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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Political Discussion Thread

Suburb Repairman said:
I'm a little surprised Mike Pence hasn't attempted to kick the chair out from under Trump yet. From a policy perspective I consider Pence worse because he knows how to work the system, but he has to sense an opportunity to curb stomp Trump and come out like a rose even in the eyes of more progressive people that would otherwise attack him.
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But he may be more strategic than that. He is likely just quietly sitting to the side knowing that Trump will implode mid-term or will bail on him for the 2020 election and run against him for the nomination (which would be a crazy and fun thing to watch him potentially steal the nomination from the sitting President).

Or he's just dumb and buying Trump's bull.

But it could be something completely different.
 
Maister said:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...i-about-payments-to-stormy-daniels/ar-AAwKbj3

And now we're moving on to the next version of the story. Which, we're told is 'quite simple' but what that is the Douchebag-In-Chief neglects to say. Seriously, you can't make this kinda stuff up. :facepalm:

What I wouldn't give to see that mofo sweating under a skillfully executed cross-examination.....
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The issue is this man is so concerned about his public image and what people are saying about him that he sees this as "bad things about me, and I want them to say good things" and changes the narrative. His ego goes beyond the ability to govern. This is how our republic dies.
 
Bizarro-05-06-18-WEB.jpg
 
JNA said:
Stop Calling Washington a Swamp. It's Offensive to Swamps.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/05/...sive-to-swamps.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur
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"Cesspool" would be a better word, but even that word is too good for the GOP. Honestly, I don't think there is a single word in the entire English language that is degrading yet appropriate enough to completely and accurately describe the White House and the GOP controlled-congress. All we have are phrases like "bowels of the earth","human excrement" and "white trash with money"
 
Article - Trump vs. the "Deep State"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/trump-vs-the-deep-state

Trump has elevated loyalty to the primary consideration. Since he has no fixed ideology, the White House cannot screen for ideas, so it seeks a more personal form of devotion.

Across the government, more than half of the six hundred and fifty-six most critical positions are still unfilled.
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address given by President Truman in 1951, during Senator Joseph McCarthy's attacks on government workers.
"When even one American—who has done nothing wrong—is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril,"
Truman said.
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Thursday - $500m in loans from China to tRump branded hotel, golf course and residencies in Singapore.
Sunday - pResident tRump announces exemption to tariffs for ZTE Technologies (Chinese company) to save jobs and mobile-phone manufacturing business.

Violation of Emoluments Clause? Why YES! Yes it is.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. (Wikipedia)
 
Planit said:
Thursday - $500m in loans from China to tRump branded hotel, golf course and residencies in Singapore.
Sunday - pResident tRump announces exemption to tariffs for ZTE Technologies (Chinese company) to save jobs and mobile-phone manufacturing business.

Violation of Emoluments Clause? Why YES! Yes it is.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. (Wikipedia)
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He doesn't control his company.... his sons do.


:lmao: Man I don't know how the talking heads do it... that just hurts to pretend....
 
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson commencement address at the Virginia Military Institute

"If our leaders seek to conceal the truth or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom," he said.

"If we do not as Americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in our society and among our leaders in both the public and private sector — and regrettably at times even the nonprofit sector — then American democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years," he said.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/news/38...risis-in-ethics-and-integrity-in-commencement
 
If corporations are people, then why don't we give them the vote when they reach age 18 and otherwise limit their political donations the way all other citizens' contributions are?:-o
 
Planit said:
Not really - he would never fully relinquish that.
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I wish I could push sarcasm more.... ;) I was very much kidding. He runs his company. :D

Which is why I put the second part.... but maybe that wasn't clear :-$
 
Oh Good Gawd bubba - what the hell:

Gov. candidate Michael Williams is traveling around Georgia is a converted school bus he's painted all grey calling it the Deportation Bus. Everyone else is calling it the Bigot Bus.

Karma is a bitch - it broke down on the way to Dalton for a rally & the rallies where he has showed up, there are many times more protesters than supporters.
 
Planit said:
Oh Good Gawd bubba - what the hell:

Gov. candidate Michael Williams is traveling around Georgia is a converted school bus he's painted all grey calling it the Deportation Bus. Everyone else is calling it the Bigot Bus.

Karma is a bitch - it broke down on the way to Dalton for a rally & the rallies where he has showed up, there are many times more protesters than supporters.
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That dude was already well on his way to finishing last in the GOP primary when he started with the "Deportation Bus" stunt. And, Dalton is not exactly a place he should have tried to take it...

