Donald Trump

[Patrick S]

can we all at least agree that political discourse - especially when it involved Trump - brings out the best in all of us?

[Pcdunn]

First, "fake news" on Twitter leads to an armed citizen visiting a Washington pizza parlor:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/business/media/comet-ping-pong-pizza-shooting-fake-news-consequences.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

Then: Trump fires senior transition advisor's son for sharing the fake news story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/politics/michael-flynn-son-trump.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=Trending&version=Full&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Meanwhile, former Senator Bob Dole was revealed to have been the lobbyist behind the President-Elect's call to Taiwan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/politics/bob-dole-taiwan-lobby-trump.html?action=click&contentCollection=Media&module=Trending&version=Full&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Well-- we live in interesting times, I guess!

[ChrisGeorge]

Video: Can Trump separate fact from fiction?

Donald Trump and his pick for national security advisor, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, both have histories of peddling fake conspiracy theories. Rep. Adam Schiff and Jonathan Alter join Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC to discuss the potential consequences in a Trump Administration.

http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/can-trump-separate-fact-from-fiction-825623107723

[Fleetwood Mac]

Hi Caz,

Thanks, I'm not at all surprised. I seem to remember that, in the 2008 election, two-thirds of British Conservative supporters said they would have backed Obama, and that's probably not changed a great deal. In fact, a recent poll of British people found approval ratings for Obama were extraordinarily high, with 72% saying he's done a good job for America, and only 16% a bad job: see https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/23...ama-eu-debate/

Interestingly, 77% of British people described Obama as "highly intelligent", whilst only 17% said the same thing about George W Bush: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2014/09/05...george-w-bush/
I dread to think how many/few Brits would described Trump as "highly intelligent", or even slightly below average intelligence!

I think that's more of a commentary on English people, well, the English liberal save-the-world types, who don't know very much about American politics nor Obama but love him anyway.

And, George Bush is the most intelligent politician I've seen for a long time. He knows it's all bollocks so thought: "**** it, I'll get up there and just say the first thing that comes into my mind because none of it matters anyway, we politicians don't run countries and we haven't for a long time".

Look, given a choice between George Bush and recent US Presidents, and our Prime Ministers for that matter, I'd take Bush every time. He knows it's a sham and so made a mockery of the whole thing.

He wasn't shy when it came to invading people's countries, but none of the others are either, so that can't be held as a comparative weakness against him.

We really need politicians to not pretend they can actually change anything; we need politicians like Bush who show the whole thing up for the shambles it is. That way, people could possibly wake up instead of being taken in by a sharp suit, a half-decent haircut and a few cheap soundbites.

[Pcdunn]

Trump's Cabinet is shaping up to have several generals in it. Interesting, for a corporate businessman who never served in the U.S. military himself.
It has some people worried, others applauding his choices.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-hires-a-third-general-raising-concerns-about-heavy-military-influence/2016/12/07/a6273fbc-bca0-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_generals-715pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.11a4c8d401b6

[Hercule Poirot]

Trump, Time's 2016 person of the year

Donald Trump somehow found a way to gripe about being named 'Time' Person of the Year.


"I was lucky enough to receive the Time Person of the Year," Trump said. "They used to call it 'Man of the Year,' but they can't do that anymore, so they call it 'person.' They want to be politically correct. That's OK."


Trump has played hard to this sentiment. "I'm so tired of this politically correct crap," he told a crowd in South Carolina during a rally in 2015.

Well, it's just because Time prefered not calling him the A..h... of the year.

[GUT]

Donald Trump somehow found a way to gripe about being named 'Time' Person of the Year.


"I was lucky enough to receive the Time Person of the Year," Trump said. "They used to call it 'Man of the Year,' but they can't do that anymore, so they call it 'person.' They want to be politically correct. That's OK."


Trump has played hard to this sentiment. "I'm so tired of this politically correct crap," he told a crowd in South Carolina during a rally in 2015.

Well, it's just because Time prefered not calling him the A..h... of the year.

He needs to remember that Hitler was MOTY one year.

[Wickerman]

He needs to remember that Hitler was MOTY one year.

Yes, I think you're right.
He also has the dubious distinction of ending world-wide unemployment.

[GUT]

Yes, I think you're right.
He also has the dubious distinction of ending world-wide unemployment.

Time have said MOTY has nothing to do with good or bad, just world impact, hence Hitler.

[Mayerling]

Time have said MOTY has nothing to do with good or bad, just world impact, hence Hitler.

