Trump

[bitter-iron-ny]

Typical of the chaos that has always surrounded Trump in his businesses, but now on as a head of state, in the past few days there is so much going on that the amount of news is really a bit overwhelming. The charges from the OCS has obscured a lot of this:

-The President's Staff Secretary was fired/forced to resign after proof of past domestic violence was made public. This in turn brought to light the administration's ineptitude in staff getting security clearances. There are over 100 individuals working in the white house who have been unable to get clearance.Included in that was this guy, the President's counsel Don McGann, Ivanka and the slimy son-in-law Kushner. With the Staff Secretary, who is the guy who physically handles all the documents that go to the President, FBI testimony showed that the White House lied about the sequence of events and had been covering for the guy for over a year. Chief of Staff, General Kelly has been outed by his own people for lying and then asking them to cover for him.

-The pay off of a couple of Trump's former mistresses in the weeks leading up to the election. The first one was a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, who he paid off directly by President's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, supposedly out of his pocket. The second was a Playboy playmate, who rather than getting paid directly sold her story to the National Enquirer tabloid, who once they had exclusive rights to the story buried it. The publisher just happens to be a friend of the Donald. Not only did these arrangements leave Trump open to potential blackmail, there's a good chance that they're some sort of violation of campaign law.

-Trump's inauguration committee, which raised more than any other ever but seemingly didn't spend much for it's stated purpose, was also in the news for a $26 million payment to a mystery company founded by a friend of Melania's just a month earlier. Her friend also helped herself to an additional $1.6m in personal compensation.

-Three separate cabinet members have been exposed for inflated/improper travel expenses. The chief of staff for the Veterans Affairs secretary also resigned after being caught altering emails to cover up their frivolous charges.

-Trump's reaction to the Florida shooting was initially to send out a tweet that basically blamed the teachers and students for not doing a better job in sussing out the shooter ahead of time. He also said it wasn't a gun issue, it was a mental health issue, this despite his effort last year to relax restrictions on the ability of the mentally ill to buy guns. After visiting survivors of the shooting he headed to a disco party at Mar-a-Lago and pledged to skip golf for a day to honor the dead.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of others. It's been a busy week.

And that's not even touching on actual issues, like how his tax cut and budget deal have increased the national debt by $3 trillion. Or how he has shown no stones or the slightest ability to get a deal done on immigration. Or explain wtf is happening in Syria. Or Afghanistan. Or Puerto Rico.

I was no fan of BHO, but I can only imagine what the climate would have been like should any of this drama had happened on his watch. That's not meant to be an endorsement of Obama's performance, just some perspective on what the clown currently in charge is up to.


.

[Tenbury]

Firstly, your regular updates are lucid,revealing,and personally speaking,very much looked forward to.
Do you not see a danger that this sort of chaotic lunacy is becoming the norm? That danger being that it just becomes accepted behavior? Just so long as the POTUS sends out regular missives on a medium beloved by half-wits , he's seen as being in control?
[nb.See 'Spitting Image:The President's Brain is Missing'].

[prophet:marginal]

Some trials can be heard by judges but I'm not sure what the concern is in this instance...

I've seen documentaries (concerning, for instance, OJ's involvement with the system) and read of reports in the papers, where jury selection in a serious / newsworthy matter has taken ages. It's a convoluted process, when placed in direct comparison with ours.

So, with the process in mind, can the selectors establish from the potential pool how the juror voted in the election under scrutiny. My instinct tells me no, but its a British view of a foreign system.

In summary, might a person who voted for Trump and had nothing but good intentions thereafter baulk at the idea that there is a case that the indicted people somehow influenced the vote? People usually sit on juries in respect of incidents with which they have had no prior connection.

How is that possible, when the incident is a nationwide election?

[bitter-iron-ny]

In summary, might a person who voted for Trump and had nothing but good intentions thereafter baulk at the idea that there is a case that the indicted people somehow influenced the vote? People usually sit on juries in respect of incidents with which they have had no prior connection.

How is that possible, when the incident is a nationwide election?

OK, I get it. As an American, at some point I just have faith that there are more than enough people capable of figuring it out because if the intellectual nullification carries the day then a random group of 12 won't matter a whole lot.

In terms of the Mueller investigation it's important to recognize that it's not as simple as the election being investigated. It's a multi-pronged undertaking. Even the underlying mission of determining the Russian interference has several components. The charges yesterday only dealt with on-line and associated activities, mainly of foreign actors. There is also the data hack of the DNC and other individuals, and episodes of potential interaction between US nationals and foreign actors. In the public eye there have already are 19 (I think) Russian individuals who are either government officials or are closely affiliated with the Putin regime who had documented interaction with the Trump campaign and transition. And separate from all that are some pretty obvious examples of obstruction of justice. This unsurprisingly involves a lot of people who have potential legal exposure beyond those who have already pleaded guilty and are cooperating. Nobody knows how many people will eventually end up with convictions on their record or how high up into the Trump universe this will go.