Personally, I would have been fine with Nathan Deal declaring himself King for Life here in Georgia - he's been the best centrist Governor we've had in my lifetime. His ability to stomp on the state legislature when they go full retard has been remarkable.
 
Bubba said:
That dude was already well on his way to finishing last in the GOP primary when he started with the "Deportation Bus" stunt. And, Dalton is not exactly a place he should have tried to take it...

Personally, I would have been fine with Nathan Deal declaring himself King for Life here in Georgia - he's been the best centrist Governor we've had in my lifetime. His ability to stomp on the state legislature when they go full retard has been remarkable.
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...and it is now Primary Day here in the great State of Georgia. Governor is the only race I have any sort of interest in for the primaries, which actually has me undecided in which ballot to choose (GOP versus Dem). On one hand, I do have a clear preference in the GOP race that I would like to see avoid a runoff. On the other hand, if he emerges as the candidate for the general election and does not veer back towards the center with his campaign rhetoric (he's felt the need to skew to the right to counter the other folks in the GOP primary), I do have a preference for one of the two leading Dem candidates, and she's been trailing in the polls.

Decisions, decisions...
 
We have a candidate from New York entering the governor's race. It's a whole lawsuit thing to determine if he's allowed to run from NYC or not. Apparently we don't have laws specifically rejecting out of state contenders. WTF Kansas?
 
These are just too good to pass up -

White House ridiculed over coin that commemorates North Korea summit which hasn't happened yet
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...im-jong-un-white-house-ridicule-a8363261.html

So what planning achievement that hasn't happened/occurred do you want to celebrate ?

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Bolton is the new Dr. Strangelove
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8754ca7df88f
 
Bubba said:
That dude was already well on his way to finishing last in the GOP primary when he started with the "Deportation Bus" stunt.
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Pulled in 5% yesterday, which was effectively last place (another candidate who qualified and then didn't campaign garnered <1%).
 
Planit said:
Regardless of what the NRA says, this is not (only) a mental health issue.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html
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I completely agree that it is not only a mental issue. I think that there are several factors at play with all of this and I think that the gun regulation angle addresses only one of the ways but none of the "whys" of school shootings. No one goes into a school to shoot kids and teachers because a gun is available. There is a reason and the gun is the tool. I completely agree that we need to do something to prevent these people from getting guns, but I also believe that it is meaningless unless we find out why they are doing these things. Because otherwise they will just find another way to cause harm.

I think the shooting in Santa Fe is an example on how these proposed gun regulations would not work. From what the media is reporting, the shooter used a revolver and a pump shotgun that his dad legally purchased and would have passed all the applicable background checks and apparently kept in a locked gun cabinet.
 
There are typically three solutions to a problem. Sometimes only one is needed, but in cases like these constant shootings you might actually have to use all three. Take this example:

Three people see a bunch of kids drowning in the river. The first guy jumps in to save the kids (short term impact). The next guy goes starts teaching kids how to swim (long term impact). The last guy goes upstream and puts up guard rails so no one falls in (prevention).

In the case of all this gun stuff, all three approaches are needed. If people would stop arguing about which one is right and just start moving on all three life would be better.
 
dvdneal said:
There are typically three solutions to a problem. Sometimes only one is needed, but in cases like these constant shootings you might actually have to use all three. Take this example:

Three people see a bunch of kids drowning in the river. The first guy jumps in to save the kids (short term impact). The next guy goes starts teaching kids how to swim (long term impact). The last guy goes upstream and puts up guard rails so no one falls in (prevention).

In the case of all this gun stuff, all three approaches are needed. If people would stop arguing about which one is right and just start moving on all three life would be better.
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Vote Dvdneal for President!

He even served in the military. :D
 
I so want to be pres now. I used to think the job meant endless hours of work, but the new guy seems to have a good schedule. Wake up late, watch some TV, play with the phone. The maybe an hour or two of work followed by a good lunch and then a nap. Maybe work after the nap, maybe not. Play some golf on the weekends. Sounds like a plan to me. Also, I appreciate the ability to yell get off my lawn to hundreds of people and watch the Secret Service and Marines enforce my ranting yell.
 
dvdneal said:
There are typically three solutions to a problem. Sometimes only one is needed, but in cases like these constant shootings you might actually have to use all three. Take this example:

Three people see a bunch of kids drowning in the river. The first guy jumps in to save the kids (short term impact). The next guy goes starts teaching kids how to swim (long term impact). The last guy goes upstream and puts up guard rails so no one falls in (prevention).

