the Senate and the House. But those days are over.

[WheatToast]

Boy did I enjoy seeing Pelosi and Shumer stop Trump in his tracks. They kept saying maybe you want to have this discussion in private, proving how unexpected it was for him. He hasn't had serious opposition except in the Press, and we know how much he hates that. What fun! Also Pence poised behind them like a gargoyle. Hahahaha.

I loved it! Trump believes if it's televised and he's in it, he will own the event with his self-described brains and charm.
Nancy Pelosi disagreed.
She totally ripped him to shreds over his ignorant, sexist comments, and while she was at it, Chuck Schumer played to the cameras as he trapped Trump into owning the absurd shutdown.
Trump seems to think he is master of every topic, whether he knows what it's about or not.
His habit of pulling facts out of his ass and bullshitting his way through complicated topics may have worked when he was CEO of his shady business empire, but he's playing with the big girls now and looking like the buffoon he is.
It's almost anticlimactic to watch the news these days and see everything coming true regarding facts Rachel Maddow gave us months earlier.
I particularly like the recent focus on Trump's company, and how his adult children Usay, Poosay and Lucretia are implicated up to their necks in tons of shady transactions.
The news about how the inauguration committee collected well over $100 million, yet they refuse to show the media the audit results is a nice fuse on a stick of dynamite. If Obama's inauguration cost a record high $170 million, perhaps it was because more than a million citizens showed up and security costs were through the roof.
Trump's skimpy inauguration cost more than $200 million, and the pilferage done by committee members and the Trump Organization has to set some kind of skimming record.
Current federal laws are lax regarding inauguration costs and audits, but I hope the Feds still manage to dig out the truth and indict anyone who took a penny they didn't earn.
The Feds should turn the screws on every sniveling crook attached to the Trump regime to show future politicians and con artists that crime doesn't pay.
Trump has often said if he's impeached or indicted, his base will hit the streets and riot. Fine with me--I have the perfect shovel to fit the face of anyone wearing a MAGA hat. :goodluck:

[WheatToast]

We do have checks and balances. So not perfect, but the courts have have put he brakes on Trump and the Executive many times in the last two years. And now a Democratic House means he will have to negotiate if he wants to get anything done. Trump learned he can't ignore the Courts or laws passed by Congress.

There's a lot wrong with our system. Guaranteeing two Senators to what have become pretty much depopulated states is one. Allowing partisan politicians to oversee elections. Continuing to allow gerrymandering. Allowing corporate money to influence elections via PACs, etc. The fact that third parties have no way to influence policy.

But our checks and balances are still there. It was hard seeing this fascist fuck with everything when the Republicans had both the Senate and the House. But those days are over.


The Congress, with a huge new Democratic majority, aren't going to give Trump jack-shit. They are going to be Checks and Balance demons!
During all the midterm election campaigning, the Dems wisely avoided the "I word" (impeachment) and stuck to issues like health care and preserving pre-exising conditions.
But now that they blue waved their way to a majority, Congressional Democrats like Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Joaquin Castro, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and many more have hinted that, come January, Trump's ass is grass and they are weed whackers. :fastdraq: Git a rope.

[homoe]

..
What the hell is with Susan Collins lately?? Has she lost her mind or perhaps fallen on her head?

[homoe]

https://i.imgflip.com/7lx.jpg



Voted out Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.........

[nhplowboi]

So this is my thought about all the craziness right now. I truly believe Trump is Putin's puppet. I believe Putin is seeing all his hard work (getting Trump elected) starting to collapse. Where Putin was good with being slow and stealth, he now realizes he has to get as much done as possible before Trump is removed from office.

[Martina]

It makes sense. Putin is very invested in returning control of Syria to Assad.

Wow re the chaos. Wall Street in the tank after the Fed raised interest rates as a supposed vote of confidence in the economy (Ha!) and because China and Canada are going at it (our fault). Mattis' resignation letter and Republicans losing their shit over Syria. And, last but not least, the the potential government shut down. Fucking crazy shit.

[Martina]

OMG, RBG has cancer. Praying for her, for all of us.

[nhplowboi]

As Bevi just said.....thank God for broken ribs having a silver lining!

[Martina]

As Bevi just said.....thank God for broken ribs having a silver lining!
You're right. Just read that they wouldn't have found it otherwise and that there's no evidence of cancer anywhere else and no plans for additional treatment. Whew.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Justice John Roberts, of the SCOTUS, just sided with the Liberal minority in blocking President Asshats asylum ban.

Thank goodness that the Justices are there for a check and balance.

[ProfPacker]

Each day brings a new gasp moment. At least RBG is going to continue to be with her...we need her (I know it is selfish).

He continues to make the world a frightening place. The shame is the fears that his fellow Repugs hide behind for fear of not getting reelected.

[~ocean]

Each day brings a new gasp moment. At least RBG is going to continue to be with her...we need her (I know it is selfish).

He continues to make the world a frightening place. The shame is the fears that his fellow Repugs hide behind for fear of not getting reelected.

I agree, lol I gasp everyday not out of surprise but out of disgust. The fact that someone would even consider USING his power to hurt the people of the country he so call loves and wants to make it better. His own followers are turning against him. We as Americans will see a new government when he is out of office . His future is questionable . We will be ok :)

[charley]

Special Medication Just for Donald Trump

zEbYI-JUIns

:superfunny:

[dark_crystal]

You know, as soon as "he" started acting crazy i said "one day he's going to fuck with the wrong white man's cash flow" and look! It's happening.

He tanked the stock market.

I track Mr. Jenny's stocks every day! This week has been bleeeeeaaaak

He's been on a leash this whole time, and that leash is Wall Street. No amount of stunting was too much until it affected the rich.

And he lost the military this week and the House next month?

Something is about to happen to him. Somebody is going to neutralize him in some kind of way.

[MsTinkerbelly]

You know, as soon as "he" started acting crazy i said "one day he's going to fuck with the wrong white man's cash flow" and look! It's happening.

He tanked the stock market.

I track Mr. Jenny's stocks every day! This week has been bleeeeeaaaak

He's been on a leash this whole time, and that leash is Wall Street. No amount of stunting was too much until it affected the rich.

And he lost the military this week and the House next month?

Something is about to happen to him. Somebody is going to neutralize him in some kind of way.

From your lips to God’s ears!

