Donald Trump

[Wickerman]

So we have Trump becoming a dictator? Trump as Hitler. Wonderful stuff. Sadly, not very original, though.


So, let's save the Hitler comparisons for later.

Yes, lets wait.
Lets wait 'till he try's to throw anyone he chooses in prison for exercising their 1st Amendment rights.
He already threatened students on his twitter feed with prison, but their rights are protected by the constitution. Didn't he know, or is it he didn't care?

Does anyone seriously believe Comrade Trump cares about the rights of the common people?

When Ronnie Regan was in the White House people wondered if Nancy was really pulling the strings. After January when Comrade Trump takes over the question will become, is Putin really pulling the strings.

Saturday Night Live have some priceless material for the next four years.
Oh, and by the way. He threatened to close them down too.

Hush,..I think I heard someone whisper.....dictator?

[Pcdunn]

Our democracy allows criticism of the government, and I've lived long enough to remember the burning of things like flags and draft cards at demonstrations.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/politics/donald-trump-flag-burning-penalty-proposal/

I was told that Trump said he only suggested the same penalty Hilary Clinton had when she co-sponsored what CNN calls "another failed attempt to criminalize flag burning" -- I think his idea of "pranking" the media and the press with his outrageous scheme to "take away the citizenship of anyone who burns an American flag" is a bit juvenile. The President shouldn't be elected for his entertainment value.

[sdreid]

Trump is a master at playing the press-good for him.

[Patrick S]

Yes, lets wait.
Lets wait 'till he try's to throw anyone he chooses in prison for exercising their 1st Amendment rights.
He already threatened students on his twitter feed with prison, but their rights are protected by the constitution. Didn't he know, or is it he didn't care?

Does anyone seriously believe Comrade Trump cares about the rights of the common people?

When Ronnie Regan was in the White House people wondered if Nancy was really pulling the strings. After January when Comrade Trump takes over the question will become, is Putin really pulling the strings.

Saturday Night Live have some priceless material for the next four years.
Oh, and by the way. He threatened to close them down too.

Hush,..I think I heard someone whisper.....dictator?

You sold me. He's Hitler. Let's do something.........hmmmm.....You go first. I'm open to suggestions. What should we do? I mean, I've already been to a few of the "safe spaces" around town to cry about it. I watched Rachael Maddow 'till I passed out from boredom. I've hitched all my wagons to the Stein/Clinton recount caravan and that seems like a longshot at this point. What should we do? Take up arms? March on Washington? Stage a coup? All because we're scared of what Trump might do? Scared because the party he beat in the election tells us to be? Tells us he's Putin's puppet? I mean, I was scared because I watched too much Fox News when Obama was elected! They told me Bill Ayers was going to be running the show and that Reverend Wright was a tell-tale sign that Obama hated America and was going to sell us all down the river. They told me revolt would be impossible because he was coming for my gun. They told me he'd be around forever because the 22nd Amendment was going to be kaput! Man! I can't believe the sun is still shining..... But Trump is different. This time it's serious! Tell you what, call me when you form your militia. I may be out of town that day, but just check in. Let me know how it's going.

Also, I'm curious about this Putin connection. I mean, is Trump a member of the fascist right who are going to abolish Roe and eliminate the social safety net, or is he "Comrade" Trump, secret communist and best friend of Putin? I mean, he can't be both, right? Wait. He's Hitler AND Stalin! Man...this sounds really bad! We have to do something! But...what? I don't know. Oh, heck. You lead. I'll follow.

[Ginger]

Our democracy allows criticism of the government, and I've lived long enough to remember the burning of things like flags and draft cards at demonstrations.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/politics/donald-trump-flag-burning-penalty-proposal/

I was told that Trump said he only suggested the same penalty Hilary Clinton had when she co-sponsored what CNN calls "another failed attempt to criminalize flag burning" -- I think his idea of "pranking" the media and the press with his outrageous scheme to "take away the citizenship of anyone who burns an American flag" is a bit juvenile. The President shouldn't be elected for his entertainment value.

