The Trump Presidency – 2016

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

We live in a Clown Kingdom folks

We have a President that's decided that being President is too hard so he's looking for things to do that are easier than managing a pandemic.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Did Trump actually do something...civil?

Trump orders federal flags to fly half-staff to honor John Lewis

You would think so, but sadly no. As it turns out he issued the order for one day only, and it ended up being for a half a day

[ISiddiqui]

Just stunningly evil and shows the whole if we stop testing thing was in no way a joke.

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[RainMaker]

I told you that some people are rooting for the virus. Maybe Kemp has shares in Gilead.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by molson

Let's build a wall around the virus and make the virus pay for it!

Am I doing this right?

you win all the elections

[Drake]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

You are more charitable than I am.

They are lying to us. It's not smoke and mirrors. It's a lie.

I don't wish ill will on these idiots. They are Americans, and revenge is a very empty pursuit that ends up hurting us as much as them.

I just want to structure the government so they are incapable of holding power until after my grandchildren pass from the Earth.

I try to be charitable.

I watch a ton of 2A community YouTube content ('cuz I'm that rare rural Democrat who also happens to really dig guns), so I feel like I've got a decent finger on the pulse of that community and its activism.

And I've got to admit that in light of what's going on in Portland right now, some of the comment sections where 2A-boogaloo-prepper sorts are just completely willing to chuck out basic Constitutional provisions as long as it gets protesters/Democrats thrown into gulags, is stunning.

The 2A community is very anti-tyranny and totalitarianism...unless it's the sort of totalitarianism they're in favor of (i.e., where they win, and maybe get to shoot a few of their hippy neighbors in the process.)

I try to tell myself that the sorts of people who fill up the comment sections on YouTube are just a certain sort of people who don't participate in the reality the rest of us are living. They live in parallel dimensions with lots of banjos.

[Brian Swartz]

It's smoke and mirrors to some, but not all. For example, there are people I converse with regularly who were actively, consistently concerned with excessive police power long before the recent national flare-up of said concern who are on the 'masks are tyranny' bandwagon.

They may be a minority, but there's still a significant legit libertarian contingent out there who are generally libertarian whether it's a 'liberal' or 'conservative' view to have.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

You would think so, but sadly no. As it turns out he issued the order for one day only, and it ended up being for a half a day

One could even say 3/5ths of a day?

SI

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Drake

And I've got to admit that in light of what's going on in Portland right now, some of the comment sections where 2A-boogaloo-prepper sorts are just completely willing to chuck out basic Constitutional provisions as long as it gets protesters/Democrats thrown into gulags, is stunning.



.

That is the biggest problem I have with this. The same people cheering this on claim to be patriots and would lose their minds if unidentified federal forces stormed into their house and forklifted away their gun safe.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

One could even say 3/5ths of a day?

SI

Clever

[Ksyrup]

Oregon AG is suing DHS over the Portland arrests/detentions.

[Drake]

For the uninitiated, this comment section is a good example: Federal Agents Disappearing Protesters in Portland, OR (On the Ground Perspective) - YouTube

(For the record, I don't endorse this YouTuber at all. In fact, I think he's kind of an idiot...but he's also the very first 2A "gun-tuber" I've found who has actually posted anything about Portland. Which is sort of stunning in itself.)

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

One could even say 3/5ths of a day?

SI

Oh you...

[NobodyHere]

dola

I wish this board had a system of liking or disliking posts.

[ISiddiqui]

From the Post article:

The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal confidential deliberations, cautioned that the talks were fluid and the numbers were in flux.

It really doesn't mean anything unless they publicly dissent. Of course Trump reeeeeealy wants another payment to help his election chances so they could dangle that in front of him.

[SirFozzie]

Ok, honest question. I'm pretty sure there's a pretty decent amount of crossover between "college football is a religion" folks and "COVID-19 is overblown and a scare tactic to bring down the President" folks. With the head of the SEC (the conference not the Securites and Exchange Committee) saying things are "going the wrong way" to have fall sports, if there's no college football this fall, do you think that will be enough to break through to the "38 percent"?

Honestly, I'm not sure I want the answer.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Ok, honest question. I'm pretty sure there's a pretty decent amount of crossover between "college football is a religion" folks and "COVID-19 is overblown and a scare tactic to bring down the President" folks. With the head of the SEC (the conference not the Securites and Exchange Committee) saying things are "going the wrong way" to have fall sports, if there's no college football this fall, do you think that will be enough to break through to the "38 percent"?

Honestly, I'm not sure I want the answer.

Thre cult comparison is anything but fresh, but I was watching a Jonestown documentary recently and it stuck with me how one of the most published and hyped family of defectors had only left the cult when they witnessed Jim Jones personally beat their child, with over 50 blows. That incident didn't cause anybody else to leave though, and had it not been their child that Jones beat on that day then they would have gladly stuck around and drank the kool-aid with everybody.

