It`s more and more a banana republic.
https://youtu.be/WhTAEVBCcqI
U.S. Politics
Re: U.S. Politics
Another emotionally invested uninformed participant. This has already been investigated and debunked.Domat wrote: ↑September 12, 2019, 9:51 pmIt`s more and more a banana republic.
https://youtu.be/WhTAEVBCcqI
Another bombshell that isn't. You have earned a triple yawn.
You will learn from this report from the beginning to around 9:30 of the video. OBAMA's military has been using that same stop since 2015 and 2016 before Trump was ever president. These are under contract with the US Air Force as a better place to land, mostly fog-free, costs are in line with fueling.
Listen and learn, Domat. They even talk a bit about you and some of your friends.
Then go read up. You might learn something.
Anyone can find a negative article or video about Trump (90% of them are negative) and paste it in here with a cute "banana" comment. I think the Head Cheerleader should be eyeing you up to be his assistant. You're just as emotionally invested.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
Yea and he still keeps his promise 
Shortly after Trump delivered his Oval Office prime-time address on Tuesday, Fitch Ratings’ global head of sovereign ratings, James McCormack, warned that mounting debt is weighing on the U.S. and that the inability to deal with a “meaningful fiscal deterioration” as the shutdown drags on could put our triple-A rating at risk. A credit downgrade—which has only happened once since 1941—would make it more difficult for the U.S. government to borrow money and increase borrowing costs. Speaking at an event in London, McCormack added: “If this shutdown continues to March 1 and the debt ceiling becomes a problem several months later, we may need to start thinking about the policy framework, the inability to pass a budget . . . And whether all of that is consistent with triple-A.” Other victims of the shutdown, of course, include the 800,000 federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay, a situation that has resulted in people skipping medication to pay for food or rent.
As a reminder, during the campaign Trump claimed that he would eliminate the national debt in a period of eight years. Last week, the Treasury Department reported that the national debt had clocked in at $21.974 trillion at the end of 2018, representing a $2 trillion bump since Trump took office. According to the Daily Beast, the president is unconcerned about the U.S.’s financial situation because he “won’t be here” when the ---- truly hits the fan.
When Donald Trump was running for president, he told voters he would run the country like he ran his business. Two years later, it’s one of the few promises he’s actually kept. Family members are doing jobs they’re not remotely qualified for. Corruption and self-dealing are a regular feature of life inside the administration. Trump is surrounded not by the “best,” but by the dumbest people. And, like his Taj Mahal casino—along with all the other businesses that ultimately went bust—the nation’s debt is soaring under the genius businessman’s tutelage, a situation that has become significantly more precarious as his pointless shutdown reaches its 19th day.
Shortly after Trump delivered his Oval Office prime-time address on Tuesday, Fitch Ratings’ global head of sovereign ratings, James McCormack, warned that mounting debt is weighing on the U.S. and that the inability to deal with a “meaningful fiscal deterioration” as the shutdown drags on could put our triple-A rating at risk. A credit downgrade—which has only happened once since 1941—would make it more difficult for the U.S. government to borrow money and increase borrowing costs. Speaking at an event in London, McCormack added: “If this shutdown continues to March 1 and the debt ceiling becomes a problem several months later, we may need to start thinking about the policy framework, the inability to pass a budget . . . And whether all of that is consistent with triple-A.” Other victims of the shutdown, of course, include the 800,000 federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay, a situation that has resulted in people skipping medication to pay for food or rent.
As a reminder, during the campaign Trump claimed that he would eliminate the national debt in a period of eight years. Last week, the Treasury Department reported that the national debt had clocked in at $21.974 trillion at the end of 2018, representing a $2 trillion bump since Trump took office. According to the Daily Beast, the president is unconcerned about the U.S.’s financial situation because he “won’t be here” when the ---- truly hits the fan.
Re: U.S. Politics
Anyone can copy & paste.Domat wrote: . . .
Can you articulate your position about anything other than that you hate Trump?