I think it's purely tactical on his part. He's not even in office yet, and he's got his opponents making public ninnies of themselves, running around screaming like little girls before anything has even happened. Every time they over-react to an obvious troll, the ACLU's and their fellow-travellers' credibility dwindles. When they do so before realizing that it's something their champion already suggested... well...

Interestingly (to me, at least), he's also caused Senator Manchin to take a bizarre "nuanced" stand in which he speaks with hearty approval of extrajudicial violence against flag burners, but opposes any change to the law.

I voted for Trump for what he could do for America, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to turn my back on his solid-gold entertainment value!

[Ginger]

Best comment I've heard all day in regard to flag burning was offered in response to video of some rather disturbed-looking individuals burning flags in front of the Trump Tower.

"If you look closely, you can almost see the puppet strings leading down from the penthouse."

[Pcdunn]

Meanwhile, the tweets keep coming...

Best comment I've heard all day in regard to flag burning was offered in response to video of some rather disturbed-looking individuals burning flags in front of the Trump Tower.

"If you look closely, you can almost see the puppet strings leading down from the penthouse."

Twitter posts from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (re Trump's possible plans to resolve his conflict of interest as a global businessman) appear, disappear, then are reposted. OGE says it's not a hack, they did post them and do approve of Trump's saying he will get out of business while in office.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/30/503879587/not-a-hack-u-s-office-of-government-ethics-tweets-at-trump

Did Trump say that? And does he really mean it? Anyone's guess...

[Steadmund Brand]

So we have Trump becoming a dictator? Trump as Hitler. Wonderful stuff. Sadly, not very original, though.

And to think, he's not even in office yet! Right-wingers said precisely the same things about Obama: He's going to abolish the 22nd Amendment and become president for life. He's going to take away all the guns, abolish borders, require whites to pay reparations, completely outlaw oil and coal, disarm the Unites States, seize and redistribute wealth. Of course, Fox News was thrilled to play it all up. Of course, here we are. Obama - with a few exceptions like his position on gay marriage and the affordable care act -was essentially George Bush who was essentially Bill Clinton who was indistinguishable from George H.W. Bush who was Reagan v2.0 (who thankfully was NOT Jimmy Carter). U.S. Presidents are not German chancellors or dictators. They exist within a much more constrained system with a limited ability to affect the path of the nation (which is much more dependent upon economic movers than presidents - contrary to what they might have us believe).

So, let's save the Hitler comparisons for later. Take a break from the handwringing. Turn off MSNBC and CNN for a few weeks. Watch a movie or two. Sports are a good option. You'll feel better and you won't be worried about Hitler quite so much. My guess is that Trump will do his best presidential impersonation for four years and then he'll move on down the road. If he over-reaches in the short-term and doesn't play by the rules and/or makes the wrong kind of enemies, he'll be impeached (wouldn't shock me in the least) and we'll continue with business as usual in Washington.

The truth is simple: Most everyone who voted for Trump (I did NOT) did so realizing he was never option 1A. But, he has one thing that differentiates him from everyone else: He's not a politician. Of course, he may be something much worse (if that's possible). But the electorate is willing to take the chance because Washington is broken, corrupt, backward. It's like a baseball team signing a hitter who is guaranteed to lead the league in strikeouts but may just run into 40+ homeruns. Maybe he'll hit a few big ones along the way that will get you into the playoffs. Think Chris Davis, Adam Dunn, or Dave Kingman.

So, yeah. Let's hold off worrying that Trump is Hitler. Let's instead think of him as Dave Kingman. Does that help you at all? Feel better?

hmmm I'll think of him as Adam Dunn then.. at least he had six 40+ HR seasons... Kingman I think only had one or two......