...point being that I think that similarly, the great majority of Trump's base has proven that they or someone in their immediate family will have to come to serious harm before they will shift their thinking. Not to be too morbid, but I guess if significant coaches & players started dying or getting crippled due to covid, then that crowd might start to reconsider some things. Unless that happens I think a canceled season would largely just be blamed on the same over-reaction & handful of boogeymen.

[Brian Swartz]

It's all about who they blame for it. The conspiracy theories will continue and there's never any shortage of others to blame if you are bound and determined to do so. Some continue to fall away as Trump's support erodes further, but most find a different target.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Ok, honest question. I'm pretty sure there's a pretty decent amount of crossover between "college football is a religion" folks and "COVID-19 is overblown and a scare tactic to bring down the President" folks. With the head of the SEC (the conference not the Securites and Exchange Committee) saying things are "going the wrong way" to have fall sports, if there's no college football this fall, do you think that will be enough to break through to the "38 percent"?

Honestly, I'm not sure I want the answer.

It won't break a thing. They will blame the head of the SEC, school admins, etc...for caving to the liberal media and snowflakes. It won't help that guys like Kemp will be screaming about how we have to get back to normal. They will yell about healthy 20 year old athletes won't die from it, etc....

[CrimsonFox]

or you could just ya know....just let us talk about whatever in one thread.

[albionmoonlight]

I don't think that Trump is pro-virus.

I think that he is anti-anti-virus if that makes sense?

It makes sense in my head.

[albionmoonlight]

dola:

And the Dems need to play hardball in this bill.

Right now, the GOP will continue putting enough money into the economy to keep it from totally crashing. But if Biden becomes President and the GOP keeps the Senate? Then the spigot stops.

The Dems would be foolish to sign any bill that does not come with automatic stabilizers--the money keeps flowing as long as unemployment, etc. stays in the red.

I mean, the Dems are foolish. So they will. But they shouldn't.

And if the GOP does not play along. OK, then. No bill.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I don't think that Trump is pro-virus.

I think that he is anti-anti-virus if that makes sense?

It makes sense in my head.

It makes perfect sense. He can't have people like Fauci out there talking about all the negative aspects. He needs to try and prop up the notion that everything is OK.

[JPhillips]

Damn. Every quote from the Chris Wallace interview is fire.

Wallace told Trump that he also took the cognitive test and it's not very hard.

Trump sharply objected: "... the first few questions are easy, but I'll bet you couldn't even answer the last five questions. I'll bet you couldn't, they get very hard, the last five questions."

Chris Wallace pressed Trump on how he wrongly claimed the virus would just disappear.

Trump: "I'll be right eventually. I will be right eventually."

Trump on the Confederate flag: "When people – when people proudly have their Confederate flags, they’re not talking about racism. They love their flag, it represents the south, they like the south. People right now like the south."

[Lathum]

The brain cancer will just magically disappear at some point.

[JPhillips]

Unhinged. pic.twitter.com/6H9G5AXRZT

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 19, 2020

[Atocep]

Roger Stone uses racial slur in interview with Black radio host | TheHill

Roger Stone caught saying the quiet stuff out loud. Then, of course, denied saying it even though there's recorded audio. Fist he claimed it was a poor connection and then said it was the host's studio engineer that said it.

[SirFozzie]

If Hannity wasn't on "vacation", I think he would be mounting a commando-style raid on Fox News HQ to destroy the footage of the interview.

[ISiddiqui]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...98&no_nav=true

This is terrible. I can't get over the selfishness of people who refuse to wear masks when business owners do all they can. The guy running in and yelling ADA while ignoring signs? What a terrible person.

[kingfc22]

Well the headline link on the Fox News site has zero quotes from Wallace so anyone just reading that will think bunker boy was “telling it like it is”

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...98&no_nav=true

This is terrible. I can't get over the selfishness of people who refuse to wear masks when business owners do all they can. The guy running in and yelling ADA while ignoring signs? What a terrible person.

It kind of fits that MAGA worldview, though, that all these other people just get special treatment by existing. Black people get free college. Illegal Immigrants don't pay taxes. Poor people get free health care. Women get believed. Disabled people can do whatever they want. Non-Christians get to practice their religion more freely than Christians.

So they really do think that "the ADA" is just one of those "liberal things" that people invoke when they want to do whatever they want.

It doesn't make it right. But I think that it's more based in simple ignorance than malice. They think that they are persecuted, so they are trying to fight against that. If they were less naive, they'd probably act more reasonable.

[GrantDawg]

Watched the interview, and I really was a little underwhelmed on the gotcha. The biggest thing I got of it is the Fox poll has Biden's lead shrinking.

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[Brian Swartz]

The Lincoln Project is lying. Claiming Trump is unhinged assumes he was previously hinged up until now. This is clearly not the case.

[JPhillips]

A gunman disguised as a FedEx driver shot the husband and killed the son of a Federal judge in NJ.

[Thomkal]

Jack Nicklaus and his wife, age 80. had the virus in March and April. One had just a sore throat and cough, the other no symptoms.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

A gunman disguised as a FedEx driver shot the husband and killed the son of a Federal judge in NJ.