.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
Yes another copy paste
The Bankruptcy individual in Person
All of this is, of course, ancient history, but as a document that first speech is anything but yesterday’s news. In many ways, it remains tomorrow’s headlines in a media world that, so long after, still can’t get enough of him. Had any of us truly been paying attention to more than the circus quality of the former ringmaster of The Apprentice taking his moment in the electoral sun, we might have noticed that Donald Trump was — give him credit — a strangely open book, no ghostwriters in sight. He’s remained so ever since.
That June 16th, he displayed himself nakedly — except for the orange hair — before that audience of reporters and hired actors, as well as the rest of America, and he’s never put on a stitch of clothing since. His initial TV moment was not a once-in-a-lifetime but a first-in-a-lifetime performance by a man in the process of creating a genuine what-you-see-is-what-you-get presidential run and presidency.
As I mentioned, however, there was an exception to everything I’ve written above, as there usually is to all rules in life. One thing was missing from his speech, as it would be from all of the speeches, tweets, and rallies to follow. The single hidden factor in the Trump presidency (even if, like everything else about the man from bone spurs to Roy Cohn, it was always in plain sight) contradicted his endless presentation of himself as the ultimate businessman and dealmaker for a floundering and foundering America.
Donald Trump wasn’t actually a successful businessman at all, not in the normal sense anyway. He was an economic magician (or, in classic American terms, a con man) who regularly ground business after business — a set of casinos (at a time when other casinos were thriving), hotels, an airline, and a series of other endeavors ranging from Trump Steaks to Trump Vodka to Trump University — into the dust of bankruptcy or failure. What made him such a magician was that, in case after case, his greatest “business” skill proved to be jumping ship, dollars in hand, leaving those who trusted him, had faith in him, believed in him holding the bag.
He had a history of screwing anyone who relied on him, whether we’re talking about the investors in his Atlantic City casinos or a bevy of small business types and others who worked for him — plumbers, waiters, painters, cabinet makers — and were later stiffed. In other words, Americans elected a bankruptcy individual as their president and character will tell.
There really are no secrets here. In the end, Donald Trump clearly cares about nothing but himself (and perhaps his family as an extension of that self).
So read or listen to that first campaign speech again. Reintroduce yourself to Donald Trump presenting himself with naked honesty — with that single exception — and then consider the future for a moment. Whether in his first or second term (should he win again in 2020), if things start to head south economically, count on this: he’ll repeat his well-documented history and jump ship, leaving the American people, including that beloved base of his, holding the bag.
The Bankruptcy individual in Person
All of this is, of course, ancient history, but as a document that first speech is anything but yesterday’s news. In many ways, it remains tomorrow’s headlines in a media world that, so long after, still can’t get enough of him. Had any of us truly been paying attention to more than the circus quality of the former ringmaster of The Apprentice taking his moment in the electoral sun, we might have noticed that Donald Trump was — give him credit — a strangely open book, no ghostwriters in sight. He’s remained so ever since.
That June 16th, he displayed himself nakedly — except for the orange hair — before that audience of reporters and hired actors, as well as the rest of America, and he’s never put on a stitch of clothing since. His initial TV moment was not a once-in-a-lifetime but a first-in-a-lifetime performance by a man in the process of creating a genuine what-you-see-is-what-you-get presidential run and presidency.
As I mentioned, however, there was an exception to everything I’ve written above, as there usually is to all rules in life. One thing was missing from his speech, as it would be from all of the speeches, tweets, and rallies to follow. The single hidden factor in the Trump presidency (even if, like everything else about the man from bone spurs to Roy Cohn, it was always in plain sight) contradicted his endless presentation of himself as the ultimate businessman and dealmaker for a floundering and foundering America.
Donald Trump wasn’t actually a successful businessman at all, not in the normal sense anyway. He was an economic magician (or, in classic American terms, a con man) who regularly ground business after business — a set of casinos (at a time when other casinos were thriving), hotels, an airline, and a series of other endeavors ranging from Trump Steaks to Trump Vodka to Trump University — into the dust of bankruptcy or failure. What made him such a magician was that, in case after case, his greatest “business” skill proved to be jumping ship, dollars in hand, leaving those who trusted him, had faith in him, believed in him holding the bag.
