Analyzing the Transition of Power After The U.S. Election and Beyond Into Future Global Politics

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  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    Impeachment is coming.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Yes it is. But I hope soon before worse damage.

    Kellyanne. Stupidity.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    I suppose you have all realized this already.
    Saudi Arabia.

    No surprise there.

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480

    Kellyanne's recent meltdown rant. She would fire 20% of media employees apparently. Those who are still being mean to Trump should be let go, etc. Oh and she never sleeps. Poor Kellyanne. You can click into this to bring up text of what she said.


    And right now, the Trump White House is rolling back the green card part of the ban. Offering everyone a crumb and hoping all else will be dropped now, protests stopped, just start "behaving" ourselves, like Trump, Kellyanne and all would like.

    Fat chance. Though the green card holders certainly needed to be protected, so I am glad this happened now. However, all legal filings need to go forward. Nobody should let up.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/us/politics/white-house-official-in-reversal-says-green-card-holders-wont-be-barred.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    chrisisall wrote: »
    I suppose you have all realized this already.
    Saudi Arabia.

    No surprise there.
    No surprise at all. He doesn't even hide it.
    All those people who kept saying to give him a chance, he will act presidential, he does not really mean it (from racist comments to "the wall" to destroying health care, the whole shebang).
    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-muslim-ban-excludes-countries-linked-businesses-article-1.2957956
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    This is odd. But then, many odd things have been happening, haven't they?

    Donald Trump Removes the Judicial Branch From the “Our Government” Section of the White House Website

    Also - The "Myths and Facts on Refugees" page has been deleted from http://State.gov . Here's why that matters.

    Update to this: Democrats on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs preserved the State Dept fact-sheet here
    https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/news/press-releases/state-departments-myths-and-facts-refugees-migration-and-humanitarian-assistance

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Not a good note to go to sleep on, but nightmares are a staple these days,O1gJ8od.jpg my new cat Zeus agrees.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Zeus is not fooled. ;)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    I find it plausible that Gen. Kelly was not fully informed or had agreed to the final Executive order re vetting Muslims coming into the U.S. that was signed. It does seem this administration has extremely poor communication within all, or nearly all, of its departments and personnel.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/us/politics/donald-trump-rush-immigration-order-chaos.html
    says in part:

    Gen. John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, had dialed in from a Coast Guard plane as he headed back to Washington from Miami. Along with other top officials, he needed guidance from the White House, which had not asked his department for a legal review of the order.

    Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. “The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,” the official said, stunned.

    ***
    Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, oversaw the writing of the order, which was done by a small White House team, including Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s policy chief. But it was first imagined more than a year ago, when Mr. Trump, then a candidate for the Republican nomination, reacted to terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, Calif., by calling for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

    ***

    Jim Mattis, the new secretary of defense, did not see a final version of the order until Friday morning, only hours before Mr. Trump arrived to sign it at the Pentagon.

    Mr. Mattis, according to administration officials familiar with the deliberations, was not consulted by the White House during the preparation of the order and was not given an opportunity to provide input while the order was being drafted. Last summer, Mr. Mattis sharply criticized Mr. Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration as a move that was “causing us great damage right now, and it’s sending shock waves through the international system.”

    Customs and Border Protection officers were also caught unaware.

    ***
    It was not until 3 a.m. on Saturday that customs and border officials received limited written instructions about what to do at airports and border crossings. They also struggled with how to exercise the waiver authority that was included in the executive order, which allowed the homeland security secretary to let some individuals under the ban enter the country case by case.

    One customs officer, who declined to be quoted by name, said he was given a limited briefing about what to do as he went to his post on Saturday morning, but even managers seemed unclear. People at the agency were blindsided, he said, and are still trying to figure things out, even as people are being stopped from coming into the United States.

    “If the secretary doesn’t know anything, how could we possibly know anything at this level?” the officer said, referring to Mr. Kelly.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    GOP apparently surprised by the actual wording in the Executive Order re Muslims.


  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    GOP is evil, not stupid (relatively speaking).
  • edited January 2017 Posts: 11,425
    It seems Trump's style is a mix of incompetence and blatant disrespect for the US constitution and the rule of law. It's not really a surprise as everything about his campaign and personality suggested this is the kind of president that he'd be.

    The only surprising thing is that any of the people who voted for him convinced themselves that he was going to be any different.

    I think, as Trump himself would probably put it, what you see is what you get. So if his campaign messages were egotistical, bizarrely incoherent and self-contradictory then it's little surprise that's how his first few days in office are turning out.

    I am reserving judgment on how much damage Trump will really do though. I mean he has rightly identified George W's invasion of Iraq as the worst US foreign policy decision of all time. Donald is gonna have to work very hard to out dumb W.

    I suspect the Donald is just gonna be a bit of standing joke. Having said that, Reagan was widely ridiculed as an idiot at the time, but with hindsight perhaps doesn't seem quite so bad.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    These are extreme, unusual, and trying times.
    We are living in an important part of our country's history and it is all in flux.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Washington Post and NY Times on Bannon being put on the security council and generals told bye, we'll call you when we need you.



  • Posts: 11,119
    Ooowh, this is interesting. Now Trump starts his usual....
    finger-pointing.gif
    .....again.

