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Trump Presidency


athinaios

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Let us look, again!, at the numbers:

 

1) During Reagan's presidency, the federal debt held by the public nearly tripled in nominal terms, from $738 billion to $2.1 trillion.

  1. Nominal after-tax corporate profits grew at a compound annual growth rate of 3.0% during Reagan's eight years, compared to 13.0% during the preceding eight years.

  2. The top 1% of income earners' share of income before transfers and taxes rose from 9.0% in 1979 to a peak of 13.8% I

  3. The bottom 90% had a lower share of the income in 1989 vs. 1979.

  4. When Bush 41 realized that voodoo economics had brought the country to the brim of an economical precipice, he decided to forget his pre-election promises. The economists that I know opined that all of presidents are scoundrels and the #41 was the least scoundrel.

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8 hours ago, PAOTHEGREAT said:

The 8 years under Regan were historical gains....under Clinton the gains were also huge.   The bush years America went to war against Islam!!!   Very important wouldn't you say?    America today is much stronger military and superiority than it ever was.   The difference between the Republicans and the democrats is....the Republicans will do whatever it takes to keep American interests at the top.   While the Democrats sit on the fence with the most important issues threatening America.  You need a balance,  and the Republicans in my opinion provide that.  

When Obama was president he went around the world on an apology tour for the US  actions around the world.

Under Trump the country is booming, socialism is not welcomed here.

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9 hours ago, Soprano76 said:

Come on PAO, the Republicans dont give a s%$#! about you, me or 'Murica. They're so deep in special interest groups like the oil lobby, NRA, and Christian fundamentalists. 

The Republicans are clear about what they care about, if you are for maintaining the status quo, mortgaging the future for tax cuts and deregulation, denying women basic rights about what they can do with their own body, or shafting mexicans, blacks, gays and muslims by propagating ideas and sentiments and narratives that in general are intended to be divisive, appeal to our baser drives and grind to a halt any chance for cooperation and progress, while prostituting themselves to the weapons manufacturers, fed, banks and big business at the expense of the working class heroes.....this is the party for you! These are the so called people the chicken haws care about and serve.

Or I might be a sjw, snowflake, white guilt commie-anarchist...it's hard to tell.

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Many Russians love Putin for he's not democrat or for the working class, but he's bringing back the Russian empire. Many Americans, and some members here are also have similar minds. I personally think the price for such national pride is too high, and as a policy very misguided.

I think what makes a country strong, and gives it good bragging rights, is not how its leader behaves like a pompous ass,  kicking friends and enemies, insulting everyone else. A country is strong when its middle class is doing well--that is, how the pizza pie is cut, not how big the pizza pie is.  It's when people live longer, are healthier, more educated, have more opportunity, are happier, there are fewer people in prison,  have access to voting, etc, etc.

I see the same juvenile arguments here and elsewhere in the country:  my dad can beat your dad!   Sure, if that's how you measure success....

Simple minds like bumper sticker messages....     The newest: socialism* will never be acceptable in the US!  The simpletons and the  ignorant will mindlessly repeat this...

 

Not only it's already here, but, shockingly, a majority of Americans prefer socialism to unregulated capitalism! 

----

*socialism as a label has been used by many, from Nazis to communists. The democratic socialism that exists in all western societies is the desirable form. This means capitalism, but w/regulations/oversight/consumer protection, re-allocation of resources, a strong social safety net ("social security" rings a bell?), etc.  The New Deal is just that, democratic socialism. All advanced countries--you know, the ones you'd live to live in--are liberal-social-democracies!

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Yeah, 'cause Tiger Woods has devoted his life in promoting ..freedom and opportunity for the minorities! Or, maybe because Trump equates golfing with freedom from ..work.  He has played more golf so far than Obama did in 8 years. (and of course Trump was criticizing O for wasting the people's time and money)

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The Muller Report is out. One thing is abundantly clear: The so-called "fake news" outlets that have been reporting about this saga got things right.. After the FBI director and the Attorney General were fired by Trump, Trump's current AG decided to act as Trump's personal lawyer and not as the top law enforcement official in the country. Look how he has handled the report, his advocacy (including his view that a siting prez can't be indicted), and his unwillingness to cooperate with Congress.