Getting back to your question of how can any transgressions that are attached Trump himself be handled, that is the subject of some debate. There is a constitutional question whether a sitting President can be indicted and that has never been decided in the courts. Watergate Special Counsel had internally concluded that the answer was no, while the Whitewater Special Counsel (Bill Clinton's prosecution) concluded that he could. What resulted in those cases was not a criminal indictment but a referral to Congress that there was proof that crimes had been committed. That would be the established route, and if evidence of crimes is found with the investigation going beyond November and the Democrats retake the House, I'd expect that would be the case here. However, whether or not the House flips, it's possible for OCS to refer this as a criminal matter for no other reason than an effort to bring as much public scrutiny as possible on the President and his associates. The resulting challenges to the ability to charge a sitting President would certainly be a real attention-getter.

[bitter-iron-ny]

Firstly, your regular updates are lucid,revealing,and personally speaking,very much looked forward to.
Do you not see a danger that this sort of chaotic lunacy is becoming the norm? That danger being that it just becomes accepted behavior? Just so long as the POTUS sends out regular missives on a medium beloved by half-wits , he's seen as being in control?
[nb.See 'Spitting Image:The President's Brain is Missing'].

Thank you. I really just make it all up to make Spammy the Vee and TSmitty feel better about living here.

It's very troubling to me the degree to which the truth has taken a holiday. At what point do facts matter any more? The President lies on daily basis and his misdeeds are countenanced by his enablers, who continue to be a majority of the Republican electorate. You would think it might matter that Trump has destroyed what has been the philosophical basis on the party since WWII: free trade, fiscal responsibility, strong relations with NATO coupled with a stern attitude towards Russian/Soviet expansionism. All that is gone. Hopefully the recent charges from the special counsel will put a dent in the 49% of Republicans who believed that the allegations of Russian interference in our elections was just media hype. Can't believe how many don't have the common sense to question why Trump's only concern with these actions is to whine about them proving he is innocent (yet another dishonest distortion) and that the shooting in Florida happened because the FBI was too busy "wasting time" with this investigation. This despite every one of his hand-picked intelligence and law enforcement officials stating that this is 100% real and an ongoing threat. Only the most narrow-minded can't see how this is proof that Trump is either incredibly stupid or willfully ignorant.

And yes, I do find such widespread stupidity to be a very dangerous situation. Assuming we manage to muddle our way through it, it is going to take decades to undo the damage he has done to our society, and I'm not talking about policies either. It's easy to change the tax code or reestablish environmental protections, that type of thing. Rather, it's our national psyche that has taken quite a battering.

[bitter-iron-ny]

Trump attacks everyone but Russia
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/ ... dal-416858

Trump says he’s never doubted Russian meddling. Here are the multiple times he has.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... iple-times

[TSmitty]

Thank you. I really just make it all up to make Spammy the Vee and TSmitty feel better about living here.

Thank you Mr Quiote, and it's a fine job you're doing. They do say if yous stop banging your head against a wall it stops hurting after a while.

I just came back from a rare foray into the heartland, an island of blue in a sea of red. They'all see the DT's as a last throe of the old order which hopefully will galvanize the new to drag the US out of 19th century thinking.
Amongst their local circle the die hards are still that but the "not sures but in a moment of madness bought the spiel" are having 2nd and 3rd thoughts.

And yes, I do find such widespread stupidity to be a very dangerous situation. Assuming we manage to muddle our way through it, it is going to take decades to undo the damage he has done to our society, and I'm not talking about policies either. It's easy to change the tax code or reestablish environmental protections, that type of thing. Rather, it's our national psyche that has taken quite a battering.

I was having this very discussion a couple of days ago.

[York Ham(mer)]

Wrong thread.

[bitter-iron-ny]

Should give some credit to Trump and the people in the WH for putting together today's forum on school violence. Other than the stupid conceal-carry proposal, the thoughts shared were deeply emotional, and ideas put forward were practical and inspirational. I don't even particularly care that Trump had a notecard with talking points that was visible for the cameras - staff put those together for politicians all the time. And he actually showed a few moments of human compassion when a young student seated next to him broke down when one of her fellow classmates recounted his experience witnessing his best friend shot. Trump, in a very non-contrived way, reached out and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. It's easily the most human thing I've ever seen him do.

That's nice, but the real issue is whether any of today's platitudes will effect any change. Or, more likely, the outrage wanes under the glare of the next chapter in the Trumpian drama.

[westham,eggyandchips]

Should give some credit to Trump and the people in the WH for putting together today's forum on school violence.

