President Donald Trump

[Hornsby]

Never forget that the President called an American citizen "A Son of a Bitch" for a quiet act of political dissent. An act that he's paid a huge price for, BTW.

But he calls some Neo Nazis and KKK members "Very fine people" for their sometimes violent acts of political dissent.

Make Trump and his party pay a price...

[onejayhawk]

I always say - when he says anything it is always to advance the Trump brand

these battles against the warriors and the NFL dont seem consistent with his normal slant - something seems even more amiss than his "normal" - and that is especially disconcerting.

He did however go to a rally of supporters in Alabama last night and that got him fired up - rally, supporters, Alabama UGH

That election is Moore/Strange. It must have been an oversight by the script editors.

J

[Hornsby]

Politico reports that Jared Kushner has been using a private email account for almost a year, both during the campaign and while in the White House.

The hypocrisy of this bunch continues to astonish me...

[Moonlight J]

Some thoughts from a HS friend of mine that served in Desert Storm 1 as a paratrooper & is a 3rd generation army guy:

Patriotism.
What defines a patriot? Is it blind faith, idolatry of symbolism, acceptance of abject authority, and seeing one's nation as superior to the rest of the world? If so, I'm no patriot.

In my heart, in my many services to this nation, the guiding principle has always been an abiding love for my fellow countrymen. My hopes for America have always centered on opportunity and freedom for every person here, regardless of what demographic they represent. That they may live without fear of persecution and enjoy liberty is paramount to how frequently they might wave the flag.

The bedrock of liberty is the freedom to demonstrate openly against oppression, disenfranchisement or injustice. To me, this means your true patriotic duty is not to silence yourself for the comfort of the status quo – but to convey your grievance by civil means, within your legal rights.

To condemn the action of civil protest is also, by my definition, unpatriotic. There's an important distinction between disagreement with a point of view and calling for suppression of an expression of civil disobedience. The latter is absolutely counter to the principles this nation was founded on.

If we want to be true patriots, we'd be well advised to ask some difficult questions. We've supplanted critical thinking and statesmanship governance with superficial nationalism and symbolism idolatry.
As a nation we've sent our citizens to fight, kill and die overseas in nations and struggles which (ultimately) proved to have little or no direct effects on our safety or sovereignty. To date, we are 16 years into the War on Terror – a conflict in which we've expended more American lives (and an exponential number of lives from other nationalities) than were immorally taken from us in the attacks we consider the root of our military campaign. Still, we are led to believe that flag waving and national anthem singing makes us patriots.

We incarcerate more of our own citizens (per capita) than any other country and, yet, we decry other nations for their track record on Human Rights. We allow potential of our young to be squandered due to poverty or the enormous cost of student debt, but we hail our perceived dominance of education on the world stage. We allow people to suffer and die for lack of adequate medical care because they fear being bankrupted by illness, and we think we're a global leader in medicine.

I wish (and profoundly so) that every American had the courage, strength and patriotic sense of national service to take to the streets and demand an end to senseless, unwinnable wars or marginalization of our poor. I wish we would take a unified stance on strengthening our nation through affordable healthcare and higher education for everyone. I wish that it came as easily to some to show solidarity for the disenfranchised as it does to deride sports players for not standing for during the Star Spangled Banner.

A song and a flag don't make a nation. America's national song and variations of the flag adapt with time. They are not bedrock to our patriotism as much as our fellow countrymen. There is nothing more American than upholding the rights of the few as stridently as we do for the majority. No, that hasn't been our history... it's been our promise. It is the American Dream, and one that takes civil disobedience to defend it.









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[Mithrandir]

Thanks MJ. Love that!

[TranaGreg]

for anyone interested I came across a pretty detailed assessment of the state of the Mueller investigation ... Special Counsel Robert Mueller Is Closing In On The White House

[swampdragon]

for anyone interested I came across a pretty detailed assessment of the state of the Mueller investigation ... Special Counsel Robert Mueller Is Closing In On The White House

Unfortunately I dont ever see the Mueller investigation come to fruition. The counsel will be FIRED/CLOSED/REAPPOINTED by Trump before completion along with a few pre-emptive pardons (as if that is legal/ethical either)

[TranaGreg]

Unfortunately I dont ever see the Mueller investigation come to fruition. The counsel will be FIRED/CLOSED/REAPPOINTED by Trump before completion along with a few pre-emptive pardons (as if that is legal/ethical either)

That's an interesting question - I'd like to think Trump would have to tread carefully, that the court of public opinion matters, but the events of the past year don't support me in that; on the legal side, as the article points out, Presidential pardons apply to federal charges, but he'd have no control over any state charges (if any are laid). So there's that.

[revo]

Unfortunately I dont ever see the Mueller investigation come to fruition. The counsel will be FIRED/CLOSED/REAPPOINTED by Trump before completion along with a few pre-emptive pardons (as if that is legal/ethical either)

I thought they passed a regulation that said Trump couldn't fire Mueller without their vote?

[swampdragon]

I thought they passed a regulation that said Trump couldn't fire Mueller without their vote?

It would be better if they did but I don't think that happened. But find it if it did please.

[revo]

It would be better if they did but I don't think that happened. But find it if it did please.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/26/senators-protect-robert-mueller-russia-investigation-243153

[swampdragon]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...igation-243153

so there is debate over the validity and usefulness of two so far unapproved bills in the senate - but no voting yet

[Hornsby]

No Way! Trump SAID that it would be GREAT for the middle class!

GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1 percent and uneven benefits for the middle class, report says

The analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a leading group of nonpartisan tax analysts, challenges President Trump’s promise about the effects of the plan.

The top 1 percent would see their taxes drop by more than $200,000 on average, the analysis found.

But nearly 30 percent of taxpayers with incomes between $50,000 and $150,000 would see a tax increase within a decade — despite Republican promises that the plan is designed to provide relief to middle-class Americans, according to the study.

The majority of those making between $150,000 and $300,000 would also be hit with higher taxes.

Washington Post News Alerts...

[President Donald J. Chump]

Puerto Rico is an island, a very small island, really small, surrounded by an ocean. A big ocean. Big beautiful ocean. Lots of water. Totally surrounded by water. So much water like you've never seen. Very hard to find. Little island in the middle of lots of water. Lots and lots of water. So hard for our people to find. Once we find it, we'll help.

[President Donald J. Chump]

I challenge anyone in the world to an IQ test! Even an Asian!