Look, I have tried to stay away from this discussion, as I never was a Trump supporter... but now, he is our President, so I will support him, unless he gives us a reason not too....I love my country and I want what is best for it...and the people have spoken (sort of) so lets all hope for the best and not expect the worst... that has been the great downfall of America in recent years... half of the country wanting it to fail when their person doesn't win... that doesn't help anyone....people stating they would NEVER support ANYTHING Obama did....and Democrats complaining about it... saying " Look how bad republicans are, they wont even try" well now, the shoe is on the other foot... and I hear so many "liberals" saying things like " he's not my president" (sound familiar folks)...grow up people....we are ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (yes I left a line out on purpose, A- because it wasn't an original line, it was added later, and B- because I don't want us going off on that argument now).
I have been a lifelong Democrat, and I am ashamed of the "modern liberals" they really twisted and perverted what liberal means.....much the same way "Alt-Right" Republicans twisted and perverted their party....you do realize that 90% of the public is somewhere in the middle (or we were until 24 hour cable "news" took over, news is no longer news.... it's opinion...let's not forget that...Like Obama said "If I watched FOX news I'd probably hate me", and the same could be said if Trump watched MSNBC....)..
Ok I'm getting off on a rant here....let's just say...Trump could be Kingman (or Adam Dunn), but for our sake I hope I was wrong and he is more like Hank Aaron....consistent, exceptional and good for everyone!!!!

Steadmund Brand

[Patrick S]

The United States is an absolute mess right now. Government - of course - is the exact same morass of do-nothings, con-men, morons, ideologues, liars, perverts, and criminals it's been for the past five decades. What's changed is media, both traditional and social.

In my view, the traditional media, in many cases, has dropped any pretense of impartiality in favor of presenting news through "opinion". At least that's how it started out. These days, those opinions have crept into what used to be called "hard news". You cannot watch Fox News without being acutely aware of that their core mission is to advocate conservative positions and (above all else) attack liberals. That's apparent in their 'news' programs regardless of any protestations to the contrary. MSNBC attacks conservatives and promotes liberal ideas and liberal politicians. As far as TV News goes, I don't feel as if Fox or MSNBC are doing anything wrong. They both have stopped pretending for the most part, and if they haven't completely at least everyone understands what those networks are about. The same cannot be said for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS. These outlets ridiculously present themselves as unbiased, down-down-the-middle, no horse in the race journalists. Ten or twenty years ago the veneer was a bit thicker. When former network news people like Bernard Goldberg wrote books about liberal media bias, there were still people pretending it didn't exist, that it was a myth. These days those pretenses are generally gone as far as consumers of news products are concerned, and anyone who doesn't see moderate to extreme liberal positions as 'just common sense' see the talking heads on these networks for what they are: liberals shilling for liberals. True journalism is nearly dead in the country. And that's a shame.

Social media is a completely different monster, especially in how it's presented by our friends in traditional and, particularly, on-line media (Yahoo!, MSN, CNN.com, Foxnews.com, even ESPN) which garners a larger piece of the "news pie" with each passing day. Like government social media is filled with do-nothings, con-men, morons, ideologues, liars, perverts, and criminals....and now they've got a platform and, sadly, having these "tweets" and "posts" read on air or presented on-line now passes for "news" (an imaginably lazy form of "news", to be certain). Of course, the overwhelming majority of people still keep their opinions to themselves, or, at least they don't post them on social media for all to see. That leaves the grandstanders, club-joiners, pot-stirrers, sycophants, nut-job left-wingers, crazy as hell right-wingers, narcissists, racists, self-loathers, frustrated poets, shut-ins, tweens, teens, and porn addicts to have their "witty" posts presented as representative of public opinion.

And somehow, this all seems normal and we're all shocked that Trump is the president and Americans actively hate anyone who doesn't think precisely as they do. We all want to shout in the echo chamber, have the "correct" opinion, and say "I told you so!".

[Patrick S]

hmmm I'll think of him as Adam Dunn then.. at least he had six 40+ HR seasons... Kingman I think only had one or two......

Look, I have tried to stay away from this discussion, as I never was a Trump supporter... but now, he is our President, so I will support him, unless he gives us a reason not too....I love my country and I want what is best for it...and the people have spoken (sort of) so lets all hope for the best and not expect the worst... that has been the great downfall of America in recent years... half of the country wanting it to fail when their person doesn't win... that doesn't help anyone....people stating they would NEVER support ANYTHING Obama did....and Democrats complaining about it... saying " Look how bad republicans are, they wont even try" well now, the shoe is on the other foot... and I hear so many "liberals" saying things like " he's not my president" (sound familiar folks)...grow up people....we are ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (yes I left a line out on purpose, A- because it wasn't an original line, it was added later, and B- because I don't want us going off on that argument now).
I have been a lifelong Democrat, and I am ashamed of the "modern liberals" they really twisted and perverted what liberal means.....much the same way "Alt-Right" Republicans twisted and perverted their party....you do realize that 90% of the public is somewhere in the middle (or we were until 24 hour cable "news" took over, news is no longer news.... it's opinion...let's not forget that...Like Obama said "If I watched FOX news I'd probably hate me", and the same could be said if Trump watched MSNBC....)..
Ok I'm getting off on a rant here....let's just say...Trump could be Kingman (or Adam Dunn), but for our sake I hope I was wrong and he is more like Hank Aaron....consistent, exceptional and good for everyone!!!!