He had a history of screwing anyone who relied on him, whether we’re talking about the investors in his Atlantic City casinos or a bevy of small business types and others who worked for him — plumbers, waiters, painters, cabinet makers — and were later stiffed. In other words, Americans elected a bankruptcy individual as their president and character will tell.
There really are no secrets here. In the end, Donald Trump clearly cares about nothing but himself (and perhaps his family as an extension of that self).
So read or listen to that first campaign speech again. Reintroduce yourself to Donald Trump presenting himself with naked honesty — with that single exception — and then consider the future for a moment. Whether in his first or second term (should he win again in 2020), if things start to head south economically, count on this: he’ll repeat his well-documented history and jump ship, leaving the American people, including that beloved base of his, holding the bag.
Re: U.S. Politics
.
"We bring social workers into homes with parents to help them deal with how to raise their children, it’s not that they don’t want help, they don’t know not quite what to do. Play the radio, make sure the television, excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, make sure the kids hear words."
Joe Biden in tonight's debate on how to raise poor kids.
Tell us what you specifically love about today's Democrat Party and the policies and programs of their 2020 candidates for president.
"We bring social workers into homes with parents to help them deal with how to raise their children, it’s not that they don’t want help, they don’t know not quite what to do. Play the radio, make sure the television, excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, make sure the kids hear words."
Joe Biden in tonight's debate on how to raise poor kids.
Tell us what you specifically love about today's Democrat Party and the policies and programs of their 2020 candidates for president.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
.
Trump is in the process of bypassing the social media bias of Facebook, Google and Twitter with his own social media app.
The smartphone app will be used to streamline donations, volunteer efforts, campaign advertising and other messaging to supporters. This app prevents arbitrary and capricious disruptions from the biased social media platforms.
Over 200 million voter files from the RNC will be able to target voters with their messaging.
Trump is in the process of bypassing the social media bias of Facebook, Google and Twitter with his own social media app.
The smartphone app will be used to streamline donations, volunteer efforts, campaign advertising and other messaging to supporters. This app prevents arbitrary and capricious disruptions from the biased social media platforms.
Over 200 million voter files from the RNC will be able to target voters with their messaging.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
How about the President, himself.Lone Star wrote: ↑September 12, 2019, 12:20 pmNot one single named source in any of the articles reporting this."President Donald Trump has left the impression with foreign officials, members of his administration, and others involved in Iranian negotiations that he is actively considering a French plan to extend a $15 billion credit line to the Iranians if Tehran comes back into compliance with the Obama-era nuclear deal." (cut and pasted)
From The Daily Beast.“I do believe they’d like to make a deal. If they do, that’s great. And if they don’t, that’s great too,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “But they have tremendous financial difficulty, and the sanctions are getting tougher and tougher.” When asked if he would ease sanctions against Iran in order to get a meeting with Iran Trump simply said: “We’ll see what happens. I think Iran has a tremendous, tremendous potential.”
Then there's this, from Politico.com:
And this, from The Times of Israel:While in France last month for the Group of Seven summit, Trump indicated he was open to the idea of a credit line so long as the U.S. doesn’t pay for it.
“No, we are not paying, we don’t pay,” Trump said. “But [the Iranians] may need some money to get them over a very rough patch and if they do need money, and it would be secured by oil, which to me is great security, and they have a lot of oil, but it is secured by oil, so we are really talking about a letter of credit. It would be from numerous countries, numerous countries.”
And then there's this from whitehouse.gov, from the transcript of the joint press conference with Presidents Macron and Trump:Macron said that the “conditions for a meeting” between Trump and Rouhani to take place “in the next few weeks” had been created through intensive diplomacy and consultations.
“If the circumstances were correct, I would certainly agree to that,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Macron.
Asked by reporters if he thought the timeline proposed by his French counterpart sounded realistic, Trump replied: “It does,” adding that he thought Rouhani would also be in favor of it.
“I think he’s going to want to meet. I think Iran wants to get this situation straightened out,” Trump added.