[ProfPacker]

I agree with Dark Crystal. The rich men will raise up their voices, however, who is the market crashing really effecting: retirement accounts, college savings, etc. In a word, the people he doesn't care about...evil people. Oh, I understand there was an emergency meeting for a cheese act known as the Curd Act.


Wow, this congress has their priorities straight, NOT!

[dark_crystal]

I agree with Dark Crystal. The rich men will raise up their voices, however, who is the market crashing really effecting: retirement accounts, college savings, etc. In a word, the people he doesn't care about...evil people. Oh, I understand there was an emergency meeting for a cheese act known as the Curd Act.


Wow, this congress has their priorities straight, NOT!

In the end, eventually, the suits will save us.

It's going to be really anticlimactic and seem as if all of the revolutionary fervor of the last 3 years has been squandered. Capitalism will get a reprieve for another two to three generations

This was a trial balloon on going full evil. They tried it with a clown first so it can go down in history as "Trumpism" and be remembered as an unique incident triggered by a unique guy in a unique cultural moment. A "perfect storm" that can't possibly happen again.

Then they will try all the exact same shit with, like, Greg Abbot.

[dark_crystal]

You know, as soon as "he" started acting crazy i said "one day he's going to fuck with the wrong white man's cash flow" and look! It's happening.

He tanked the stock market.

I track Mr. Jenny's stocks every day! This week has been bleeeeeaaaak


All of our stocks have been down since the 20th. Today ONE of them rallied, and came up 1.57%.

Guess which one: FACEBOOK

wtf??? Facebook is how we got here and there the ones that are ok today?? :bigcry: :superfunny:

[Martina]

I'm hoping he fires the chairman of the Fed. THEN, the shit will hit the fan. Republicans are out there reassuring investors that he won't. But Trump's unpredictable.

[WheatToast]

On anything. Mueller. What's going to happen when the new House is in place. Anything. There's already a 2020 thread. But, otherwise any political discussion, drive-by comments or sustained discussion. Whatever.

This I suppose could be considered Mueller-esque, but here it is, Christmas Eve Day, and resident Trump spent the morning Tweet bitching instead of pretending to be a Christian and shoring up waning support among the GOP evangelicals, by Tweeting all about Baby Jesus.
Although I'll admit, when I saw all of his nasty Tweets, I said, "Jesus Christ!"
Does that mean his crap inspired me to mention Baby JC, the reason for the season?
His evangelical base must be pretty easy to mollify.
When pressed about whether his "favorite book" was the old or new testament, he said, "Both! I think both the old and the new testicles are really, really special, and it's hard to pick a favorite, because they are both really super great, fantastic, and really great, great books."
:fastdraq:

[Orema]

I'm at work and am watching the confirmation hearings for a new Attorney General. I think anyone will be better than Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sessions), though I don't have any hope for Barr ... and I know he may be worse than Sessions, if that's even possible.

[dark_crystal]

IRS says it will issue tax refunds, but not audit, during shutdown (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/irs-says-it-will-issue-tax-refunds-but-not-audit-during-shutdown-2019-01-15)

How conVEEEEEENient for our tax challenged President

No one should go crazy and add dozens of dependents though bc there is a 3-year window for audits

[Orema]

"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign... I have not. I said the President of the United States ..." Pres. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani to Chris Cuomo in televised interview.

Of course this is a lie, but I also thinks it’s the first step in Trump throwing his family, particularly Don Jr., under the bus. I don’t think it will be an effective tactic, but it will help Trump deflect for awhile.

I’m looking forward to seeing Trump’s downfall, but not this. Regardless of how complicit a child may be, I don’t like watching a parent throw their children to the “wolves” especially when it’s to deflect a spotlight, but I guess it’s unavoidable with this family.

[dark_crystal]

"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign... I have not. I said the President of the United States ..." Pres. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani to Chris Cuomo in televised interview.

Of course this is a lie, but I also thinks it’s the first step in Trump throwing his family, particularly Don Jr., under the bus. I don’t think it will be an effective tactic, but it will help Trump deflect for awhile.

I’m looking forward to seeing Trump’s downfall, but not this. Regardless of how complicit a child may be, I don’t like watching a parent throw their children to the “wolves” especially when it’s to deflect a spotlight, but I guess it’s unavoidable with this family.

There was a long Julia Ioffe article about Don, Jr. in GQ last year (https://www.gq.com/story/real-story-of-donald-trump-jr). I am sure it was slanted to make him appear sympathetic, but if it is all true, i feel kinda bad for him:

[The] evening he was born, little Don was left by his parents to the care of the hospital's nursery. His father headed home to celebrate New Year's Eve, while Ivana put a boa and a mink over her hospital gown and went to visit a girlfriend recovering from back surgery on another floor of the hospital.

Don had little luck with the first of his nannies, under whose watch he both broke his leg and nearly drowned. From there, a succession of caregivers followed, though Ivana was also active in her three children's upbringing.

Largely absent from childhood tales is the father. “He would love them, but he did not know how to speak to them in the children's way of thinking,” Ivana said of her ex-husband on The Wendy Williams Show last year. “He was able to speak to them only when they came from university, when eventually he was able to speak business to them.

When divorce proceedings began and the paparazzi set up camp outside Trump Tower and Don's school, Ivana decided to explain the situation to her children. Ivanka, 8, and Eric, 6, got the sanitized version. Twelve-year-old Don, Ivana concluded, “could handle hearing the truth.” After being told about his father's mistress and the fact that his parents would never live together again, Don stopped speaking to his father.

Soon after that, as Trump engaged Ivana in an epic public feud, he dispatched a bodyguard to his triplex apartment with instructions to bring his elder boy down to his office. Don, still not talking to his father, descended with the bodyguard to the 28th floor, and a few minutes later, Ivana, who described all this in her book, got a phone call. It was Trump, looking for some leverage by announcing that he was going to keep Don and raise him alone.

“Okay, keep him,” Ivana said she told him. “I have two other kids to raise.”

A few minutes later—his bluff out-bluffed—Trump ordered his boy to be taken back upstairs.

According to his first wife, Ivana, Donald Trump was never keen on bequeathing his name to anybody. It was Ivana who wanted to call their newborn Donald junior. “You can't do that!” Trump is quoted as saying in Ivana's memoir, Raising Trump. “What if he's a loser?”

Don tells his own story about coming into the world on December 31, 1977. “I like to joke that my dad wanted to be able to claim me as a dependent on his taxes for 1977,” he once told Forbes, “so he told my mom she had to have me before midnight and, if she didn't, he'd make her take a cab home.” (Ivana wrote about her labor being induced by doctors.)

