Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:46 pmBetween the rallies and these photoshops, I'm pretty confident in saying Trump's followers (the GOP en masse?) are part of a cult.
It's the power of a simple message. It's how the NRA operates, and why they continue to dominate gun control debates in the face of overwhelming evidence that our current systems are failing.
The NRA runs on one word: No
No gun control. No gun limits. No laws against guns. No bans. No.
The GOP: Hate
Hate liberals. Hate immigrants. Hate Muslims. Hate science. Hate progress. Hate.
It's a clear, simple message with apparently broad appeal. They can't say it out loud, but it's clear in everything they do. Meanwhile the Democrats lack any kind of solid, simple view. Everything they want to do is complex. It seems to be why they keep failing. When the GOP does something complex, like dismantle Obamacare, they fail too. Our government seems like it's been boiled down to a battle of the simplest, lowest common denominator.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:46 pmBetween the rallies and these photoshops, I'm pretty confident in saying Trump's followers (the GOP en masse?) are part of a cult.
It's the power of a simple message. It's how the NRA operates, and why they continue to dominate gun control debates in the face of overwhelming evidence that our current systems are failing.
The NRA runs on one word: No
No gun control. No gun limits. No laws against guns. No bans. No.
The GOP: Hate
Hate liberals. Hate immigrants. Hate Muslims. Hate science. Hate progress. Hate.
It’s odd that Melania is essentially giving her client husband a free pass on this. I mean, neither Barron nor Greta are actually related to Donnie, so you think she’d show some fairness.
Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2019 9:36 amI'm specifically looking at people like Romney, Collins and even Rob Portman in Ohio. If they aren't willing to stand up for what is right on this one then they never will be.
Mitt is a maybe but Collins? Why do people buy her integrity schtick? She doesn't have any. She just pretends to be moderate when it suits her. She is as big a piece of shit as the rest of them.
Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2019 9:36 amI'm specifically looking at people like Romney, Collins and even Rob Portman in Ohio. If they aren't willing to stand up for what is right on this one then they never will be.
Mitt is a maybe but Collins? Why do people buy her integrity schtick? She doesn't have any. She just pretends to be moderate when it suits her. She is as big a piece of shit as the rest of them.
A senator's first concern is always reelection, like any other politician. Romney is probably safe whichever way he votes; his constituents are staunchly R, but at the same time not big fans of Trump. Collins, OTOH, is endangered whichever way she votes; ME isn't a solid red state, but the Republicans there are rabid for Trump. Either one of them could fall back upon their conscience IF they conclude that Yes/No on impeachment is a tossup. (It's a *little* more complicated than a simple question of being reelected; they also have to consider hostility within their party if they break ranks....but it still comes down to "what's best for my career?".) As to what Collins' conscience tells her, who can say?
It’s odd that Melania is essentially giving her client husband a free pass on this. I mean, neither Barron nor Greta are actually related to Donnie, so you think she’d show some fairness.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it..."
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times Trump has pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
Whoever the Dem nominee turns out to be, just before the election we'll all be shocked to learn that they're under investigation for fraud in Saudi Arabia and drug-running in Poland.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times other politicians have pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times other politicians have pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times other politicians have pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
FTFY
Can you think of any examples of other countries announcing investigations or other concerns to affect our elections?
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times other politicians have pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
FTFY
Can you think of any examples of other countries announcing investigations or other concerns to affect our elections?
It doesn't work if it's secret.
I was about to say. I can't recall any breaking Danish investigations of Romney, or Japanese investigations of McCain. It's not really been an issue before this candidate came on the scene.
George Conway—husband of senior presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway—and several other Republicans launched a political action committee Tuesday to oust President Donald Trump and lawmakers that support him from office in 2020, even if it means a Democrat majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
"Mr. Trump and his enablers have abandoned conservatism and longstanding Republican principles and replaced it with Trumpism, an empty faith led by a bogus prophet," founders of the campaign wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times.
George Conway, along with political strategists Steve Schmidt and John Weaver and media consultant Rick Wilson, are the founders of the Lincoln Project, which sees Trump as both unfit for office and harmful to the Constitution. The project's goal is to defeat the president and "Trumpism" at the ballot box in November.
Using former President Abraham Lincoln as their guide, the co-authors of the op-ed wrote that America is at a point in its history reminiscent of Lincoln's time when its leader had to save the union and weave the nation back together.
Do you, like me, struggle to understand how Trump supporters can still support Trump, or why nothing gets through to them? This devil's advocate argument against impeachment is enlightening.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:46 pm
The moral here being that kids should be protected from adult bullying, right up until the moment they decide to speak out on literally anything. At that moment, they become fair game. Sounds legit.
You have to wonder how many times other politicians have pulled this same scheme with other countries, and how many other countries have offered to announce investigations in exchange for favors.
FTFY
Can you think of any examples of other countries announcing investigations or other concerns to affect our elections?
It doesn't work if it's secret.
There is word that he has also tried this with China, additionally there's the 2016 coordination with wiki leaks.
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
You know, sometimes it's hard for me to get outraged about Trump because it's just incessant and it goes on and on, and it's hard to keep caring about every single thing he does. But Trump's comments about John Dingell and his wife after she made some comments about the impeachment (which were actually pretty inoffensive) are just cruel:
"Debbie Dingell, that's a real beauty," Trump said of the congresswoman, noting he was watching her on television during impeachment proceedings.Trump said that he gave the family the "A-plus treatment" after John Dingell died, and that the congresswoman, who now holds his seat in the House, told Trump during an emotional call following John Dingell's funeral that her husband would have been "thrilled" by the respect shown for him during his funeral and "he's looking down" on the ceremonies. "Maybe he's looking up," Trump said, drawing some moans and groans from those in Battle Creek, Michigan, about two hours away from Debbie Dingell's district. "Maybe, but let's assume he's looking down."
