Trump General Discusion II

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Had my first elevator ride with the first daughter-elect today since the election and managed to keep my mouth shut the entire time. I'm impressed with my newfound self restraint.

 

[BVS]

And there's another campaign promise gone to waste. What's the next one?

Not much left:

-great again? No
-wall? No
-Clinton in prison? No
-repeal ACA? No
-drain swamp? No


-Conned? YES

 

[anitram]

Working on those anger management issues is paying off for Headache.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Had my first elevator ride with the first daughter-elect today since the election and managed to keep my mouth shut the entire time. I'm impressed with my newfound self restraint.

*cough* EVIL

 

[BoMac]

Had my first elevator ride with the first daughter-elect today since the election and managed to keep my mouth shut the entire time. I'm impressed with my newfound self restraint.

You work in the Trump Tower?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

You work in the Trump Tower?

Thankfully no.

The daughter of our new glorious leader is a patron at my place of employment. Honestly she seems like a lovely person in my limited interactions with her.

 

[BVS]

Thankfully no.

The daughter of our new glorious leader is a patron at my place of employment. Honestly she seems like a lovely person in my limited interactions with her.

Out of the ones in the public eye, she does come off as the decent one.


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

Millions of Americans who voted for Donald Trump are expected to lose overtime pay rights soon after he is sworn in as president.

Tom Bonier, CEO of the polling firm Targetsmart, pointed out on Monday that “almost 20,000,000 Trump voters would lose time and a half overtime” under a Republican plan to reverse regulations put in place by President Barack Obama.

According to Politico, House Republicans are already plotting the most efficient way to dismantle Obama-era regulations. An overtime rule requiring companies to pay time-and-a-half to workers who make less than $47,000 a year is expected to be one of the first reversals.

“We have heard over the past year that it would have truly dramatically bad effects, not just on employers but on employees across the country,” Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) told Politico. “I can give you the names of a ton of private-sector businesses who will either have to eat that cost or pass that cost on to their customers.”

Exit polls taken during the Nov. 8 election showed that 41 percent of Trump’s 61 million votes were cast by people who make less than $50,000 a year.

Oops.

 

[anitram]

Oops.

Thank God this will hold the elites in check.

 

[BoMac]

Thank God this will hold the elites in check.

Uhhh, come on. I think we can all trust that these business owners will use the savings from not having to pay overtime to create more jobs instead of pocketing the money for themselves.

Spoiler

LOL

 

[BVS]

We'll show them!

That black Muslim didn't have our interests at heart.

The white nationalist christians will save us.


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[Irvine511]

in case you want to lay awake at night:

20 Lessons from the 20th Century on How to Survive in Trump’s America - In These Times

Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are 20 lessons from across the fearful 20th century, adapted to the circumstances of today.

1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.

3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.

4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it.

6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the Internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.

7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot and other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.

10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.

14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.

15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.

16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over. (irvine: awaiting the deputization of the militia idiots)

18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)

19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.

20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

 

[mama cass]

Had my first elevator ride with the first daughter-elect today since the election and managed to keep my mouth shut the entire time. I'm impressed with my newfound self restraint.

Working on those anger management issues is paying off for Headache.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Yes, I'd like to thank Mrs. G for those terrific tips. Woo sah.

 

[gump]

Imagine what the Trump sycophants would be saying if this was the Clinton Foundation.

Trump Foundation admits to violating ban on ‘self-dealing,’ new filing to IRS shows

President-elect Donald Trump’s charitable foundation has admitted to the IRS that it violated a legal prohibition against “self-dealing,” which bars nonprofit leaders from using their charity’s money to help themselves, their businesses or their families.

 

[Irvine511]

But he tells it like it is.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

He's self dealing his transition

 

[anitram]

I'm sure all these principled Trump voters we have here who keep screaming Crooked Hillary will be here any second now to denounce this.

 

[BoMac]

[tweet]801129587581325313[/tweet]

 

[BoMac]

This is NOT what we heard during the campaign.

[TWEET]801126615388274688[/TWEET]

[TWEET]801126844414226432[/TWEET]

 

[gump]

Silly me, yesterday I thought that the Argentinian Trump Tower story was just a misunderstanding, but it seems that it is, indeed, yet another example of the yuge conflicts of interest Trump is facing now. It looks like (i) the Macri's access to the Trump entourage was through Trump's business partner in Argentina; (ii) the day after the election, the construction of the Trump Tower Buenos Aires - which was delayed due to permits - received a go ahead. Macri and Trump, by the way, were longtime acquaintances (and adversaries), so there's some sense that Macri was trying to mend fences. This twitter thread (which is well sourced) is very interesting:

[TWEET]800907771101270016[/TWEET]

[TWEET]800914359073570816[/TWEET]

So apart from conflict of interests in the US, there's a huge risk of extorsion for US partners abroad (by Trump directly, or his business partners).

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Gee, sure am glad we didn't let that oh-so-corrupt Hillary Clinton become president. Really dodged a big bullet there, yep.

 

[Irvine511]

You don't get to 270 EC votes without fake news.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

One day we'll wake up and Patrick Duffy will be in the shower with President Clinton.

 

[BVS]

One day we'll wake up and Patrick Duffy will be in the shower with President Clinton.

Hahaha


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[Vincent Vega]

At least there will be continuity in one field:

Mr. Obama may not, however, need worry about his legacy with respect to Syria. If Mr. Donald Trump's campaign statements on Syria are any guide to forthcoming policy, the Trump administration will merely drop the hand-wringing, empty rhetoric about human suffering and formally convey Syria to Russia, Iran, and Bashar al-Assad. If this is how President Trump decides to proceed he will only be accelerating and completing the Syria work of his predecessor. Whatever the new president may do with respect to health care, trade, immigration, alliances, and other contentious issues, the direct translation of his campaign rhetoric on Syria into action would amount to policy continuity.

Moscow, Washington, and the Wreckage of Syria

Not impossible this person is right and Trump does indeed lack any ideology. What's more dangerous then, a person with a dangerous ideology that you might keep in checks, or a person without any discernible ideology that allows everyone else with dangerous ideologies to thrive?

"I don't think this is Trump's ideology because he seems to be largely free of ideology. But these people are riding on his coattails. We are watching this very closely," the official told Reuters news agency, requesting anonymity.

Germany-Israel alarm as US white supremacists rise - News from Al Jazeera

 

[Oregoropa]

If Donald and Melania died soon. I can see Farage becoming Barron's Alfred Pennyworth.


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[BVS]

http://oliverwillis.com/watch-video-shows-neo-nazis-celebrating-trump-victory-heil-trump-cheer/

Watch if you dare, THIS is what your "christian principles" have emboldened, THIS is what will be whispering in Trump's ear.


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[gump]

Being free of ideology is not a virtue, by the way. Ideology is not partisanship. Not having ideology often makes you a populist, or at least a demagogue.

 

[anitram]

I'm sure that Trump will be tweeting in outrage about this just like he has been about such deeply offensive things as the cast of Hamilton being "rude" to Mike Pence.