    This time it's ex-president Obama who receives Trump's blame for 'inspiring' him to initiate this newest executive order to ban people from 7 mostly Muslim nations, including Iran:
    http://nos.nl/artikel/2155678-trump-vergelijkt-inreisverbod-met-maatregel-van-obama.html

    And, sadly, today another terrorist attack, but now in Quebec, Canada. Curious how Trump will respond to this particular terrorist attack:
    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/29/americas/quebec-mosque-shooting/index.html
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The inaugural speech didn t seem dark and divisive to me, but I didn t hear the whole thing, so I guess I missed that bit. What was it he said?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Yes, his inaugural speech was totally different in tone from other presidents and felt like a warning, and very negative. The world is shit and he will fix things; his usual attitude still coming through, but not in any uplifting way. It felt "off" and was not encouraging; quite the opposite. More than a few people took it that way, or similar to what I've described. You can probably find the whole speech on youtube, Thunderfinger. (I'll add that undoubtedly his core supporters found it to be just their cup of tea.)

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I will look for it later.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Sean Spicer, WH spokesperson, still taking the hard line approach.
    This is not what a democracy promotes. Kellyanne consistently saying basically the same thing (reporters should be let go, fired, etc.)


    This here is an attitude I can get behind. The media need to be far more independent and fearless, or they are not serving the people (which is their role, ultimately). Sure there is always some inherent bias, but we need them to step up.

    And ... just holy shit ... Trump is going to try to destroy so much and happy to brag about it. I am all for cutting actual waste, steamlining, making things clearer and work more smoothly. I do not trust this administration to know what they are doing, to be competent, to make changes that are actually for the good of our country. Just cut regulations, pull out of agreements (esp. climate change and trade). Buckle up, everybody - it will get worse, before it gets better.

  • edited January 2017 Posts: 1,009
    Is this the "anti-Trump" thread? If so, count me in, but I'll try to be as diplomatic as I can. It's not my country, my world, where I can rage all that I want.

    About the Saudi Arabia controversy, it's incredible to see the hypocrisy of all the US administrations (Bush-Obama-Trump) with this country, home of thousands of terrorists and assassins paid by the Royal Family. The USA governments have chosen poor and non-aligned countries. Easy targets. I've seen on TV an Iraqian partisan who lives in the States and wanted to bring his sister there. Not even fighting Saddam will bring her there.

    About the border, I have the suspicion that Trump will get a lot of money out of this. If not, I don't understand an operation that in other times would have caused an open war.

    This man isn't going to end well if American people finally looks through him and see he's only in it for the money (Frank Zappa and The Mothers, 1968).
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Welcome, to the Force of the Good Side. Yes, this is the "anti-Trump" thread, to put it succinctly. Though we try to be open minded to any, any at all, if there is any little thing, good about Trump. ;)
  • edited January 2017 Posts: 1,009
    Welcome, to the Force of the Good Side. Yes, this is the "anti-Trump" thread, to put it succinctly. Though we try to be open minded to any, any at all, if there is any little thing, good about Trump. ;)

    I was in the other thread, but bondjames has brought me here. We may think differently but the guy is a gentleman, seriously.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    You are welcome to give your opinion, of course. This simply tends to be the thread that is very much against what Trump and his administration had said, done, and are doing.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    @bigladiesman, if you have not read this thread much or at all, there are plenty of links - even on just the last page, that may be of interest to you. We try to post links to a variety of news sources.
  • Posts: 1,009
    Gustav, why do you say "here"? Don t you live in Spain?

    I do live in Spain.

    That makes 3 of us. Good to know.
  • Posts: 7,507
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/30/wall-street-stock-market-fall-trump-travel-ban

    Nice to see how the "tremendous businessman" with "the best mind" and "the bestest ideas" has already taken steps to strengthen the American economy.

    Next on the agenda is to "cut deficits" by building a very usefull wall that will cost an estimated 15-20 billion dollars to make and even more to maintain.

    Then he will embrace the "forgotten working class" by erasing the ACA.

    Hail you, Donald, for keeping your promises and saving America!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Well. Trump's admin. says that his Supreme Court choice to be announced Tuesday (or sooner).

    And now this - re getting rid of LGBT rights (it could not possibly be positive on this) ...

    However, that is unconfirmed, keep in mind, and no linked source. So definitely could be not true. It just fits with Trump's circle's agenda, though. We shall see. Just a warning this may (or may not) be coming.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Interesting point about the economical downside of the Muslim restriction Executive Order (I'll just say EO).
    Disney ... they earn millions of dollars every year from visitors from around the world. More than a few now NOT coming to Disney parks or properties due to this EO. Of course other tourist destinations in America affected, but the impact on Disney will not be insignificant.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited January 2017 Posts: 12,480
    Protests are definitely important. Many are still happening around the country, some for specific causes such as the dismantling of the Affordable Healthcare Act or the recent Muslim restriction EO.
    Here are NY med students:


    And Trump's admin. says all is fine, smooth, nothing went wrong with any of this (which of course we expect them to say):


    We need to protest publicly, and somehow not weary of protesting. But the legal challenges are critical and need to be brought forth as thoroughly and competently as possible (I know this is being worked on and some are starting).

    This seems maybe useful: Click into this to see where Republicans stand on the travel ban and who has not said anything yet on record.
This discussion has been closed.