The Trump Presidency – 2016

[JPhillips]

I know Trump doesn't care about how this will work, but how will this work?

Will there be discharges? Honorable?

Will it essentially be Don't Ask Don't Tell or will there be some other policy?

What about veteran's benefits?

[QuikSand]

Oh, I get why he/they would eventually do something like this.

But to launch it out of the blue TODAY is obviously an effort to create a distraction from both the Sessions boil-over and the health care debate.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Logan

Such a piece of shit.

Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016

He really is just about the most "impressive" asshole ever. Just a diseased human being.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Oh, I get why he/they would eventually do something like this.

But to launch it out of the blue TODAY is obviously an effort to create a distraction from both the Sessions boil-over and the health care debate.

And Russia. Let's never forget Russia.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

via tweet, transgendered people may no longer serve in any military capacity.

Ok, so this is the exact equivalent of Bart Simpson setting the trash can on fire to create a distraction, right?

Oh, and Happy "American Heroes Week" everyone!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

He really is just about the most "impressive" asshole ever. Just a diseased human being.

+1

He is just a truly awful human being in any and every conceivable way a person is capable of being awful.

[Easy Mac]

Yeah, but Obama was the spawn of Satan... but not because he was black, but because of... well, I'm sure there's reasons but I don't have to justify them.

[QuikSand]

President Truman signs an executive order, desegregating the military of the United States, this day in 1948. https://t.co/cS0eSDyiT2 pic.twitter.com/txY2RUvGaH

— NYT Archives (@NYTArchives) July 26, 2017

[Easy Mac]

So you're saying he still has work to do to #MAGA. We can't get back to 1948 without a little effort.

[Ben E Lou]

CNN is reporting that the Pentagon "didn't know anything about" the transgender ban decision.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

CNN is reporting that the Pentagon "didn't know anything about" the transgender ban decision.

Heh..and now this...

NEW: Senate Armed Services Committee was not informed of Pres. Trump's announcement banning transgender people from military. - @AliABCNews

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 26, 2017

So basically he just tweeted out a new policy?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

CNN is reporting that the Pentagon "didn't know anything about" the transgender ban decision.

Pentagon statement on transgender rules changes: "We refer all questions about the President's statements to the White House"

[Ben E Lou]

OK. This is apparently the full statement:

JUST IN: Pentagon on president's transgender policy tweets: “We refer all questions about the president's statements to the White House." pic.twitter.com/WrJ1Al8yfI

— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) July 26, 2017

[JPhillips]

Now McCain's spokesperson is saying his vote for the bill wasn't really a vote in favor of the bill. But it also wasn't a vote in opposition of the bill.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Now McCain's spokesperson is saying his vote for the bill wasn't really a vote in favor of the bill. But it also wasn't a vote in opposition of the bill.

Well, we know how Republicans hate binary choices...

[JPhillips]

I bet the Trump folks weren't counting on GOP Senators coming out in favor of transgender service members.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

...and now he's renewing public attacks on his Attorney General.

He wanted Sessions to fire the FBI director which Sessions does not have the legal authority to do. Can someone please bring a high school civics teacher into the White House to explain the basics?

[ISiddiqui]

Looks like "Partial Repeal" has failed. 6 Republicans voted against (it would have been really stupid to keep the ACA protection provisions and eliminate the mandates and subsidies - the premium hikes would have been ridiculously large). Collins, Murkowski, Heller, Alexander, Caputo, McCain (?!!), and Portman voted no.

I think there is a skinny repeal vote coming down the pike? (just eliminating the individual mandate and corporate mandate, I think)

[JPhillips]

It seems like the plan is to pass something minimal and then rewrite it in conference.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Collins, Murkowski, Heller, Alexander, Caputo, McCain (?!!), and Portman voted no.

Not exactly a surprising list. Plenty of recognizable pseudocons there and at least a couple that should have been kicked out of the party ages ago.

All should be kicked to the curb and replaced by people with a brain, heart, and judgement.