Judge apparently oversaw an Epstein-related case which is probably going to ramp up the conspiracy theories. But the husband is a criminal defense attorney, so figuring out the true target may be a bit more difficult than you'd think.

[Noop]

Sycophants.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Judge apparently oversaw an Epstein-related case which is probably going to ramp up the conspiracy theories. But the husband is a criminal defense attorney, so figuring out the true target may be a bit more difficult than you'd think.

I find the idea of a criminal client attacking their lawyer to be rare. Now probate lawyers being attacked I can totally see...

[Ksyrup]

Relatively speaking, this kind of brazen act is rare. But here's the thing about criminal defense attorneys- very often they used to be prosecutors. And they can have disputes with clients or disagreements just like any attorney.

All of this is to say, it's not likely he's the target, but law enforcement has to rule him out as the target which would not be as much of an issue if her husband ran the local grocery store.

[Ksyrup]

And here we go...

Meadows says the Trump administration is readying a new executive order to expand the federal takeover of cities based on alleged lawlessness: "Attorney General Barr is weighing in on that with Secretary Wolf, and you'll see something rolled out on that this week." https://t.co/OltkCHVTP1

— Dan Friedman (@dfriedman33) July 19, 2020

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

And here we go...

Meadows says the Trump administration is readying a new executive order to expand the federal takeover of cities based on alleged lawlessness: "Attorney General Barr is weighing in on that with Secretary Wolf, and you'll see something rolled out on that this week." https://t.co/OltkCHVTP1
— Dan Friedman (@dfriedman33) July 19, 2020

Just remember - those of us who think this is patently nuts - we're the crazy ones.

SI

[Ksyrup]

So let me get this straight... I'm a conservative, always supported states rights. So what I take from the current GOP is that states aren't trusted to police themselves, but they should be expected to handle a global pandemic with minimal federal assistance and active resistance/inconsistent federal guidance. Got it.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So let me get this straight... I'm a conservative, always supported states rights. So what I take from the current GOP is that states aren't trusted to police themselves, but they should be expected to handle a global pandemic with minimal federal assistance and active resistance/inconsistent federal guidance. Got it.

I know you already know the answer but it's never been about state's rights or local control. Just like how you have numbnuts like Kemp or Abbott overruling smaller city units when they try to, you know, do something about the pandemic.

Also, this weekend, I've been thinking a lot about this article: The Cruelty Is the Point

SI

[Atocep]

Despite being pretty far to the left, I do read opinions from the right to get some perspective and when I run into what I feel are logic gaps my wife does a good job of filling in the gaps since she was raised very republican in Texas.

I still can't wrap my head around how masks are tyranny and a dangerous loss of rights but federal troops that refuse to say who they are driving around in unmarked rental vehicles taking people off the streets for detainment is ok.

I would love to hear someone make this case because it seems genuinely bizarre to me.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't think that's consistent at all, but it's always easier to see logic gaps when it's the 'other side' making them.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I still can't wrap my head around how masks are tyranny and a dangerous loss of rights but federal troops that refuse to say who they are driving around in unmarked rental vehicles taking people off the streets for detainment is ok.

I would love to hear someone make this case because it seems genuinely bizarre to me.

I actually think the thought process is pretty simple.

It's okay to take those "deadbeats" off the street because they have spent 30-40 days causing disruption and so law and order needs to be restored.

The reason why the LEOs-and-like refuse to say who they are is because they don't want reprisals for them & family. They use rental vehicles because they want to monitor the situation and don't want to alert the deadbeats. I assume when they are taken off the streets that they have legal representation per the laws and not hauled away to a black site to be beaten.

I'm okay with the tactics of not identifying and use of unmarked vehicles, makes sense to me.

The real question to me is should they have been deployed to remove the protesters. I'm not sure as to what has been said, done, negotiated, timeline of events etc.

[Brian Swartz]

If you don't want to be identifiable, don't be a public servant. That just goes with the territory of being an elected official, police officer, fireperson, whatever. Secret police are incompatible with a free society. Having undercover operations be narrowly restricted is a good thing.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

If you don't want to be identifiable, don't be a public servant. That just goes with the territory of being an elected official, police officer, fireperson, whatever. Secret police are incompatible with a free society. Having undercover operations be narrowly restricted is a good thing.

From what I've read, its not required and/or depends on the situation. See below link.

Page not found - Lawfare.

I'm all for changing the laws if that's what's needed. Let's see how much support (Dem and GOP) it gets.

Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy and Chuck Schumer have also announced that they are introducing legislation “requiring unidentified law enforcement officers and members of the Armed Forces to clearly identify themselves and their agency or service while they are engaged in crowd control or arresting individuals involved in civil disobedience or protests in the United States.”

[ISiddiqui]

There is an argument that they should be identifying themselves before seizing people under the 4th Amendment - though the 4th Amendment has been gutted so much over the last 50+ years.

[JPhillips]

Trump 2020 - It's worse than Afghanistan - By Far!

Trump 2020: This Is Worse Than Afghanistan, By Far. This Is Worse Than Anything Anyone's Ever Seen. pic.twitter.com/Izf9DGCO2C

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2020