So began the difficult, defining struggle of Donald Trump Jr.'s life—to make himself useful while carrying a name so beloved by the man who bestowed it that he put it in gold letters on buildings all over the world. When he was growing up, his dad called him Donny—a moniker the elder Trump would never go by. “[It's] a name I hate,” he explained in The Art of the Deal.

Don has lately found improbable purpose and renown as a savage defender of his father. His once private desires to win his father's approval now come packaged as angry tweets and memes tearing down his dad's opponents as illogical, histrionic socialists.

To the president's most ardent supporters, Don is venerated as a natural incarnation of everything the MAGA brand stands for: transgressive and defiant white, rural masculinity. “He's a fighter,” says one Breitbart editor. “The stuff he's focused on is the stuff the conservative movement is focused on. It's not an act. With him, I think it's genuine.”

To people who have known Don for decades, this identity is jarring. He had always loved the outdoors. But the use of the Pepe the Frog meme and tweeting about taking away half his daughter's Halloween candy “because it's never too early to teach her about socialism”—that isn't the Don they recognize. “I don't remember him having political views,” says a friend of Don's from college. “You've been hearing his dad for a long time,” but as for Don's views, “I didn't see anything emerge until the campaign.”

For years, Don seemed contentedly inattentive to politics. “He probably had the opinion that most New Yorkers have of politicians—they're full of shit,” says sometime Trump business partner Felix Sater, who worked with Don on the ill-fated Trump SoHo project in Manhattan. “He wasn't political. He didn't like politics.”

So old friends were shocked by the demagogic fury he unleashed. “What's surprising is that the tone and the rhetoric are so”—the college friend grasped for a term—“so Fox News-ish. The anger is surprising. None of us would've guessed that he would've been so outspoken in either direction. It hit me strange to see this guy that was a friend in college all over the news in this way.”

Those who have seen the political transformation from hunting-businessman father to the most prominent MAGA troll explain it as a simple, sporting calculation. The snarling political persona, the friend contends, is a show for an audience of one.


He's going to jail for trying to make his dad happy, and his Dad is putting him there.

[Orema]

There was a long Julia Ioffe article about Don, Jr. in GQ last year (https://www.gq.com/story/real-story-of-donald-trump-jr). I am sure it was slanted to make him appear sympathetic, but if it is all true, i feel kinda bad for him: .

Edits for brevity...

He's going to jail for trying to make his dad happy, and his Dad is putting him there.

”Even the wicked get more than they deserve.” —Willa Cather

[dark_crystal]

Edits for brevity...



”Even the wicked get more than they deserve.” —Willa Cather

i feel bad for Melania, too. She's probably not that nice of a person but her options may never have been great.

i am ready to adopt Barron and raise him as my own

[Orema]

i feel bad for Melania, too. She's probably not that nice of a person but her options may never have been great.

i am ready to adopt Barron and raise him as my own

You can have the lot of them—especially Melania. Her options are good enough for her to have made better decisions.

[charley]

I don't feel anything for the lot of them trumpsters, I don't feel anything for bad people...

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbMofy0R6UbsrmiL_I-QNr1I5e9Kopym8wQEpHO43B43Z3oh-E

There Melania is with her jacket, sporting the words:

'I really don't care. Do U?'

So, why on earth does anyone give a flying fig what happens to people like that? She's not mentally handicapped, and knows perfectly well the kind of man she married. And, Don Jr. knows who is father is, and nobody in that family dares say anything, because of $$$$ and the fact that they are all corrupt and rotten to the core, and none of them give a d*** about anything but themselves.

[dark_crystal]

I don't feel anything for the lot of them trumpsters, I don't feel anything for bad people...

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbMofy0R6UbsrmiL_I-QNr1I5e9Kopym8wQEpHO43B43Z3oh-E

There Melania is with her jacket, sporting the words:

'I really don't care. Do U?'

So, why on earth does anyone give a flying fig what happens to people like that? She's not mentally handicapped, and knows perfectly well the kind of man she married. And, Don Jr. knows who is father is, and nobody in that family dares say anything, because of $$$$ and the fact that they are all corrupt and rotten to the core, and none of them give a d*** about anything but themselves.

i also feel bad for sex offenders and i think Lucifer was just asking questions so

[Martina]

I thought most of Melania's cringe-worthy moments were something to ignore because she never planned on this. I don't think initially being the First Lady meant anything to her, which is fine. That's her situation. I think she has invested now, and some of what she has revealed about herself is not all that admirable.

When she said the Press and writers of political books, etc. were using her family name to get ahead, I felt like I saw a glimpse of the real Melania. She has managed to get a lot of money and some power, and she imagines most people interacting with her, or talking about her, are trying to take something from her. It's kind of a sad way of looking at life. It may be how she operates. When someone once asked her if she would have married Donald if he had not been rich, she wisely replied, "Would he have married me if I had not been beautiful?" (Not an exact quote.)

She sees the world as people fighting for resources, and if you have more, people will want to exploit you. Obviously, that is sometimes the case. But people writing books about the Trumps are not necessarily opportunists. They're trying to understand our era and making arguments that might change opinion, and so on.

Melania has a very transactional and materialistic view of public and probably private interactions. She's not alone in that. But it's tacky and sad.

[Martina]

Re the kids, they all seem to get through college, which many of my friends' children seem not to be able to do. The youngest is in law school at Georgetown. Maybe it's the mothers. Ivana seems bright. Marla Maples, I don't know. I find it amusing that she fucked around on him.

[homoe]

..
IMHO when it comes to the Trump kids, I think it's a case of The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree......

[WheatToast]

..
What the hell is with Susan Collins lately?? Has she lost her mind or perhaps fallen on her head?

She suffers from 'Cake n'Eat it' syndrome--fooling moderates into thinking she is representing their interests in a sea of misogynist male GOP white guys. Then when a crucial vote comes up, she votes with the aforementioned boys.
I will never believe her again after her Kavenaugh vote.:fastdraq:

[WheatToast]

"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign... I have not. I said the President of the United States ..." Pres. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani to Chris Cuomo in televised interview.

Of course this is a lie, but I also thinks it’s the first step in Trump throwing his family, particularly Don Jr., under the bus. I don’t think it will be an effective tactic, but it will help Trump deflect for awhile.