Steadmund Brand

Yeah. Kingman has one but I'm 47 so I still think of him as the original model that all others are based on. It's funny to think that when I was kid Kingman was thought of as guy who struckout a ton. But, when you look at his stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...ingmda01.shtml) you see only averaged 152 Ks per 162 games played. Now, no one bats an eye when Chris Davis whiffs 200 times (204 Ks per 162 games). NOW....Hank on the other hand had 8 40 homer seasons and averaged 68 strikeouts per 162 (while averaging 69 walks). And in my view he's completely overlooked in discussions about who the best of "all time" is. It's between Aaron and Ruth. No one else should even be in the discussion.

[Abby Normal]

The United States is an absolute mess right now. Government - of course - is the exact same morass of do-nothings, con-men, morons, ideologues, liars, perverts, and criminals it's been for the past five decades. What's changed is media, both traditional and social.

In my view, the traditional media, in many cases, has dropped any pretense of impartiality in favor of presenting news through "opinion". At least that's how it started out. These days, those opinions have crept into what used to be called "hard news". You cannot watch Fox News without being acutely aware of that their core mission is to advocate conservative positions and (above all else) attack liberals. That's apparent in their 'news' programs regardless of any protestations to the contrary. MSNBC attacks conservatives and promotes liberal ideas and liberal politicians. As far as TV News goes, I don't feel as if Fox or MSNBC are doing anything wrong. They both have stopped pretending for the most part, and if they haven't completely at least everyone understands what those networks are about. The same cannot be said for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS. These outlets ridiculously present themselves as unbiased, down-down-the-middle, no horse in the race journalists. Ten or twenty years ago the veneer was a bit thicker. When former network news people like Bernard Goldberg wrote books about liberal media bias, there were still people pretending it didn't exist, that it was a myth. These days those pretenses are generally gone as far as consumers of news products are concerned, and anyone who doesn't see moderate to extreme liberal positions as 'just common sense' see the talking heads on these networks for what they are: liberals shilling for liberals. True journalism is nearly dead in the country. And that's a shame.

Social media is a completely different monster, especially in how it's presented by our friends in traditional and, particularly, on-line media (Yahoo!, MSN, CNN.com, Foxnews.com, even ESPN) which garners a larger piece of the "news pie" with each passing day. Like government social media is filled with do-nothings, con-men, morons, ideologues, liars, perverts, and criminals....and now they've got a platform and, sadly, having these "tweets" and "posts" read on air or presented on-line now passes for "news" (an imaginably lazy form of "news", to be certain). Of course, the overwhelming majority of people still keep their opinions to themselves, or, at least they don't post them on social media for all to see. That leaves the grandstanders, club-joiners, pot-stirrers, sycophants, nut-job left-wingers, crazy as hell right-wingers, narcissists, racists, self-loathers, frustrated poets, shut-ins, tweens, teens, and porn addicts to have their "witty" posts presented as representative of public opinion.

And somehow, this all seems normal and we're all shocked that Trump is the president and Americans actively hate anyone who doesn't think precisely as they do. We all want to shout in the echo chamber, have the "correct" opinion, and say "I told you so!".

the national news is a joke right now in this country. no objectivity and its come to the point where I'm skeptical about the truth of any of it. Ive got to flip back and forth between CNN and Fox and then come to some kind of consensus in between!

not only the objectivity is gone between the left and right news outlets and both push their agenda, they exacerbate the controversial issues so much that its like tabloid nonsense. Because you know--negativity and controversy sells.

add to that the social media fake news someone puts on the their blog and other more respectable outlets pick it up and rehash it and its reported as real!! grrr.

so you've got the combination of political party left/right bias, tabloid mentality and fake news from social media all corrupting the national news---quite frankly its a mess. : (

[John G]

So we have Trump becoming a dictator? Trump as Hitler. Wonderful stuff. Sadly, not very original, though.