[mauchow]

LOL

[RainMaker]

I don't get into the "fake news" crap because it's usually an excuse by the right. But the lack of coverage regarding what's happening with Wasserman-Schultz by major papers is the reason why there is so much mistrust of the media.

[cuervo72]

Wasserman-Schultz - Google Search

Ok, but of what major relevance is that? IT staffer commits bank fraud and tries to leave the country. I am not a fan of W-S, but why is this big news or how does it have any bearing on her or the Dems?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Wasserman-Schultz - Google Search

Ok, but of what major relevance is that? IT staffer commits bank fraud and tries to leave the country. I am not a fan of W-S, but why is this big news or how does it have any bearing on her or the Dems?

It looks like it's much deeper than that. He had four relatives on the payroll at inflated salaries. Relatives that staffers said were rarely seen. They took in over $4 million in taxpayer money. He had access to e-mails and computers of numerous members of Congress.

As it relates to DWS, she kept him on the payroll till hours ago despite the fact he was under criminal investigation and had been banned from the Capital network computers. She had made threats to the Capital Police in an effort to impede their investigation. He obviously was more than just another IT staffer to her. You also have another member of Congress saying these charges are trumped up because he's Muslim.

Now that doesn't prove anything, but I guarantee if this was Paul Ryan in the position, you'd have a lot more coverage of it in the major papers. There'd be reporters trying to find out why this guy and his family were paid so much money over the years. Why this guy wasn't fired when he was put under investigation for fraud? What did this guy have access to and what did he do with that information?

The Washington Post put more effort into stories about Elizabeth Lauten who was just a staffer that made mean Facebook posts about the Obamas. Their stories on Awan (which only went up today despite him being in the news for months) leave out a lot of the details. They're also buried under the local public safety section and just grabbed the AP feed for the part about DWS firing him finally.

[JPhillips]

Paul Ryan is Speaker of the House, of course that would get more press.

Dana Rorhbacher is basically an agent of the Russians and one of his staff got kicked off the House Foreign Affairs, and that hasn't gotten much play either. Trump and healthcare are taking up all the oxygen and little else is getting covered. In a normal admin the DWS story would be a big deal, but as is it may not make the top ten scandals of an given day.

[RainMaker]

Lauten was a staffer for a no-name rep from Tennessee. She got much more coverage for a Facebook post that had no impact on taxpayer funds or national security.

Also Rohrabacher has gotten a ton of media attention.

[JPhillips]

The media landscape was a lot different in 2014.

There's a good fifty scandals not being covered the way they would be in a more normal world.

[Thomkal]

So I thought Trump was going to fight for us LGBTQ'ers?

Trump administration argues federal law doesn’t protect gay employees.

(thanks Cuervo for the post on this on Facebook)

[Kodos]

Just when I felt a little sorry for Sessions...

[Easy Mac]

I like their plan of hiring someone dumb, firing, them, then hiring someone even dumber.

https://thinkprogress.org/scaramucci...n-39c64badff56

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Judd

Scaramucci previously described Preibus as “his brother.” On CNN, he clarified that they were brothers like “Cain and Abel.” Cain murdered Abel.

You have to love the particular brand of freedom that comes with being an openly biased information source.

[pbot]

"The fish stinks from the head" may be the most accurate description of this administration. Good job, Ant-nee!

[PilotMan]

......next time on The Real World, DC........

[cuervo72]

Trump administration threatens retribution against Alaska over Murkowski health votes

[Ben E Lou]

In completely unsurprising news, "my generals" were evidently the generals in Trump's head.

Statement from @GenDunford @thejointstaff on POTUS transgender way ahead. What this does not include are any words of support for Trump ban pic.twitter.com/heMm38ZOgN

— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) July 27, 2017

I wonder if Trump will manage to construe this as insubordination from the Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs.

[cuervo72]

[JPhillips]

So now the plan is to write a new repeal bill at lunch and pass it tonight, all while hoping it never becomes the law.