Q Would you agree to meet with Rouhani?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: If the circumstances were correct or right, I would certainly agree to that. But in the meantime, they have to be good players. You understand what that means. And they can’t do what they were saying they’re going to do because if they do that, they’re going to be met with really very violent force. We’d have no choice. So I think they’re going to be good. I really think they’d like to.
To me, all that sounds like he's considering it, which is exactly what was reported. All I've done is add specific, verifiable sources. But the message is the same. Trump is considering the French plan and meeting, himself, with Iranian officials.
Re: U.S. Politics
None of that is news to me, but a nice list of media reports.
Trump has always said he was willing to meet without preconditions. Iran said they would not meet unless the sanctions were lifted. Trump isn't going to lift any sanctions -- just as he hasn't done with North Korea or China; and Trump is much closer to those leaders after multiple meetings.
Trump also always said there wouldn't be any financial concessions from the US. That's exactly what "we're not paying for it" means.
As Trump said, "We'll see what happens."
Iran is going to have to stop enriching and change their worldwide attitude. They will not be embraced without that change. If they lie again, like they've always done, they're messing with the wrong POTUS.
*** CAUTION *** Semantics Alert -- Do Not Engage
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
Okay, let's get down to the nut-cuttin'. We've had this conversation before -- albeit briefly.
Which of the 10 remaining candidates is your favorite, and why?
Is there one that did NOT qualify for this last debate that you prefer over the 10 who were there?
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
.
Efforts by the globalist media with their Recession, Recession, Recession drumbeat has fallen on deaf ears.
The University of Michigan released their Consumer Sentiment report through the first weeks of September, and it reflected that consumers feel better about current conditions and their expectations for the future. The numbers also beat the expectations of the "experts."
What does this mean for the great US economy? Bad news for the Cheerleaders for Failure.
Increasing positive consumer sentiment along with strong retail sales in August shows that consumers are still supporting and promoting economic expansion.
Because of the economic slowdown worldwide outside of US borders, it is anticipated that consumer consumption will slow, but will continue to be positive. The economic expansion will continue.
The Commerce Department also released data that indicates that consumers have increased their purchases of automobiles (almost 2%) and online shopping. This has pushed retail sales higher than predicted. The retail sales numbers also include gas stations, restaurants and departments. The actual retail sales increase DOUBLED economist's expectations.
Oh my. What will be the next line of propaganda?
Efforts by the globalist media with their Recession, Recession, Recession drumbeat has fallen on deaf ears.
The University of Michigan released their Consumer Sentiment report through the first weeks of September, and it reflected that consumers feel better about current conditions and their expectations for the future. The numbers also beat the expectations of the "experts."
What does this mean for the great US economy? Bad news for the Cheerleaders for Failure.
Increasing positive consumer sentiment along with strong retail sales in August shows that consumers are still supporting and promoting economic expansion.
Because of the economic slowdown worldwide outside of US borders, it is anticipated that consumer consumption will slow, but will continue to be positive. The economic expansion will continue.
The Commerce Department also released data that indicates that consumers have increased their purchases of automobiles (almost 2%) and online shopping. This has pushed retail sales higher than predicted. The retail sales numbers also include gas stations, restaurants and departments. The actual retail sales increase DOUBLED economist's expectations.
Oh my. What will be the next line of propaganda?
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
.
That damn racist Trump.
Trump increased funding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by 13%. A record. Since that time, he increased it again by 17%.
Trump:
That damn racist Trump.
Trump increased funding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by 13%. A record. Since that time, he increased it again by 17%.
Trump:
That damn racist Trump strikes again."[I[n my first weeks in office, I took action to make HBCUs a top priority once again. I signed an executive order to move the federal HBCU initiative to the White House, right where it belongs.
"Over the past two and a half years, we have listened and learned from you, and we have taken very, very major action. I think you know that. I signed legislation to increase federal funding for HBCUs by a record 13 percent. That was the highest ever done.
. . .