If it had not been for a substantial (and horrified) vote by the public, Time was going to name Adolf Hitler "Man of the Century". Instead, the vote gave the honor to Albert Einstein. But in truth the matter is rather ridiculous. One could make substantial cases for having named Winston Churchill, F.D.R., Mohandas Gandhi, Einstein, Hitler, or Joseph Stalin (or Lenin) "Man of the Century". A right in vote by Turks wanted Kemal Ataturk. The title is a stupid one actually - how does one conclude one man's life is more important than anyone else's? Hitler's evil did impact the globe, but compare that to say the discoverer of penicillin, who saved millions of lives with it. And why not call it "Person of the year" or "Person of the century"? The ass in the White House can hate political correctness as much as he wants to, but there is a point to it? I noticed few women's names on that "Man of the Century" listing, which bothered me.

Maybe we have outgrown this "Man of the Year" crap. The idea of pedestals for historic figures just doesn't fit any longer. Perhaps all such awards and recognitions are truly passe now.

Jeff

[sdreid]

Not much to add and from a left-winger yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKeYbEOSqYc

[RockySullivan]

Nobody really seems to grasp that Trump was elected because of his celebrity. It has nothing to do with politics. He could have run on the opposite platform and he would have won. Or Snooky could have run and she probably would have won. The world is completely obsessed with celebrity & fame. It's more important than anything. Humans are REALLY dumb. Every single day at the train station I see the funniest thing. There is an entrance to the tracks on both sides. But when they call the track number, a hundred people will crowd around, and all try to cram through the one entrance. The other entrance is twenty feet away on the other side of the room. I'm really the only one who notices there is a second entrance without a huge line? People are all mindless sheep, except me I guess

[Mayerling]

Nobody really seems to grasp that Trump was elected because of his celebrity. It has nothing to do with politics. He could have run on the opposite platform and he would have won. Or Snooky could have run and she probably would have won. The world is completely obsessed with celebrity & fame. It's more important than anything. Humans are REALLY dumb. Every single day at the train station I see the funniest thing. There is an entrance to the tracks on both sides. But when they call the track number, a hundred people will crowd around, and all try to cram through the one entrance. The other entrance is twenty feet away on the other side of the room. I'm really the only one who notices there is a second entrance without a huge line? People are all mindless sheep, except me I guess

The thing to remember Rocky is that Trump is a strange type of charismatic (in a negative way) celebrity. Everyone who voted for him saw something in that mixture they thought they could relate to. They are all in for a terrible awakening sooner then they expect - and this includes the cackling hordes of "Tea Partyists" and extremists who don't know what (in the long haul) they've let themselves in for.

Jeff

[Abby Normal]

Nobody really seems to grasp that Trump was elected because of his celebrity. It has nothing to do with politics. He could have run on the opposite platform and he would have won. Or Snooky could have run and she probably would have won. The world is completely obsessed with celebrity & fame. It's more important than anything. Humans are REALLY dumb. Every single day at the train station I see the funniest thing. There is an entrance to the tracks on both sides. But when they call the track number, a hundred people will crowd around, and all try to cram through the one entrance. The other entrance is twenty feet away on the other side of the room. I'm really the only one who notices there is a second entrance without a huge line? People are all mindless sheep, except me I guess

Lol.
Well I would agree with a lot of what you say. Yes being famous obviously helped but again a lot of people voted for him because they were sick of the corrupt do nothing politicians.

There was a clip shown of Obama at a town hall type meeting and a man asked him how come we can't stop jobs from leaving the country and his response was priceless, in a negative way. He babbled on,almost incredulously at the stupidity of the question, about how can you do it, wave a manic wand blah blah blah. It was one of the lamest things I've ever seen a leader say and do. This in contrast to trump who recently saved some jobs and is already getting people to invest in our country. The contrast is telling. And I think that just illustrates part of the reason why many people voted for trump.

Apathy from the current leaders vs someone who people think can get things done, or at the very least TRY.

Your train story made me laugh though cause its so true. I can't tell how many times I've been driving trying to get somewhere and there will be a huge line of cars that everyone is trying to get into. I'll just drive right past and get to where I'm going before all the lemmings because there was no need to wait in the line-there's another lane, exit, etc. that people just assume you can't use because there is already a line. So better get into line!?!

Sometimes I think people just see a line and think. Oh a line. I better get into it!! LOL

One of the best things my dad ever told me was don't ever get into a line of cars. Just go around.

[Mayerling]

Lol.
One of the best things my dad ever told me was don't ever get into a line of cars. Just go around.

Yes Abby, I agree with what your dad told you (though I don't actually know how to drive). But tell me - what if there is no way to avoid, or get around, the line of cars? Fly overhead by helicopter attachment perhaps?

Jeff