I’m looking forward to seeing Trump’s downfall, but not this. Regardless of how complicit a child may be, I don’t like watching a parent throw their children to the “wolves” especially when it’s to deflect a spotlight, but I guess it’s unavoidable with this family.

I heard some MSNBC pundit say that Trump doesn't fire Rudy because when Rudy goes on TV and plays the buffoon, the media talks about Rudy, not Trump. In Trump's insane world, I guess it makes sense. Any diversion makes sense to him, it seems.

Speaking of insane diversions, this shutdown has entered month two and effected civil servants have lost another paycheck. The economy is already starting to suffer over Trump's stubbornness. But when one considers the enormous ramifications of the shutdown extending into another month, I'm starting to think Putin saw what was happening and ordered his minion Donald to continue the shutdown. Does anyone agree?

[kittygrrl]

I heard some MSNBC pundit say that Trump doesn't fire Rudy because when Rudy goes on TV and plays the buffoon, the media talks about Rudy, not Trump. In Trump's insane world, I guess it makes sense. Any diversion makes sense to him, it seems.

Speaking of insane diversions, this shutdown has entered month two and effected civil servants have lost another paycheck. The economy is already starting to suffer over Trump's stubbornness. But when one considers the enormous ramifications of the shutdown extending into another month, I'm starting to think Putin saw what was happening and ordered his minion Donald to continue the shutdown. Does anyone agree?
Wheat, you are wise beyond your years-
on a happier note..Pete Buttigieg is interested in exploring possibly running-i like him
facts about him-
37 years old
Mayor of South Bend Indiana
Harvard Grad
Rhodes Scholar
Vet
Gay (out 2015)

-enjoyed his introduction on msnbc
he will be interviewed by Chris Hayes tonight (i think) stay tuned

[Orema]

I heard some MSNBC pundit say that Trump doesn't fire Rudy because when Rudy goes on TV and plays the buffoon, the media talks about Rudy, not Trump. In Trump's insane world, I guess it makes sense. Any diversion makes sense to him, it seems.

Speaking of insane diversions, this shutdown has entered month two and effected civil servants have lost another paycheck. The economy is already starting to suffer over Trump's stubbornness. But when one considers the enormous ramifications of the shutdown extending into another month, I'm starting to think Putin saw what was happening and ordered his minion Donald to continue the shutdown. Does anyone agree?

I'm thinkin' Stephen Miller (the alt right asses) and Mike Pence (religious zealots) are the forces keeping the government shut. I don't underestimate Putin's influence on this administration, but I think it's Miller and Pence who are keeping it shut down.

[Orema]

I watched Rachel Maddow yesterday and I'm certain she said Senator Kamala Harris will be on her show this evening.

Rachel is on at 6pm Pacific Time on MSNBC.

[WheatToast]

Re the kids, they all seem to get through college, which many of my friends' children seem not to be able to do. The youngest is in law school at Georgetown. Maybe it's the mothers. Ivana seems bright. Marla Maples, I don't know. I find it amusing that she fucked around on him.


Trump proves that, with enough money, anyone can get through college.
As for his adult chidren...
People call them kids, but those kids are over 30 and advisors to the President of the United States and run multi million dollar, international corporations.
Kids, shmids. They are adults who appear to be as guilty of almost as many felonies as their creepy dad.
They probably tolerate him and joined Trump's campaign because he's at the age where inheritance becomes a major factor. He taught them to worship money and I'm sure they are all looking forward to inheriting his. I know I'm looking forward to the reading of his will! ;)

[homoe]

I watched Rachel Maddow yesterday and I'm certain she said Senator Kamala Harris will be on her show this evening.

Rachel is on at 6pm Pacific Time on MSNBC.

Yes this is correct! I've watch MSNBC most of the day (in the background) and they are promoting the hell out of this...........:hangloose:

[homoe]

Wheat, you are wise beyond your years-
on a happier note..Pete Buttigieg is interested in exploring possibly running-i like him
facts about him-
37 years old
Mayor of South Bend Indiana
Harvard Grad
Rhodes Scholar
Vet
Gay (out 2015)

-enjoyed his introduction on msnbc
he will be interviewed by Chris Hayes tonight (i think) stay tuned

Yes, this too is correct! He will be on Chris Hayes tonight......:hangloose:

[Martina]

Money alone will not get you through Penn. It means you don't have to work. But you still have to take the same classes as any other undergraduate and pass them. Lots of people with the ability and opportunity to go to college don't finish. I don't care if you are privileged. An undergraduate degree means something. Research shows that finishing a degree in anything other than business actually changes your brain. Probably the Trump offspring majored in business. But the youngest, Marla Maples' daughter, is in law school at Georgetown. You can't buy your way through that.

[Martina]

I looked it up. The three oldest Trump children majored in business, but Tiffany graduated from Penn in Sociology. I am sorry, but they did not give her that degree. She earned it.

[WheatToast]

Money alone will not get you through Penn. It means you don't have to work. But you still have to take the same classes as any other undergraduate and pass them. Lots of people with the ability and opportunity to go to college don't finish. I don't care if you are privileged. An undergraduate degree means something. Research shows that finishing a degree in anything other than business actually changes your brain. Probably the Trump offspring majored in business. But the youngest, Marla Maples' daughter, is in law school at Georgetown. You can't buy your way through that.

True enough, in most cases. I suspect Trump's CV, but I have no proof.
Funny thing, George W. Bush applied to the University of Texas and was rejected because of his grades. His father had to get him into Yale as a legacy admission.

[dark_crystal]

I looked it up. The three oldest Trump children majored in business, but Tiffany graduated from Penn in Sociology. I am sorry, but they did not give her that degree. She earned it.

I had an ex point to my degrees one time and declare them worthless because i did not earn them, they were given to me because of my privilege.

I am aware that privilege played a role in making college accessible to me, and in creating a home environment where NOT attending college was unthinkable, but privilege did not write all of those papers. Otherwise i would have finished my Bachelor's in 4 years instead of nine :bigcry:

However, a dumber-but-richer girl than me would have done a lot better, because she would not have had to work retail (or at all) during half of her study time. So in that way privilege can buy half of a degree maybe.

Although my biggest barrier was not my four-evenings-per-week work schedule, but my five-evening clubbing schedule. Who knows how much clubbing a rich girl might have to do :superfunny:

[homoe]

During the next year I will be watching closely to see what Republican Senators start breaking party lines on major voting issues!