Remember when another special counsel investigated president Bill Clinton in the 1990s and then the AG edited the report and said there was nothing criminal about the president's conduct? Nothing happened, right?

The Muller Report, redacted as it may be, clearly shows what we already knew--how Trump and his people have been acting all along. The unredacted details contradict Trump and the AG.

Who can't truly acknowledge that the Trump family colluded and conspired with the Russians, that they were eagerly willing to use illegally-obtained information and Russian lies to win an election, while they were talking to a foreign power about lifting sanctions, and hoping to profit by doing business in Moscow. The Trump family is still making money and taking payments from foreign interests.

Obstruction of justice? He did it in the open by firing Comey, Sessions, not cooperating with Muller, attacking the legitimacy of the investigation every day, telling people to obstruct/fire Muller, and instructing others to lie to the FBI and Muller.

The FBI (yes, their job is to investigate) was looking into the Trump campaign for a good reason, because of persons who had been colluding with Russians and other foreign powers. Five of his closest associates already have or are going to jail. Over 30 other persons have been indicted. When president Trump was told not to give security clearance to his son-in law because Jared was compromised, DJT did regardless. Same with convicted felon Flynn, who was made National Security Advisor with access to the most secret classified information. He's going to jail too.

Thankfully, Ivanka declined to be the head of the the ..World Bank. Her father wanted to appoint her there, because.. "she's good with numbers"!!!   But, he has appointed dozens of incompetent and unqualified people forjobs in important positions. Trump himself is not qualified to be president.  Yes, I'd still disagree about Republican policies if they were put forth by president McCain or president Romney, or as they were by president Bush. But, the big difference is that those people were qualified to be president of the US.  

 

I wished we just had scandals about sex and emails nowadays instead of this....kakistocracy (rule by the worst).

Edited by Epicurus
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  • 2 months later...

On  June 24, Monday night in front of an audience, John Lithgow, Annette Bening, Kevin Kline, Kyra Sedgwick, Alyssa Milano, Michael Shannon, Alfre Woodard, Joel Grey and more took the stage at New York’s Riverside Church for a live reading of “The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts.”

The 10 acts of the play each had a title corresponding to an act of possible obstruction committed by Trump.

 

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Breaking news (6/25)... Muller will testify in open session of a Congressional committee on July 17th. 

@Lazarus Muller has listed over 10 instances of conspiracy to obstruct and of obstruction of justice by president Trump. So, maybe technically you can still use the word "allegedly" but com'on, it's more than obvious. Trump himself and his WH counsel have basically admitted as much. (In the video above, the definition is at 3:30')

 

Elections have big consequences, especially in times when the choices are stark, leaders and parties share little in common. We wouldn't have Congressional investigations of Trump if it weren't for the Dems winning the House in the last election.

You know, this is "pride month". This marks the 50th anniversary (1969) of the Stonewall riots (NYC) that spurred the gay rights movement and the formation of dozens of new civil rights organizations opposing discrimination. The conservatives have always been against individual rights that they didn't like... and they trampled over civil liberties by whatever means they could.

It was also in June of 2015, just 4 years ago, that the Supreme Court recognized the constitutional right of consenting adults to marry a person of their choice!  The vote was by slim majority 5-4. Most likely today's high court would have ruled the opposite way. So, the question is, how are justices nominated and confirmed to the highest court of the land?   Well, the simple answer is: elections!  Electing a president and senators.

With a Dem in the WH today, the S.C. would have had a solid liberal majority, and we wouldn't have to worry about regressive anti-choice laws, etc.  Many of the freedoms and choices we enjoy today came via court rulings. 

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  • 10 months later...

Sponsored by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC that George T. Conway III (prominent attorney and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway) co-founded with other Republicans and former ones. The video, released Monday, May 5, 2020, lays responsibility squarely at Trump’s doorstep for the severity of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, including the deaths and economic damage.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Today, COLBERT I. KING listed, in the Washington Post the feats of our beloved president:

To malign the weak and the dead.