"Today, I’m thrilled to announce another major action we’re taking to protect HBCUs. Previously, federal law restricted more than 40 faith-based HBCUs and seminaries from fully accessing federal support for capital improvement projects. This meant that your faith-based institutions, which have made such extraordinary contributions to America, were unfairly punished for their religious beliefs. Did we know that? Did everybody know that? Because it was … that was not good.
"This week, our Department of Justice has published an opinion declaring such discriminatory restrictions as unconstitutional. It was a big step. And from now on, faith-based HBCUs will enjoy equal access to federal support."
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
.
The third Democrat debate: Another edition of "We Hate America"
The Cheerleaders for Failure are as competent and thoughtful as the Democrat candidates for president. They're all definitely on the same page.
All of the Democrat candidates for president attacked Trump on his trade policies. NONE offered any specific alternative.
Here are the best ones.
Julian Castro:
St. Butti:
Amy Klobuchar:
She talked about a Moody's study, but offered no strategy of her own in dealing with China.
Oh well. Looks like Trump won the third debate, too.
The third Democrat debate: Another edition of "We Hate America"
The Cheerleaders for Failure are as competent and thoughtful as the Democrat candidates for president. They're all definitely on the same page.
All of the Democrat candidates for president attacked Trump on his trade policies. NONE offered any specific alternative.
Here are the best ones.
Julian Castro:
What leverage, Julian? The data doesn't say American families are being hurt.“I agree with those who have said that this erratic, haphazard trade war is hurting American families. When I become president I would immediately begin to negotiate with China to ratchet down that trade war. We have leverage there.”
St. Butti:
But St. Butti offered no strategy. Just GET TRUMP.“The president clearly has no strategy. Is it just me, or was that supposed to happen in April?"
Amy Klobuchar:
She talked about a Moody's study, but offered no strategy of her own in dealing with China.
Oh well. Looks like Trump won the third debate, too.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
I read this in the New York Times (Kristof):
"On Thursday, 10 Democratic presidential candidates will debate. It would be a natural opportunity to provoke a national conversation on the subject. But a question about child poverty hasn’t been asked at a presidential debate in 20 years, not since a Republican primary debate in 1999, according to the Children’s Defense Fund."
That's disgraceful. Even shameful. Kristof goes on to write:
"UNICEF says America ranks No. 37 among countries in well-being of children, and Save the Children puts the United States at No. 36. European countries dominate the top places."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/opin ... d=58093302
"On Thursday, 10 Democratic presidential candidates will debate. It would be a natural opportunity to provoke a national conversation on the subject. But a question about child poverty hasn’t been asked at a presidential debate in 20 years, not since a Republican primary debate in 1999, according to the Children’s Defense Fund."
That's disgraceful. Even shameful. Kristof goes on to write:
"UNICEF says America ranks No. 37 among countries in well-being of children, and Save the Children puts the United States at No. 36. European countries dominate the top places."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/opin ... d=58093302
Lock 'em up - Eastman, Giuliani, Senator Graham, Meadows and Trump
Re: U.S. Politics
Just finished watching the most recent debate on You Tube. And I answer your question with the full expectation that you're going to have negative comments about any candidate I select.Lone Star wrote: ↑September 13, 2019, 9:17 pmOkay, let's get down to the nut-cuttin'. We've had this conversation before -- albeit briefly.
Which of the 10 remaining candidates is your favorite, and why?
Is there one that did NOT qualify for this last debate that you prefer over the 10 who were there?
I was sorry to see Gabbard not make the cut. Not saying that I support her for President, because I don't. However, I find her an interesting candidate with a decidedly different perspective. The more differences among the candidates, the better the discussions are likely to be, with a greater number of ideas floated. IMO that makes our country stronger, -- the free exchange of a wide variety of ideas.
That said, rather than select my favorite, since I don't really have one right now, here's my take on each candidate from the debate:
Klobuchar: Lots of platitudes, not so much substance. Seemed to be playing it safe; although the fact that her politics are more centrist Democratic than the other candidates is undoubtedly playing a role in that. I don’t see her going anywhere.
Booker: Very smart, cerebral. Big thinker. Would probably be a good president; don’t know if he has sufficiently broad appeal to win, but he might.