With Trumps approval ratings hitting a new low, Trump's term half over, and the government shutdown fiasco I think we're going to see more and more Senators start trying to distance themselves from this Administration in order to insure their re-election!

[homoe]

Stacey Abrams knocked it out of the ball park last night in her response to the State Of The Union Address rebuttal.....Something tells me we're going to be seeing a lot more her down the road..:hangloose:

[Kätzchen]

Did anyone see the press release by HuffPost about how you-know-who used the campaign mantra by Hillary Clinton? "Stronger Together?"

Carnival of Lies in El Paso (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/el-paso-trump-rally-carnival-of-lies_us_5c62ed0ae4b00ba63e4ae43b)

I am struck by the blatant mis-use and borrowing of campaign slogans, the mis-use and borrowing of popular songs by Queen (We Are The Champions) and other copywrite infringement issues by well known American music artists and bands, and the multiple flagrant plagiarism issues by you-know-who.

Is there some sort of loop hole in codified plagiarism law or copywrite law which is preventing the prosecution of or the ability to file legal complaints?


I will have to see what I can research on this subject alone, but it's concerning that you-know-who has yet to be taken to task for these types of abuse of intellectual property rights types of issues.

[homoe]

.........
PLEASE spill your guts Cohen!

[homoe]

.........
PLEASE spill your guts Cohen!



And spill his guts he did..........:hangloose:

[MsTinkerbelly]

And spill his guts he did..........:hangloose:

The repugnant members of the committee kept asking why they should believe a liar...

If Cohen lied up there about things that the PROSECUTORS already know, he could get more charges leveled, his short sentence lengthened, and lose all cooperation deals! So, the fact that none of them spent time defending the pumpkin is VERY telling...they know it is all true!

[Andrea]

And spill his guts he did..........:hangloose:

Wish I was more optimistic about this information making any difference at all.

[theoddz]

But then, there's THIS, and we have to keep everything in perspective: (the SDNY investigation is the one that will actually GET Trump and his crime family)

34hLrSpFZps

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[BullDog]

I agree with this. I think Mueller has done a good job but I have thought for a long time that ultimately it will be SDNY (if anyone) that brings the Trump family down.



But then, there's THIS, and we have to keep everything in perspective: (the SDNY investigation is the one that will actually GET Trump and his crime family)

34hLrSpFZps

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[C0LLETTE]

Don't know about you, but I have no idea what Mueller or the SDNY are up to. I just nod my head when I hear/see this "expert" or that "expert" depending on who seems closer to my own ideology...that's a lousy way to predict the future .

[Martina]

I suppose his testimony mattered, but I couldn't care much.

Obviously, the state of New York can file charges that Trump can't pardon himself for. I don't think the pardon is an issue though because I don't think they'll file before the election. This Supreme Court will not allow a sitting president to be indicted. I do think that figuratively, if not literally, Trump will leave the White House in handcuffs.

[charley]

I suppose his testimony mattered, but I couldn't care much.

Obviously, the state of New York can file charges that Trump can't pardon himself for. I don't think the pardon is an issue though because I don't think they'll file before the election. This Supreme Court will not allow a sitting president to be indicted. I do think that figuratively, if not literally, Trump will leave the White House in handcuffs.

I have learned a lot from watching Rachel Maddow, whom I absolutely adore. From her show, I have understood that there is absolutely nothing in the constitution that prevents the indictment of a sitting President. Apparently, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

That was from Article II, Section 4, of the American Constitution:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution

Agnew was threatened with being indicted unless he resigned because they were afraid that after Nixon left - the rationale being that they didn't want Agnew to end up as the President (Agnew was a crook), hence the threat. So Agnew quit, and got a slight slap on the wrist...

Maddow explained the why and how of that situation clearly, as follows:

“The key point is that "under Justice Department rules,” that is a reference in fact to the standing internal Justice Department policy that says a sitting president of the United States can't be indicted. It's not a law that says a president can't be indicted. It's not written into Justice Department regulation. It's just a department policy. And it is a policy that derives from a very specific place.
...

“I mean, what the Dixon memo said in 1973, what that memo said was you could indict a vice president but incidentally you couldn't indict a president. And the way that the history of it has been remembered since then is that that 1973 OLC memo was written specifically with the Richard Nixon Watergate problem in mind and it was a definitive look at whether a president can be indicted, and even in the context of Watergate they believed that Nixon – really it was about Agnew and specifically trying to get to an outcome where the answer would be, yes, you can bring charges against Agnew.”

http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/rachel-maddow-show/2019-02-21

[~ocean]

I have learned a lot from watching Rachel Maddow, whom I absolutely adore. From her show, I have understood that there is absolutely nothing in the constitution that prevents the indictment of a sitting President. Apparently, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

That was from Article II, Section 4, of the American Constitution:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution

Agnew was threatened with being indicted unless he resigned because they were afraid that after Nixon left - the rationale being that they didn't want Agnew to end up as the President (Agnew was a crook), hence the threat. So Agnew quit, and got a slight slap on the wrist...

Maddow explained the why and how of that situation clearly, as follows:

“The key point is that "under Justice Department rules,” that is a reference in fact to the standing internal Justice Department policy that says a sitting president of the United States can't be indicted. It's not a law that says a president can't be indicted. It's not written into Justice Department regulation. It's just a department policy. And it is a policy that derives from a very specific place.
...

“I mean, what the Dixon memo said in 1973, what that memo said was you could indict a vice president but incidentally you couldn't indict a president. And the way that the history of it has been remembered since then is that that 1973 OLC memo was written specifically with the Richard Nixon Watergate problem in mind and it was a definitive look at whether a president can be indicted, and even in the context of Watergate they believed that Nixon – really it was about Agnew and specifically trying to get to an outcome where the answer would be, yes, you can bring charges against Agnew.”

http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/rachel-maddow-show/2019-02-21


First ~ I wish every American who can would open a window and yell "YOUR FIRED" as the handcuff Trump and take him out of OUR White House ~ :)))

Second ~ I adore Rachel Maddow as well ~

I just wanted to share a mental picture of what I saw while reading this post ! lolol

[Martina]

I understand that it's legally possible to indict a sitting President. I just don't believe this Supreme Court will allow it.

[charley]

I understand that it's legally possible to indict a sitting President. I just don't believe this Supreme Court will allow it.

I'm glad you are aware of that fact, but I'm not sure that many Americans understand that fact.