Fair play to Trump for even entertaining the idea.

Other than the stupid conceal-carry proposal, the thoughts shared were deeply emotional

Then he went and ruined it. He looked very uninterested listening to the stories of people that had lost loved ones........and the solution?

GIVE THEM MORE GUNS

[Bend it like Repka]

As much as I'm opposed to the madness of mass gun carrying in the US, give the frequent attacks on schools and universities, I'm surprised there are not some form of armed security at them.

In the short term I don't see any other option, even if they started putting gun restrictions in place.

[DasNutNock]

In the short term I don't see any other option, even if they started putting gun restrictions in place.

That’s the elephant in the room here. No amount of legislation is getting rid of 400M guns.

[TSmitty]

Meanwhile, back in the theoretical world.
Hello out there! Its us, the boffins again. Are you paying attention?

https://thebulletin.org/timeline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[WHU_Del]

No amount of legislation is getting rid of 400M guns.

They could at least start. An amnesty for illegally held weapons, a buyback for legally held ones, no private sales between individuals only via a licensed broker or dealer.
And for new owners, they could try the Japanese system:

[WHU_Del]

As much as I'm opposed to the madness of mass gun carrying in the US, give the frequent attacks on schools and universities, I'm surprised there are not some form of armed security at them.

In the short term I don't see any other option, even if they started putting gun restrictions in place.

What do you do about the mass shootings at churches, cinemas, fast food outlets, nightclubs, post offices, military bases and in the open air?
Let me guess.
Arm everybody?

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

It'd be the NRA's dream scenario

[Bend it like Repka]

What do you do about the mass shootings at churches, cinemas, fast food outlets, nightclubs, post offices, military bases and in the open air?
Let me guess.
Arm everybody?

No. What I am saying is that there is a depressingly regular scenario where disgruntled ex student goes back to place of study to settle old scores.

Random shootings in cinemas and clubs are exactly that. Unpredictable and random.

Attacks on schools and universities don't seem very rare or random from where I'm sitting. Might be sensible to have a couple of people trained in armed response on site considering the risk. I'm not advocating gun towers and all teachers packing M16's, but a level of training and security is surely advisable?

[bitter-iron-ny]

...but a level of training and security is surely advisable?

Turns out there was a well-trained, armed security guard at the school last week. When the shooting started he decided that it's be better to stay outside the building and was of no help whatsoever.

[bitter-iron-ny]

Some additional under-reported Trump news, stories that would have resulted in months of vitriol if it had been W or Barry but not the case with the Great Pumpkin:

-Trump wants to throw himself a military parade – for the troops of course, although he and his family will be up there on the reviewing stand like we’re a banana republic. When this was brought up to senior staff at the Pentagon they thought it was a joke.

-One of Trump’s ambassador nominees reportedly committed thousands of dollars to fund a gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, just two weeks after he was named for the administration post.

-Melania’s parents were granted their green cards (legal status) using the same “chain migration” that the President is insisting on eliminating. Some fuzziness with the way approval was granted in this case as well.

-Puerto Rico remains stuck in the longest and largest blackout in US history.

And this is what happens when one of these undercovered issues, in this case paying off Trunp's porn star mistress hush money a week before the election, gets a little bit of attention:

It was first reported, on Jan. 12, that President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged for a $130,000 payout to porn star Stormy Daniels in order for Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged tryst with Trump. On Feb. 13, Cohen come forward to say that he paid Daniels out of his own pocket.
Finally on Feb. 22 a Stormy Daniels-related question was asked in the White House briefing room, Jonathan Karl of ABC inquiring of Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah:

“Last week the president’s personal lawyer acknowledged giving a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels,” Karl said. “Is the president aware that his lawyer paid that kind of money to a porn star to buy her silence? Does he have proof of that?”

“I haven’t asked him about it,” Shah said. “That matter has been asked and answered in the past.”

“This is the first time we’ve had a chance to ask about it,” Karl said. “Can you go back and find out if the president approves of the fact that his personal –”

Shah interjected, “I haven’t asked him about that.”

Karl replied, “Will you ask him about that?”

Shah again said, “I haven’t asked him about that.”

Karl said, “But will you ask him about that, Raj?”

“I’ll get back to you,” Shah said.

[TSmitty]

Turns out there was a well-trained, armed security guard at the school last week. When the shooting started he decided that it's be better to stay outside the building and was of no help whatsoever.

Seems he has "resigned" after 32 years on the job. So why do people sign up for it?
A once in a lifetime chance to be a hero, you could even sneak up on him and shoot him in the back, and you balk!!
So there is something to the theory that it's all about strutting round like a direct descendant of John Wayne
and the free donuts.
I wonder where this will go in the next few days, seems to have been kept fairly on the qt on the TV