Buttigieg: Spoke a lot of words, but said relatively little, IMO. I don’t see him as a serious candidate.
Sanders: Apart from the fact that some of his views tend towards socialist, comes across as too angry to win. Is it me, or does he strike anyone else as a Christopher Lloyd type character?
Biden: Much stronger than in previous debates, especially at the beginning. Tried too hard to cram everything he wanted to say into limited time for answers. This resulted in some instances of disjointed thought and/or speech. But that can be fixed.
Warren: She only really has one message, and she brings every issue back to it. It’s just not that simple. I don’t see that she has anything close to sufficiently broad appeal to win.
Harris: Disappointing performance. I felt that she was really strong in previous debates; and I really like her résumé. Seemed to be playing it safer this time. Not enough substance in some of her answers. She can do, and has done, better. I think that she has potential to win if she can get her act together.
Yang: I don’t see that he has a sufficiently broad experience base to be a serious candidate. But some of his ideas do have popular appeal. Some, OTOH, are just wacky.
O’Rourke: Interesting candidate; and certainly Cruz is someone who’s quite tough to beat, so I don't hold that loss against him. Cruz is smart, well informed, and a great debater. However, I don’t see any obvious leadership in O’Rourke’s character or style. Thus I don’t see him inspiring the widespread support that one needs to win this type of race.
Castro: Interesting candidate. Looks like he's 12 years old, though, and in this case, his youthful appearance doesn’t help him. I doubt that he’s going anywhere in this race.
There's still a long way to go, and things could change drastically more than once in the remaining time. While I won't pick a favorite, and I'm not saying that I would necessarily vote for them, I could certainly live with Booker, Biden, or Harris.
Re: U.S. Politics
Again, what you say is accurate, but you've changed the subject. That's not what we were talking about. The statement which you derided as unsupported was that Trump was considering the French economic plan with regard to Iran. I provided you with sources. That's all. He is considering it.
Re: U.S. Politics
The one thing that stood out for me was Beto committing political suicide in Texas. Does he actually think that Texans are going to give up their guns? He should move to Kalifornia. His ideas would do well in the Land of Fruits and Nuts.
Re: U.S. Politics
Gabbard was the only one for me that I thought was somewhat sane, and she hammered Harris in the second debate. I was sorry to see her support fade.. . . candidates . . .
Agree with you on Klobie. She's more centrist -- or trying to be -- than Uncle Joe. But she won't make it to the finish line.
Uncle Joe has not only lost his fastball, but his changeup confuses him. I don't understand why people cannot see his communication/cognitive issues. Much of the stuff he's doing are not gaffes. The not so amazing thing about it all is that those who are so ready to criticize Trump for how words come out are willing to give Uncle Joe a pass.
Bayrack ruined it for guys like Spartacus Booker for a long, long time. Plus, Booker couldn't get his city straight as a mayor.
Harris? I think Gabbard put the killshot on her during the last debate. She hasn't recovered yet.
They are all -- on various levels -- one big confiscating, banning, regulating, seizing, taxing, controlling, rights-violating conglomeration of LIB socialist elitists. They're the ones who regularly tell us, "Do as I say, not as I do."
I have yet to hear one tell us how they will preserve or improve the economy (but they all claim that MAGAnomics isn't working). Or how about what they'd do to prevent a recession?
I think Trump has won all three debates so far.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.
Re: U.S. Politics
Yes, Beto the Fake Latino.
He has made the greatest in-kind contribution to the Republican party in the history of the country. It's worth millions of votes and billions in saved campaign advertising costs!!
Another Dem gift that will keep on giving beyond 2020.
Chris Matthews, MSNBC:
Even diehard LIBs like Matthews don't get it.Beto came along and said he’s going to not just buy back automatic — the semi-automatic assault rifles, but demand that they sell them back. I don’t know where you get away with that. I noticed that Kamala talked about an executive order. This would be an extraordinary ruling by the Supreme Court that would allow a president to use executive orders to demand the end of ownership by automatic weapons — by semi-automatic assault weapons. I just think these are three or four cases of extreme, ideological positions.
AMERICA: One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told.