The problem, as I see it, is that there is a world of difference between the "policy" of the Justice Department (and the A.G.) as well as that of politicians (in general) and what the Constitution actually says.

I find that policy itself betrays what it means to be American; in other words, policy itself is un-American.

So, the core issue for me is not to be concerned as to whether or not the Supreme Court will indict the President. That is a classical "straw-man" argument - which seeks to deflect the real issue into some debatable and complicated argument. It is more likely that the Justice Department (and the A.G.) will be extremely reluctant to actually apply the Constitution, not to speak of the politicians themselves.

As I have often heard muttered quietly in the background (but I listened):

"The System is corrupt."

I will go further, and state most emphatically, that any System is but a reflection of "vested interests" of any small group of people (any gang or clique), and is therefore inherently corrupt. Historically, the policy of any System always regresses, degenerates, and devolves into "authority" - in other words, to authoritarian doctrine. And this authoritarian doctrine is always - repeat “always” - reflected and exemplified in the belief in a “leader”, which is nothing more than the co-dependent (i.e. neurotic) belief that there is hope and promise that there is someone out there who will save you from whatever mess you are in. This belief is always sustained by the most vulnerable and damaged part of the population, and every politician knows that, and uses that belief for self-aggrandisement, as a justification and rationalization for their drive for "leadership". And that is why "The System is corrupt."

Please understand that as a young adult, I often saw people of my generation (here in Canada) wearing that button: "Question authority" - which originally had came out from California at that time. Unfortunately, most people do not understand what that phrase implies. But it is really interesting if one goes deeply into that phrase "Question authority".

[theoddz]

One of the SINGLEMOST important takeaways from the Cohen Congressional interview:

qfQQkF1-XKM

...and it was NEVER argued about from any of the GOP panel members during Cohen's testimony!!! They kept their silly mouths shut!!!!

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[Martina]

Well, the state of New York is probably willing, but I doubt that they will based on the makeup of the Supreme Court. He's going to go to jail anyway, just later rather than sooner. There is no way to get him out of office other than electing a Democrat. I say concentrate on that.

I'm glad you are aware of that fact, but I'm not sure that many Americans understand that fact.

The problem, as I see it, is that there is a world of difference between the "policy" of the Justice Department (and the A.G.) as well as that of politicians (in general) and what the Constitution actually says.

I find that policy itself betrays what it means to be American; in other words, policy itself is un-American.

So, the core issue for me is not to be concerned as to whether or not the Supreme Court will indict the President. That is a classical "straw-man" argument - which seeks to deflect the real issue into some debatable and complicated argument. It is more likely that the Justice Department (and the A.G.) will be extremely reluctant to actually apply the Constitution, not to speak of the politicians themselves.

As I have often heard muttered quietly in the background (but I listened):

"The System is corrupt."

I will go further, and state most emphatically, that any System is but a reflection of "vested interests" of any small group of people (any gang or clique), and is therefore inherently corrupt. Historically, the policy of any System always regresses, degenerates, and devolves into "authority" - in other words, to authoritarian doctrine. And this authoritarian doctrine is always - repeat “always” - reflected and exemplified in the belief in a “leader”, which is nothing more than the co-dependent (i.e. neurotic) belief that there is hope and promise that there is someone out there who will save you from whatever mess you are in. This belief is always sustained by the most vulnerable and damaged part of the population, and every politician knows that, and uses that belief for self-aggrandisement, as a justification and rationalization for their drive for "leadership". And that is why "The System is corrupt."

Please understand that as a young adult, I often saw people of my generation (here in Canada) wearing that button: "Question authority" - which originally had came out from California at that time. Unfortunately, most people do not understand what that phrase implies. But it is really interesting if one goes deeply into that phrase "Question authority".

[dark_crystal]

So what do y’all think of the Ilhan Omar situation and the house anti-semitism resolution (which appears to be falling apart.)

I do not think her original remark was anti-semitic, it was anti-AIPAC. To me it is not the same thing but I am not Jewish

[dark_crystal]

Chelsea Clinton Confronted by Students at New Zealand Vigil: You 'Stoked' Islamophobia (https://people.com/politics/chelsea-clinton-confronted-students-new-zealand-vigil-islamophobia/)

Chelsea Clinton was confronted by a group of college students who claimed at a vigil on Friday that the former first daughter was partly responsible for the New Zealand mosque shootings, claiming she had previously “stoked” hatred against Muslims.

According to the Washington Post, Clinton, who is pregnant with her third child, attended a vigil in New York City for the victims of the Christchurch mass shooting, which left at least 49 people dead and 20 injured at two mosques on Friday. Clinton, who co-founded the Of Many Institute, an multifaith organization at NYU, had been invited to attend the vigil.

“This right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put out into the world,” one student can be heard telling Clinton, 39, in a video of the confrontation, which was initially posted by fellow student Rose Asaf, who has since deleted her Twitter account.

“I want you to know that and I want you to feel that deep down inside. Forty-nine people died because of the rhetoric you put out there,” the student added.

Maintaining her composure throughout the video, Clinton responded by saying, “I’m so sorry that you feel that way.”

“Certainly, it was never my intention. I do believe words matter. I believe we have to show solidarity,” she added.

Before the end of the clip, another student, who was not visible, could be heard asking Clinton, “What does ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’ mean?”

<snip>

The students’ comments appear to be in reference to Clinton’s earlier condemnation of Minnesota State Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was recently accused of making anti-Semitic comments enforcing hateful cultural stereotypes.

In February, 37-year-old Omar — who is one of the first Muslim women to ever be elected to Congress — issued an apology after sharing tweets that suggested U.S. relations with Israel centered around money, NPR reported.

Clinton was one of many who spoke out against Omar, writing on Twitter at the time, “We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism.”

According to NPR, following the backlash over Omar’s comments, the House went on to pass a resolution condemning “anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry.”

What do we think?

I think the student had a point (everyone who complained about Omar last week should be called on it this week) but was her position strengthened by this action? A whole bunch of mainstream dems were outraged on Chelsea's behalf, and then all of them got dogpiled by leftist twitter, with the result that the division between the normie and progressive wings of the anti-Trump side are even more divided.

Personally, i think it's a mistake for Chelsea to be as visible as she is. She should not have been confronted, but she also should not have been there.

My reason for saying this is that she was a featured speaker at our conference a couple of years ago, and she just does not have anything much to say.

She's not that smart! There is no reason for her to be out there except nepotism.