Nothing new, but this time Mr King also added a statement by H.L. Mencken who wrote the following statement in the Baltimore’s Evening Sun on July 26, 1920:

“On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

Clearly Mencken was prophetic.  Or he objected that the low class perceived the educated as uppity and those who are perceived as uppity tend to not be elected.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Interesting. while I don't think he's completely wrong (the mythic past one is spot on), I am reminded that when I was in middle and high school, all of my friends thought Bush was a fascist too. It's a common jeer by the left, no different than the right calling people commies.

Not sure what I think of Trump in the grand scheme of things. For those who are fans of the history of the Roman republic, our recent past feels weirdly like what the Gracchi brothers presaged. A strong republic that began to see populist candidates rise up and dismantle their system. I feel this is a much more likely end result for Donny - he won't end up a dictator, but his destruction of so many norm (and blatant pandering to divisive politics) seems it could easily presage the coming of an actual dictator. That is just as worrying to me.

(and yes I realize the Gracchi were mostly pushing *good* reforms, but their methods and the ultimate result seem similar to what we see now)

 

Anyway, this video also would feel more weighty if the professor didn't seem like he cried a lot during gym class ?

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58 minutes ago, pash said:

Interesting. while I don't think he's completely wrong (the mythic past one is spot on), I am reminded that when I was in middle and high school, all of my friends thought Bush was a fascist too.

Yes, many have been called the name. People like slapping labels onto others. While the word 'fascist' has acquired a feeling of the extreme, like 'crying wolf', one has to pay close attention and study what fascism is and the machinations of how fascism works. Then, evaluate on your own where we currently stand and whether these labels are justifiable or not when applied to our current political climate and if they should be used when making the association with Donald J. Trump.

An excellent study on the subject is the 2018 book: How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley. (The Guardian Review ) - same guy as the previous video. Essential reading in my opinion.

Jason Stanley: How Fascism Works

 

58 minutes ago, pash said:

For those who are fans of the history of the Roman republic, our recent past feels weirdly like what the Gracchi brothers presaged.

Excellent reference. Thank you for that.

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11 hours ago, pash said:

This is THE FUNNIEST RALLY I've seen in, well, ever??

Just a bit confused here. Which part do you consider funny? The incompetence or the propaganda? Have you not seen yet how this person's incompetence, corruption, cronyism and policies have wrecked this country?

The fact that this individual is holding the highest elected position in our country and running running for re-election should scare the living daylights out of everybody.

 

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Can't help it. I find his particular blend of horseshit hilarious. He literally couldn't form a cogent thought to save his life and these sycophants are lapping it up. Delicious.

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On 6/19/2020 at 2:22 PM, Lazarus said:

A video clip from the New York Times for the thinking citizens of the US:

 

Makes some good points, though I sense that he is another person who does exactly what he says at the beginning of the video (calls someone a fascist the minute somebody says something he doesn't agree with).

I also hate it when people bring up 'conspiracy theory' to dampen a claim about something going on behind the scenes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

^^^Tzatziki^^^

If only we had a clue before the 2016 election.... 

(I won't tire of saying this, because it was so obvious that he was a dangerous buffoon, totally unqualified, with a long history of scams, frauds, and serious character flaws)Booing Kenan Thompson GIF by Saturday Night Live

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Trump commuted the sentence of his former goon, Roger Stone, who was to report to prison tomorrow. Get ready for many more pardons as Trump will take care of his crime family. He's the most corrupt president, like some Republicans (sadly few) are now saying.

I'm willing to bet that Trump is thinking of pardoning himself too. Believe it or not, the constitution is not clear on this, whether a prez can pardon himself. And, who would stop him? Fortunately, he can't pardon himself or anyone else for state crimes!  I bet NYS and others are getting ready to charge him with crimes, the same crimes that his former lawyer, his goon, etc, have been convicted of. And, then we'll get to see his tax returns....   What a fraud he's been but so many cultists don't want to acknowledge this... (maybe once he's labeled a "loser")

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