And to think, he's not even in office yet! Right-wingers said precisely the same things about Obama: He's going to abolish the 22nd Amendment and become president for life. He's going to take away all the guns, abolish borders, require whites to pay reparations, completely outlaw oil and coal, disarm the Unites States, seize and redistribute wealth. Of course, Fox News was thrilled to play it all up. Of course, here we are. Obama - with a few exceptions like his position on gay marriage and the affordable care act -was essentially George Bush who was essentially Bill Clinton who was indistinguishable from George H.W. Bush who was Reagan v2.0 (who thankfully was NOT Jimmy Carter). U.S. Presidents are not German chancellors or dictators. They exist within a much more constrained system with a limited ability to affect the path of the nation (which is much more dependent upon economic movers than presidents - contrary to what they might have us believe).

So, let's save the Hitler comparisons for later. Take a break from the handwringing. Turn off MSNBC and CNN for a few weeks. Watch a movie or two. Sports are a good option. You'll feel better and you won't be worried about Hitler quite so much. My guess is that Trump will do his best presidential impersonation for four years and then he'll move on down the road. If he over-reaches in the short-term and doesn't play by the rules and/or makes the wrong kind of enemies, he'll be impeached (wouldn't shock me in the least) and we'll continue with business as usual in Washington.

The truth is simple: Most everyone who voted for Trump (I did NOT) did so realizing he was never option 1A. But, he has one thing that differentiates him from everyone else: He's not a politician. Of course, he may be something much worse (if that's possible). But the electorate is willing to take the chance because Washington is broken, corrupt, backward. It's like a baseball team signing a hitter who is guaranteed to lead the league in strikeouts but may just run into 40+ homeruns. Maybe he'll hit a few big ones along the way that will get you into the playoffs. Think Chris Davis, Adam Dunn, or Dave Kingman.

So, yeah. Let's hold off worrying that Trump is Hitler. Let's instead think of him as Dave Kingman. Does that help you at all? Feel better?

Hi Patrick,

But don't you think this is part of the problem? Thus, in order to get elected Trump presented himself as being all things to all people: to conservatives he promised big tax cut and a conservative social agenda; to working class voters be committed himself to spending trillions of dollars on an ill-defined infrastructure programme-bridges to nowhere?-with no clue as to how it would be financed, universal healthcare, which apparently the government will pay for http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapoth.../#a19d64938624, and anti globalization protectionist measures to protect American manufacturing jobs. Phew!

Of course, the reality is that even if he really believed in all of these policies, which I seriously doubt, as probably the only thing Donald Trump believes in is Donald Trump, he'll never get most of these commitments through Congress. As Sen Pat Roberts (R-Kan), a fiscal conservative, when asked about the implications for the budget deficit, revealing disclosed, "I think we'll stand up to that problem...It is going to be difficult but I think we need to operate within our budget rules." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.2f91a111ab50

So presumably that means no massive tax cuts, universal healthcare, bridges to nowhere...! I suppose you could say that he's cleverly deceived almost half of the nation, however, I suspect many of the people who voted for him new exactly what they were voting for, but saw Clinton as an even worse option.

[Steadmund Brand]

Yeah. Kingman has one but I'm 47 so I still think of him as the original model that all others are based on. It's funny to think that when I was kid Kingman was thought of as guy who struckout a ton. But, when you look at his stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...ingmda01.shtml) you see only averaged 152 Ks per 162 games played. Now, no one bats an eye when Chris Davis whiffs 200 times (204 Ks per 162 games). NOW....Hank on the other hand had 8 40 homer seasons and averaged 68 strikeouts per 162 (while averaging 69 walks). And in my view he's completely overlooked in discussions about who the best of "all time" is. It's between Aaron and Ruth. No one else should even be in the discussion.