In the case of all this gun stuff, all three approaches are needed. If people would stop arguing about which one is right and just start moving on all three life would be better.
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I think you are 100% correct and I am curious to hear what you think the three approaches could be and how each one might have been used to prevent the shooting in TX.
 
On the mental health angle we need to provide some kind of intervention (short term), but the hard part is doing it without taking away people's rights. Get the person talking to a doctor. It's not about guns, it's about getting help for people who need it. Think about the problems this solves. Shootings, suicides, etc. I'm not good with mental health programs, but some kind of long term support. We have things like the suicide hotline and other programs that try to help. What can we do to expand that to kids that are bullied, having a bad home life, etc. Those are the kids that become problems later.

On the gun control side there are a lot of long and short term programs and some prevention. Gun registrations, keeping guns out of the hands of mentally ill or violent people, the list goes on and it's been talked about a hundred times. Pick something, monitor it, and see if it works. Adjust the program from there. On the prevention side, ban things like bump stocks and modifications that turn a semi into a auto. You can just ban guns, but that's not a politically viable option.

On the prevention side, I hate to see it, but we can increase security at our schools. It's not about having a bunch of gun toting teachers or bulletproof backpacks. I really don't want it to become normal for kids to walk through metal detectors or get frisked by cops just to go to school, but I have no problem with a resource officer (provided they do their job unlike the Florida guy). Teach kids about guns. Remember the old NRA ads that used to teach kids not to touch guns and if you see one tell an adult right away? Whatever happened to that? The best prevention is a school full of kids that say something right away.

Then of course there is the education angle. Start teaching our kids. Don't touch the gun. Guns are bad and can hurt you if you don't know what you're doing. Tell an adult. Have some gun safety courses for the family and not just for mom and dad. The NRA should be leading the charge on this. I'm not talking concealed carry and how to shoot classes. I'm talking basic gun operation, maintenance and cleaning, don't point at people, don't draw, all the basic safety stuff.

In cases like this one, increase the responsibility on the adult. If your kid goes out with a hammer and smashes up car windows, it's the adult paying for it. If you kid is able to get his hands on your gun and use it...some of it is your responsibility. Most gun owners I know keep the gun in a safe and only mom and dad have the combination (not a key). In some cases it's only dad. I actually heard one where dad died and the adult kids had to hire someone to break into the gun safe.
 
MD Planner said:
Is there literally anyone in this country besides some in the administration who didn't think this was going to tank?
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But Bush AND Obama couldn't make this happen!!! They were just not good enough negotiators!!!
 
Planit said:
BARF!!!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...nancial-disclosure-president-trump/640506002/
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One quote from that article that stuck out to me "that he’s not considering the presidency as a way to make him money".

I think that's kind of a bullshit statement, as most presidents go on to earn money simply because they were once a president. I mean those speaking fees aren't cheap. Hell even Al Gore and Hilary Clinton got paid boatloads to just go places and talk. It's just that this cash grab hasn't been so blatant before, because no one tried to pull this crap while they were actually in office.

I really don't like Donald Trump, but he's never hidden the fact that TRUMP has always been a brand, that's all it is. Slap the Trump name on the side and somehow its worth 10 times what it once was.
 
Local news -

Stormy Daniels reportedly making a stop in my fair city

_________, a local adult entertainment club, has posted to social media that Stormy Daniels will be on stage for two shows the night on June 19.
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sarcasm on

Oh look another school shooting - thoughts & prayers y'all

sarcasm off



Noblesville (Indiana) Middle School. Suspect in custody. Only two injured.

I guess this is now going to be an everyday occurrence. Hell even one of the kids at Santa Fe, Tx HS said it didn't surprise her at all that the shooting happened in her school...and that school had cops and active shooter drills and yet 10 people are dead. And our federal response? Crickets!
 
Planit said:
sarcasm on

Oh look another school shooting - thoughts & prayers y'all

sarcasm off



Noblesville (Indiana) Middle School. Suspect in custody. Only two injured.

I guess this is now going to be an everyday occurrence. Hell even one of the kids at Santa Fe, Tx HS said it didn't surprise her at all that the shooting happened in her school...and that school had cops and active shooter drills and yet 10 people are dead. And our federal response? Crickets!
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Oh look, armed citizen stops shooter at restaurant. (CNN LINK) *Although I don't fully agree with the NRA and I do not support the orginization.

Liberal Response? Crickets!



What happened in Santa Fe TX is horrible. But what federal gun regulations do you think could have been put in place do prevent it from happening?...... Crickets!
 
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