[Martina]

I don't get the connection between criticizing Rep. Omar and the hate crime in New Zealand. Did the manifesto mention that? Those white supremacists have a long history of anti-Muslim sentiment and rhetoric to draw on.

I think Rep. Omar was right to criticize the lobby in support of Israel, but that dual allegiance comment that followed was fucked up.

Re Chelsea, she is dull. She has a Stanford undergraduate education and a doctorate from Oxford, yet she is so unmotivated that she's never held a real job in her field.

I read she did clean up the Clinton Foundation some, making it less an obviously pay for access enterprise.

The reason she has nothing to say is that the neo-liberal tradition out of which she comes is intellectually bankrupt. It has nothing to offer. She could go in other directions, really working in, say, international women's rights. But she's happier as an influential Manhattan socialite.

[dark_crystal]

She could go in other directions, really working in, say, international women's rights. But she's happier as an influential Manhattan socialite.

I mean, Princess Diana picked land mines. Come on, Chelsea.

She's like the Joel Osteen of neoliberals, in a riding-parental-coattails sense

[Martina]

She is a Clinton. If she's not going to get money, status or influence out of it, it's not going to get much of her time. I imagine she's interested in her kids. But who isn't?

I don't think she'll ever run for office. It's too much work. She'll just keep being on boards, teaching the occasional graduate seminar, and writing children's books.

I mean, Princess Diana picked land mines. Come on, Chelsea.

She's like the Joel Osteen of neoliberals, in a riding-parental-coattails sense

[nhplowboi]

It would appear the Mueller report may break this weekend. Mueller is a strategist and I can see him aiming to ruin Donald's Mar-A-Lago weekend. I will say the Trump camp seems a little too calm about this so I am sure they have something up their sleeve, even if it is only Barr. I have NEVER thought our government could so easily be taken over by such blatant, unethical, corrupt, money grubbing people.
Oh PS (while I am on my rant)....how dare the R's sit quietly and meekly as this draft dodging, pathological liar maligns and speaks ill of the deceased Senator McCain.

[nhplowboi]

Pompeo suggests God sent Trump to save Israel. :| Mike.....please try and find Dorothy so you can find your way back to Kansas.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Mueller submitted his report!

[ksrainbow]

Pompeo suggests God sent Trump to save Israel. :| Mike.....please try and find Dorothy so you can find your way back to Kansas.

This comment is offensive to those of us who reside in the state of Kansas.

Appreciation for my state for educating you to what a jack-ass he is would be lovely-

Thank you-
Ks-

[JDeere]

Hmmm so since the report came out I haven't heard much from Democrats!

I wonder if its cuz there was no collusion found or if they are trying to find a way to find something.

[kittygrrl]

Pompeo suggests God sent Trump to save Israel. :| Mike.....please try and find Dorothy so you can find your way back to Kansas.

nh..amusing..since i believe he is from Kansas and there are those in the Senate who are trying to persuade him to run for a Senate seat?..but, i do hope the ruby slippers have been hid well :|

[MsTinkerbelly]

Hmmm so since the report came out I haven't heard much from Democrats!

I wonder if its cuz there was no collusion found or if they are trying to find a way to find something.

There is no crime known as collusion; Trump thought it sounded good, so he stuck with it...the actual charge is conspiracy. The Democrats are not privy yet to the content of the Mueller report, which had a very limited scope given to Mueller. The crimes he found along the way that were committed by various other people, were handed off to the appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution...BUT, as a sitting President cannot be indicted, Muellers report will state what he found regarding crimes, conspiracies, and obstruction of justice...it will then be up to Congress to Impeach or bring charges.

Of course he could be innocent, but he himself said he fired Comey to stop the investigation.

[cathexis]

There is no crime known as collusion; Trump thought it sounded good, so he stuck with it...the actual charge is conspiracy. The Democrats are not privy yet to the content of the Mueller report, which had a very limited scope given to Mueller. The crimes he found along the way that were committed by various other people, were handed off to the appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution...BUT, as a sitting President cannot be indicted, Muellers report will state what he found regarding crimes, conspiracies, and obstruction of justice...it will then be up to Congress to Impeach or bring charges.

Of course he could be innocent, but he himself said he fired Comey to stop the investigation.

What law can you document the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president. There is merely a policy of not indicting, as I am aware of, which is quite different from being in the US Constitution. Having listened and read opinions of contemporary legal scholars on whether or not indictment while in office is being accepted as a remedy. Those read, listened to, run the political gambit.

From Frm. US prosecutors, Ivy League professors, Law students, and US Constitution student discussion groups. Very few have referenced a law and/or Constitutional Sect. permitting the US President to be beyond the ability of indictment, during office. I, also, have read the US Constitution along with cases and independent opinions, and have been unable to locate anything that would exempt the President, either.

Please, help us locate any areas or cases that might prove otherwise.

[MsTinkerbelly]

What law can you document the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president. There is merely a policy of not indicting, as I am aware of, which is quite different from being in the US Constitution. Having listened and read opinions of contemporary legal scholars on whether or not indictment while in office is being accepted as a remedy. Those read, listened to, run the political gambit.

From Frm. US prosecutors, Ivy League professors, Law students, and US Constitution student discussion groups. Very few have referenced a law and/or Constitutional Sect. permitting the US President to be beyond the ability of indictment, during office. I, also, have read the US Constitution along with cases and independent opinions, and have been unable to locate anything that would exempt the President, either.

Please, help us locate any areas or cases that might prove otherwise.

Ummm, I never said there is a law regarding being indicted...you must have read something into my post that wasn’t there. It is current policy to not indict a sitting President...although i’m sure if he murdered someone there would be an exception. Maybe?

[C0LLETTE]

The Mueller report hasn't been released to Congress and the public yet and it is so sad ( and disgusting ) to see all those Democratic "talking heads" already backing up and saying "oh well there are still other ongoing investigations" and babbling on about Justice Department policy. "So be prepared to lose, folks." On the other hand, Trump never prepares his base to lose.

If Trump's victory in 2016, and events since, should have taught Democrats anything, it should be: never give up, never back up, and don't think that the voting public understands or cares about details in the weeds.

Demagogues just don't screw around.

So now we'll see which form of victory, Trump chooses. The report isn't out yet but I suspect he is preparing for victory and the Democrats are preparing for loss. We'll see.

[C0LLETTE]

I believe that the USA, Canada, the West, Europe are sliding ever faster into the slime pit of Fascism... the natural comfort zone of the majority of their populations ( possibly all human populations ).