As Mrs. Dingell noted:
"Mr. President, let's set politics aside," she tweeted. "My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. I'm preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder."
He is just heartless and cruel. Mocking a dead man because you didn't like something his wife said, during this time of year, I'm just sick of him. He can't be gone soon enough.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:27 amI don’t think I’ve ever said this about an American politician, but I would dance on Trump’s grave if given the chance.
With his family, they'd probably monetize it so they can make a buck. You'll have to pay to wait in line.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:27 amI don’t think I’ve ever said this about an American politician, but I would dance on Trump’s grave if given the chance.
With his family, they'd probably monetize it so they can make a buck. You'll have to pay to wait in line.
Hopefully there will be a quantity discount for dancing on his while spitting on McConnell's.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
I do take some solace in my belief that Ivanka, Melanoma and the rest of Trump's horrid family have most likely lost any friendships they valued before their father was put in power by Putin, and are now relegated to only being liked by the kind of people they can't stand. You know, people like Don Jr..
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:04 am
I do take some solace in my belief that Ivanka and the rest of Trump's horrid brood have most likely lost any friendships they valued before and are now relegated to only being liked by the kind of people they can't stand.
I don't know about the can't stand part but surely they are surrounded by the kind of people that would stab them in the back to climb up or in the heart if they had the support. They are children of a mafia family whom are empowered by literal zealots whom were zealots before their Mooby became president.
I personally believe the problem is that super-wealthy people live in an alternate reality where they never really care who likes them and who doesn't - because it has no impact on them. They don't need close-knit communities to get by in hard times, or friends to call on when something gets tough. People are disposable resources.
I don't think Ivanka and the clan are suffering any sort of blowback and losing real "friends" over anything. Zero consequences.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:15 am
Ivanka and Melanoma definitely want to be accepted by Hollywood, the world of fashion and (especially in the case of Ivanka) progressive icons.
They don't, really. They just want to be recognized as part of the global elite. Melania is a consumer of fashion (conspicuous consumption) and Ivanka dabbles in putting her name on shit to make money the Trump way.
I would love to take some solace in the fact that they are living miserable existences but I really can't believe that they are. Don Sr is the only one that I think may be kept up at night on occasion but that's just because there isn't enough ego-stroking in the world to keep him happy.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:07 am
You know, sometimes it's hard for me to get outraged about Trump because it's just incessant and it goes on and on, and it's hard to keep caring about every single thing he does. But Trump's comments about John Dingell and his wife after she made some comments about the impeachment (which were actually pretty inoffensive) are just cruel:
"Debbie Dingell, that's a real beauty," Trump said of the congresswoman, noting he was watching her on television during impeachment proceedings.Trump said that he gave the family the "A-plus treatment" after John Dingell died, and that the congresswoman, who now holds his seat in the House, told Trump during an emotional call following John Dingell's funeral that her husband would have been "thrilled" by the respect shown for him during his funeral and "he's looking down" on the ceremonies. "Maybe he's looking up," Trump said, drawing some moans and groans from those in Battle Creek, Michigan, about two hours away from Debbie Dingell's district. "Maybe, but let's assume he's looking down."
As Mrs. Dingell noted:
"Mr. President, let's set politics aside," she tweeted. "My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. I'm preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder."
He is just heartless and cruel. Mocking a dead man because you didn't like something his wife said, during this time of year, I'm just sick of him. He can't be gone soon enough.
Given that Michigan is likely to be a battleground state again, I'm really hoping that there's enough residual respect left for Dingell that this flips a few people away from Trump. For Trump to get a few groans at one of his rallies strikes me as a big deal - I assume they're usually non-stop rapturous applause. I don't have a great feel for how esteemed Dingell was throughout the state, but I can say that he was a great Twitter follow right up to the very end (especially if you were a University of Michigan fan).
ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 12:49 pm
Given that Michigan is likely to be a battleground state again, I'm really hoping that there's enough residual respect left for Dingell that this flips a few people away from Trump. For Trump to get a few groans at one of his rallies strikes me as a big deal - I assume they're usually non-stop rapturous applause. I don't have a great feel for how esteemed Dingell was throughout the state, but I can say that he was a great Twitter follow right up to the very end (especially if you were a University of Michigan fan).
Dingell was a relic of BIG THREE power brokers. The people who hold his memory with esteem are largely the group who are going to vote for Trump no matter what or voted against him the first time around anyway. The more west of Jackson county you get the more entrenched those opinions will be. OtOH, he was yet another respected war veteran. There has to be a point where Trump shitting war veterans has to resonate. Or maybe I'm still too naive.
I don't know, I was watching live when he made the statement and quite a few people standing directly behind him got big eyes and looked over at each other and kind of shook their heads. It didn't go over well at all...at least for a few people.
Z-Corn wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:26 pmIt didn't go over well at all...at least for a few people.
If only investigative journalists could follow up, find these people and then confirm they're still going to vote for Trump, because what alternative do they have?
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:27 amI don’t think I’ve ever said this about an American politician, but I would dance on Trump’s grave if given the chance.
With his family, they'd probably monetize it so they can make a buck. You'll have to pay to wait in line.
Hopefully there will be a quantity discount for dancing on his while spitting on McConnell's.
I want the executive plan that includes urination benefits.
hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:27 amI don’t think I’ve ever said this about an American politician, but I would dance on Trump’s grave if given the chance.
With his family, they'd probably monetize it so they can make a buck. You'll have to pay to wait in line.
Hopefully there will be a quantity discount for dancing on his while spitting on McConnell's.
I want the executive plan that includes urination benefits.
Doesn't exist. As tRump explains in the video above, there is just no water for it.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken