FWIS3

I am loving this.

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/01/480279246 ... -documents

Granted, for a certain segment of the US population, this might just mean that Trump is a wonderful tough manly man who "went and got what he wanted." But the courts may (hopefully) have something else to say about it.

Also, this is not lost on me:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/05/2 ... mp-u-case/

Mr. Trump also told the audience, which had previously chanted the Republican standard-bearer’s signature “build that wall” mantra in reference to Mr. Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexican border, that Judge Curiel is “Mexican.”

“What happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that’s fine,” Mr. Trump said.

Judge Curiel was born in Indiana.

If that's "fine", then why are you even mentioning it, you odious, festering hack of a bullshit artist?

God, I hope the man falls, and falls hard.

Gullible Jones wrote:God, I hope the man falls, and falls hard.

You are not the only one.

I had a strange conversation when back at home with my mom, who is a fan of Trump and asked why exactly I wasn't. Choosing my words carefully, because anyone who's already followed politics and knows what he says, but still supports him at this stage isn't going to be swayed by just any old argument, I said that I think he's a bigot because of stuff like the disrespectful things he says about women, that he has said things about foreign policy that make me realize I know more about it than him by virtue of living abroad a few years (which should not be the case), and his comments about the USA defaulting on its debts show that even his casual statements if a "presidential figurehead with smart advisers" could have serious consequences. She didn't dispute any of those, just said in a resigned voice that she hates what Obama has done to the country, and Trump says he can fix it. So basically just because even I can say a shit ton of stuff that doesn't mean it'll actually happen, she hates the direction of the country enough right now to risk it.

My dad is kind of a more interesting case because he has been a much more serious Republican than my mom lately due to his Ayn Rand principles, so I decided to ask what he thought of Trump. My dad is not a fan, because when faced with the question he decided to focus on the few positive things he likes about Trump, which are a. outsider, b. as a New Yorker he at least doesn't give about the social issues Republicans keep getting caught up in, and c. it seems like he has raised kids who turned out well. (Why yes, the latter really is scraping the bottom of the barrel! ) So my dad is basically where Paul Ryan is, not gonna endorse the guy, but in the next statement saying "but he would still be better than Hillary!" because, frankly, my father's hatred of the Clintons is greater than his dislike of Trump.

So for him, I think what'll happen is if it looks like Florida is close, he will vote for Trump. If it doesn't seem close, he will vote for Gary Johnson.

Just thought y'all would be interested in reading that.

Rommie wrote:<snip>
She didn't dispute any of those, just said in a resigned voice that she hates what Obama has done to the country, and Trump says he can fix it.

- added 13.7 million new jobs over a 69-month streak of job growth
- the Affordable Care Act (The rate of the uninsured in America dropped below 10 percent for the first time ever)
- legalization of same-sex marriage (and two and a half supreme court judges appointed)
- signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
- Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan and (either end of or drawdown of War in Iraq, depending on how you want to look at it
- Eliminated Osama bin laden
- Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry
- Improved America’s Image Abroad
- New START Treaty
- Signed Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (2009), which designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness
- Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges
- Expanded Stem Cell Research: In 2009, eliminated the Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research
- leadership on Climate Change (in spite of Pubs best efforts)
- The Iran deal
- Avoided Scandal: As of November 2011, served longer than any president in decades without a scandal, as measured by the appearance of the word “scandal” (or lack thereof) on the front page of the Washington Post. The first two-term presidency not to be derailed by scandal since Eisenhower. A few will stay in paranoid lather about Benghazi or Fast and Furious, but those pseudo-scandals don’t compare to Watergate, Iran-Contra, Bill Clinton’s carnal antics or the phony evidence used to justify attacking Iraq.

To name a few...

And I think this particularly sums it (from the Las Vegas Sun)

Obama has weathered a recession, invisible racism, a reckless Republican Congress, a lily-livered Democratic Party, attacks from the richest pressure groups ever (super PACs) and a 24/7, ADHD press corps under existential pressure to deliver page views and Nielsen ratings. He has done it with the “No Drama Obama” style that befits the office.

I'm sure Trump will undo all of that, as your mother hopes.

No, you don't understand- all the good stuff that has happened, happened in spite of his active efforts to destroy the country. (This is literally what my parents have told me.) Plus, of course, they don't view a lot of those things as good in the first place (like ACA).

Sort of on a similar note to yours, I noticed one interesting thing that Trump has going for him is unlike other super scripted politicians, he gets the 24/7 news media and plays it to his advantage by going on it all the time. In the one week I was in the USA last month he was on Fox News etc quite a bit- like twice even- often to not say anything much. Most candidates are far too paranoid and scripted to do that, and he just doesn't give a fuck and gets all this free advertising as a result of it (and the clear lack of scripting is refreshing... for the first few seconds, until you hear what he actually is saying).

That said, I think only a certain subset of Americans will still tune into the news every night, and it's definitely an older demographic than mine (I really don't know a single person my age who regularly watches cable news even half as regularly as my parents for example). We're more likely to see the clips of the highlight reels the next day... and while ten interviews might be him not saying much, the one dismissing all judges who are Mexican and Muslim definitely make an impression.

Rommie wrote:Sort of on a similar note to yours, I noticed one interesting thing that Trump has going for him is unlike other super scripted politicians, he gets the 24/7 news media and plays it to his advantage by going on it all the time.

Yes

That's because he is basically a con man, a carnie, a snake-oil salesman. It is all flash and no fire. That's his success (and failures) as a businessman. It is all about the show, but that's all he's got.

I was talking about this with my wife. She was mentioning about his racism. I said that I actually don't know that he is a racist... I don't know what he really believes about anything, because it is all about the sale and telling the crowd what they want to hear. Sure, he needs to be held responsible for his racist remarks, whether he believes them or not, but I don't believe anything he says.

Swift wrote:but I don't believe anything he says.

Me neither.

swift - turns out we had it all wrong. Trump isn't a con artist. He is just too busy to be honest.

I was listening to Harry Shearer "Le Show" program a month or so ago. He interviewed a man who wrote a book after extensive research on Trump. All kinds of stuff that nobody reports or talks about. If half of it were true, you wouldn't hire this guy to be a jr. VP in your company, let alone remotely consider him for president of the United States. Trump would boast, boast that he was repeatedly able to dupe his investment partners in many of the scams that he was involved in. Being a shrewd negotiator and winning in business is one thing. But he thought it was SOP to get investors, mislead them, use their money, walk away with alot of cash and leave them holding the dog do.

His business partners. In other words, in this situation, the people that will vote for him, and give him the authority and power to do things. He will brag about duping you....If I can find a link to the episode or a transcript, I'll add it here.

The author's name is David Cay Johnston. The article he wrote for The National Memo is titled, 21 Questions for Donald Trump. Here is a direct link to his interview with Shearer on the April 3, 2016 episode of Le Show. It's quite long, but worth the listen.

It's absolutely amazing. I am trying to understand how he has avoided being prosecuted for the things he has done over the years.

Here is the original article.

This nutjob needs not just to lose, but to lose by a landslide not seen since Reagan wiped Mondale out.