I think one more name should be included...and this upsets SO MANY.. but Barry Bonds...in fact, over all Bonds may be the greatest player to ever live (well, Ok Ruth, only because he was a great pitcher as well), forget the "steroid" era crap... Aaron was in the amphetamine era (which he admits too) and nobody cares...and besides...if everyone was juicing (which I believe they were) he was still that much better than EVERYONE else....and he was a total 5 tool player...so he didn't like the media and he was made a villain because of it, (that's why even without ever testing positive he is the first name people think of...hell Bonds never tested positive and everyone says " I'll never vote for him to go in the Hall of Fame...but friggin David Ortiz DOES TEST POSITIVE and everyone media person praises him, saying stuff like.. oh he is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer...blah blah... do they forget that he was CUT by the Twins (not traded..cut!!) and that I don't think he even owns a glove!!!.. again, it shows how the media can influence...one guy may be the best that ever lived, never tested positive, but they didn't like him, so the public thinks he's terrible... the other...was cut by the Twins...tested positive and can't play the field.. but because they like him... he is treated as a national hero....yuck!!

Steadmund Brand
We are approx. the same age, so I am with you on the Kingman thing by the way

[Patrick S]

Hi Patrick,

But don't you think this is part of the problem? Thus, in order to get elected Trump presented himself as being all things to all people: to conservatives he promised big tax cut and a conservative social agenda; to working class voters be committed himself to spending trillions of dollars on an ill-defined infrastructure programme-bridges to nowhere?-with no clue as to how it would be financed, universal healthcare, which apparently the government will pay for http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapoth.../#a19d64938624, and anti globalization protectionist measures to protect American manufacturing jobs. Phew!

I'm trying to recall a presidential candidate that did present themselves as being all things to all people. Do I think it's a problem? Yes.

Of course, the reality is that even if he really believed in all of these policies, which I seriously doubt, as probably the only thing Donald Trump believes in is Donald Trump, he'll never get most of these commitments through Congress. As Sen Pat Roberts (R-Kan), a fiscal conservative, when asked about the implications for the budget deficit, revealing disclosed, "I think we'll stand up to that problem...It is going to be difficult but I think we need to operate within our budget rules." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.2f91a111ab50

So presumably that means no massive tax cuts, universal healthcare, bridges to nowhere...! I suppose you could say that he's cleverly deceived almost half of the nation, however, I suspect many of the people who voted for him new exactly what they were voting for, but saw Clinton as an even worse option.

I have no idea what most voters thought they were getting. I'd say some thought they were getting someone who wasn't a politician. Some thought they were getting a tough guy. Some thought they were getting a guy who was going to bring his "brilliant" business acumen to government. Some thought they were getting a guy who was going to protect against terrorism. Some thought they were getting a guy who was going to end foreign war. Some people are racist and voted for Trump because they think he is too. Some people think Trump is politically incorrect but "real". I have no idea just how intelligent or stupid the typical American voter is. I can guess, though.

Above bold.

[Patrick S]

I think one more name should be included...and this upsets SO MANY.. but Barry Bonds...in fact, over all Bonds may be the greatest player to ever live (well, Ok Ruth, only because he was a great pitcher as well), forget the "steroid" era crap... Aaron was in the amphetamine era (which he admits too) and nobody cares...and besides...if everyone was juicing (which I believe they were) he was still that much better than EVERYONE else....and he was a total 5 tool player...so he didn't like the media and he was made a villain because of it, (that's why even without ever testing positive he is the first name people think of...hell Bonds never tested positive and everyone says " I'll never vote for him to go in the Hall of Fame...but friggin David Ortiz DOES TEST POSITIVE and everyone media person praises him, saying stuff like.. oh he is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer...blah blah... do they forget that he was CUT by the Twins (not traded..cut!!) and that I don't think he even owns a glove!!!.. again, it shows how the media can influence...one guy may be the best that ever lived, never tested positive, but they didn't like him, so the public thinks he's terrible... the other...was cut by the Twins...tested positive and can't play the field.. but because they like him... he is treated as a national hero....yuck!!

Steadmund Brand
We are approx. the same age, so I am with you on the Kingman thing by the way

I wouldn't argue with Bonds. Best hitter I ever saw with my own eyes.