Honestly.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

I like their plan of hiring someone dumb, firing, them, then hiring someone even dumber.

https://thinkprogress.org/scaramucci...n-39c64badff56

How did he not understand what the word "public" in public financial disclosure form meant?

[Thomkal]

An interesting behind the scenes look into what was happening behind the scenes leading up to Trump's transgender ban:

Inside Trump’s snap decision to ban transgender troops - POLITICO

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

So now the plan is to write a new repeal bill at lunch and pass it tonight, all while hoping it never becomes the law.

Honestly.

Meh, I used to wake up around 4 AM and write 10 page papers for 9 AM classes in college. If I could get B-ish grades with the papers I gave to those idiots, these dummies could at least come up with a C- grade plan.

[JPhillips]

As we move closer to reports of Trump shooting an 18.

Scaramucci: Trump "sinks 3-foot putts."
White House transcript revises: "He sinks 30-foot putts."https://t.co/VN6zXFC0K1 pic.twitter.com/gKcyJi3qUq

— Mдтт Иegяiи �� (@MattNegrin) July 27, 2017

[cuervo72]

Saw this on my FB feed today:

You already know Stevie's unparalleled "Higher Ground" from the iconic 'Innervisions' album, but did you know that he put the song together in just 3 hours?

So yeah - maybe Congress can call him up. I'm sure he'd oblige!

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

As we move closer to reports of Trump shooting an 18.

Didn't he win the US Women's Open and British Open in consecutive weeks? This is what we call orange-washing history.

[QuikSand]

Sen. Ben Sasse to Pres. Trump: "If you're thinking of making a recess appointment to push out the attorney general, forget about it." pic.twitter.com/pEy5AxgvsR

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 27, 2017

This is one intriguing dude. Don't want to drown the forum with politics (and make this its own thread), so I'll post this here. I'm fixing to read his book soon, he sounds like the real deal about 2/3 of the time to me.

[JPhillips]

I think timing is difficult for Sasse. If he runs in 2020 he'll have to deal with being the anti-Trump(or, I suppose, the anti-Pence). If the GOP wins he could run in 2024, but it's very hard for one party to win three terms in a row.

If the Dems win in 2020, Sasse will likely run in 2024, but as much as we don't like three terms, we do like two terms, so a GOP win would be an upset. That would leave a 2028 run, but each year as a senator is another page in votes that can be twisted in ads.

He's got a lot going for him, but his problems just illustrate how unlikely it is for any individual to win the WH. Somebody will, though, and he does have a lot going for him.

[mckerney]

GOP senator: I’ll vote for this Obamacare repeal bill to become law if you promise me it won’t - Vox

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) wants a guarantee: that the health bill the Senate that he will likely vote to pass won’t actually become law.

[cuervo72]

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/34...bo-budget-cuts

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) is trying to eliminate 89 positions from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's staff and require the office to aggregate think tank data instead of using its own professional expertise.

“They ought to be aggregators; there are plenty of think tanks that are out there,” Meadows said at a National Press Club event.

In an amendment to be offered to the security-related spending bill scheduled for a House vote this week, Meadows would cut $15 million of funding to CBO staff members responsible for estimating the budgetary costs of bills in Congress, and have them "carry out such duties solely by facilitating and assimilating scoring data compiled by the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the Urban Institute."

"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by mckerney

GOP senator: I’ll vote for this Obamacare repeal bill to become law if you promise me it won’t - Vox

And the House might stick around over the weekend to quickly vote for it if it goes to them.

[mckerney]

Lindsey Graham: "This place holder concept, the skinny bill, will destroy insurance markets and not even remotely replace Obamacare"

So now that he's got that out of the way it sounds like Graham is a yes.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by bronconick

And the House might stick around over the weekend to quickly vote for it if it goes to them.

Yeah that's a crazy wrinkle to this whole thing. Imagine explaining that as a Senator. I voted for it but I didn't want it to actually go through.