Doesn't mean the minority ( minorities ) have to give up but they sure as Hell better find some better leaders soon...and if those "leaders" can only come from established well-funded political parties you may as well start ironing your brown/black shirts and swastika arm bands now.

The "Fascist Impulse" doesn't play by polite political rules or respond to religious expressions of decency and prayers. It isn't wishy-washy, apologetic or soul-searching. The Fascist heart wants what it wants.

I keep seeing these expressions of appeal to people's "better angels". Ok, take a photo of one and send it to me and I'll send you photos of millions of human beings slaughtered by their fellow human beings.

Humans are not basically "suicidal " creatures. They are, more likely, deep- buried "Me Firsters" that will leave the footprints of their boots on your drowning head as the over-crowded ferry starts to sink.

[Martina]

Mueller said from the beginning that he would not indict Trump. There could easily be criminal offenses committed by Trump documented in the report.

It does seem to let other Trump family members off the hook.

I really don't care. The point is to elect a Democrat as President. People who support Trump are the lowest form of pond scum in America. They have to live with themselves. Again, I just don't give a shit.

[charley]

Like everyone else, I was waiting for the release of Mueller's report, and it took @ 675 days for him to complete it. And, now, we may never know exactly what was in it - unless, of course, someone leaks it. It's almost funny, if it wasn't so tragic.

I thought about it, and thought that one of the longest pregnancies is that the elephant - 640 to 660 days, but at least with the elephant, we get to see a cute little baby elephant. :) This birth is something that the elephant never forgets.

At least, in nature, we get to see creation and birth in action. It almost seems that men try to do the same thing: create and give birth, but they all seem to fail miserably, and they hope everyone forgets what they do (or fail to do).

:byebye:

[C0LLETTE]

Maybe I missed it but when have men given birth? And HTF does anyone know what's in the memory of an elephant except what one conveniently expects to be there for a purpose other than maternal instinct ( whatever that is ) and the sniff test.

Based on my own experience, there is a great deal of difference between "fertilizing" ( adequately or not ) and "birthing".

Then there's the theoretical blah blah based on I'm not sure what but it sure has nothing with "the birthing". If I had "the birthing' burned into my memory, I never would have had another.

[Martina]

Well that's that. It's come to nothing. No collusion, according to Mueller. No obstruction, according to Barr.

No big surprise. Congress will never get to see the full report. Hopefully, the state of New York will indict Trump on obstruction once he leaves office.

[nhplowboi]

Ummm, I never said there is a law regarding being indicted...you must have read something into my post that wasn’t there. It is current policy to not indict a sitting President...although i’m sure if he murdered someone there would be an exception. Maybe?

Well if Trump does it on Fifth Avenue and he uses a gun.......geeze that sounds a little like a game of Clue.

[ksrainbow]

https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190401/ap-sources-trump-considers-adding-immigration-czar

Welcome to my world..:(

Ks-

[ksrainbow]

https://www.hayspost.com/2019/04/02/kan-legislators-look-to-tighten-abortion-laws-following-georgia-south-carolina/

I need to relocate for my health....

Ks-

[Kätzchen]

Here are some well articulated posts on the, still, ongoing drama the Orange Jesus dude and his family of fraudsters is putting the American public through..... as well as this latest fiasco, which is terribly disturbing, as recorded by news outlets last night:

LINK: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/trump-breaks-court-ruling-by-moving-40m-from-trump-organisation-to-personal-bank-account-report/ar-AA1kKFo7?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1304829599a642ec83a3405e4f5f4445&ei=17


It's horrifying how this toxic personality is upending Democracy for their version of life being ruled by his style of life (utter chaos to the nth degree). *PUKE*

:firetruck: <<<<~~~ five-alarm fire status raging across America.









Pompeo suggests God sent Trump to save Israel. :| Mike.....please try and find Dorothy so you can find your way back to Kansas.

The Mueller report hasn't been released to Congress and the public yet and it is so sad ( and disgusting ) to see all those Democratic "talking heads" already backing up and saying "oh well there are still other ongoing investigations" and babbling on about Justice Department policy. "So be prepared to lose, folks." On the other hand, Trump never prepares his base to lose.

If Trump's victory in 2016, and events since, should have taught Democrats anything, it should be: never give up, never back up, and don't think that the voting public understands or cares about details in the weeds.

Demagogues just don't screw around.

So now we'll see which form of victory, Trump chooses. The report isn't out yet but I suspect he is preparing for victory and the Democrats are preparing for loss. We'll see.

I believe that the USA, Canada, the West, Europe are sliding ever faster into the slime pit of Fascism... the natural comfort zone of the majority of their populations ( possibly all human populations ).

Doesn't mean the minority ( minorities ) have to give up but they sure as Hell better find some better leaders soon...and if those "leaders" can only come from established well-funded political parties you may as well start ironing your brown/black shirts and swastika arm bands now.

The "Fascist Impulse" doesn't play by polite political rules or respond to religious expressions of decency and prayers. It isn't wishy-washy, apologetic or soul-searching. The Fascist heart wants what it wants.

I keep seeing these expressions of appeal to people's "better angels". Ok, take a photo of one and send it to me and I'll send you photos of millions of human beings slaughtered by their fellow human beings.

Humans are not basically "suicidal " creatures. They are, more likely, deep- buried "Me Firsters" that will leave the footprints of their boots on your drowning head as the over-crowded ferry starts to sink.

Mueller said from the beginning that he would not indict Trump. There could easily be criminal offenses committed by Trump documented in the report.

It does seem to let other Trump family members off the hook.

I really don't care. The point is to elect a Democrat as President. People who support Trump are the lowest form of pond scum in America. They have to live with themselves. Again, I just don't give a shit.

Maybe I missed it but when have men given birth? And HTF does anyone know what's in the memory of an elephant except what one conveniently expects to be there for a purpose other than maternal instinct ( whatever that is ) and the sniff test.

Based on my own experience, there is a great deal of difference between "fertilizing" ( adequately or not ) and "birthing".

Then there's the theoretical blah blah based on I'm not sure what but it sure has nothing with "the birthing". If I had "the birthing' burned into my memory, I never would have had another.

Well that's that. It's come to nothing. No collusion, according to Mueller. No obstruction, according to Barr.

No big surprise. Congress will never get to see the full report. Hopefully, the state of New York will indict Trump on obstruction once he leaves office.