So let’s start off with the most recent bit of news, which could wind up being a good thing or become a complete and total disaster.
1). What could possibly go wrong?. In a move that is quite literally historically unprecedented, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has offered to meet with Trump and even stand down their nuclear program. Although this has the potential to finally simmer down the previously escalating war of words between the two leaders, it could also send things off in an insane new direction. It has not yet been revealed where the meeting will take place, but if it happens in North Korea, Kim Jong-un would have the president of the United States exactly where he wants him. It doesn’t matter how much secret service protection he has; if a squad of armed soldiers surrounds him, the subsequent gun battle will not end well for the US. Trump could be taken prisoner or killed outright, and suddenly we’re in World War III.
Just as intimidating is the thought of the two of them face to face. This would be one of those instances where we would be praying for Trump’s usual psychology to kick in wherein he hates conflict and does his best to get along with whoever he’s speaking to. Because the absolute last thing we need is for him to offend Kim and suddenly the two countries start lobbing nuclear weapons at each other. We can hope that won’t happen because it’s clear that Kim is seeing all the damage that Trump is doing to US world wide relations and is hoping to use that opportunity to prove that he’s a better leader than Trump.
2). Oh yeah, that’ll take care of the problem.. Despite his big talk about cutting back on guns and raising the age to own them, it is obvious that Trump has knuckled under to the NRA and will do absolutely nothing to make any changes at all. But in order to pretend that he is, he is turning around and blaming violent video games for causing violent bášŧárdš to pump bullets into helpless students. Despite the fact that the most recent shooter proudly sported a red Trump “Make America Great” baseball cap, Trump is convinced that video games are translating into real world crimes. A summit was held at the White House to discuss this. Curiously–no, wait, wrong word. Unsurprisingly, the summit featured exactly zero psychologists or scientists in attendance to address the underpinning of the meeting’s existence. This is likely because they would have said exactly what we already know: there is zero evidence to indicate that there is any causal link between playing video games and committing violent acts. Just as decades ago there was zero evidence that comic books inspired kids to become juvenile delinquents. This is a non-issue that Trump and his crew are transforming into a big deal to distract from all the other crap that’s going on. Crap such as…
3). A pørņ star. Seriously. If I had come up with an idea for a novel about a president being sued by a pørņ star, it would be rejected as being way too out there as a concept. But now we’re finding out that not only is that happening, it’s happening because Trump never bothered to get around to signing the contract with her. THIS is a master businessman? It’s bad enough that he never pays people for the jobs that they do, but now he’s not even signing agreements with people that he’s making deals with in the first place. Let us keep in mind that Congress relentlessly went after Bill Clinton’s sex life for years, but they are standing behind someone who was banging a pørņ star while his wife was pregnant with their son. We’re reaching the point where telling someone you are a Republican is becoming embarrassing because of the party’s non-stop hypocrisy.
4). Down the Hatch. Have you ever heard of the Hatch Act? I had not. Then again, I’m not someone who has to worry about it. Enacted in 1939, it stipulates that save for the President and Vice-President, employees of the Executive branch in engaging in political activity…such as, say, endorsing people in elections. It is a law that Kellyanne Conway cheerfully ignored and so was in violation of it. Now you may ask, what sort of penalty will she have to pay? The answer is: nothing. All that will happen is that the information is being passed on to the president who will then take whatever steps he deems worthy to punish her. Which of course means that Trump will do absolutely nothing. While it’s possible that Conway might watch her mouth in the future, I wouldn’t bet on it all that much.
5). And another one bites the dust.. Trump’s brand spanking new tariff war has already claimed its first victim: Chief economic advisor Gary Cohn. How much greater damage this dumb-ášš move by Trump will accomplish is yet to be seen as other countries are swearing they will likewise implement tariffs on American goods. What kind of a world are we living in where the entire concept of peace is hinging on Kim Jong-un rather than the American president who absolutely thrives on pìššìņg people off and continues to insist that everything is fine in a White House that is rapidly falling apart? Trump insists that it’s no big deal because people come and go from the White House all the time. That’s true, but this is the sixth resignation of a high-profile member of his administration in the last year alone? That’s not normal; that’s insane.
6). California Dreaming. Jeff Sessions is actually launching a suit against California because it has set itself up as a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants. That makes sense since San Diego is bordered with Mexico. Sessions is claiming that California’s laws make it impossible for Federal agents to do their job. Governor Jerry Brown has basically challenged Sessions to bring it on, and California Senate President Kevin de Leon flat out stated, “Bottom line: California will NOT help President Trump, Jeff Sessions or Thomas Homan rip children from the arms of their mothers and fathers. Here in CA, we embrace our historic diversity, and we will do everything in our legal power to protect it.” Now of course we know Trump doesn’t worry about offending states that he will never in a million years carry in an election, but this is a new level of low, to sue politicians who just want to govern in their own way.
Sad.
PAD
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Trump to Lawmakers: “They do have great power, I agree with that. They have great power over you people. They have less power over me.”
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NRA to Trump: “Sit! Roll over! Speak!”
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Trump to NRA: “Arf! Arf!”
I actually heard the word “blackmail” in relation to the Stormy Daniels story, and how “the original sin” in the matter is her breaking the NDA and trying to hold the affair over someone’s head, and is that what we’ve come to?
Seriously?
The original sin, quite simply, is a married “man” having creepy sex with a pørņ star while his wife is at home with a newborn. And lying about it.
People who don’t do bad things don’t get blackmailed (unless it’s by insane people who make baseless accusations even after concrete proof is brought forward)
I have gallons more venom to spew on the matter but in the interests of time I’ll say this – to those who complain that we should be worrying about more important things, WE ARE. The point is, Trump has VOLUMES of violations of “god’s law”, man’s law, and sheer decent and polite society that I don’t care if it’s high treason and collusion with a foreign power or lying about his dìçk size, he needs to go. I don’t care why anymore. If we can take Pence, Ryan, McConnell, and the rest of the jackals with him at the same time, so much the better.
I have a dream of Trump being dragged out of the Oval Office in handcuffs, kicking and screaming and crying like a child who isn’t given a second scoop of ice cream. I can’t wait until that dream is reality.
It’s the reaction you always get from those with warped morals (which these days is synonymous with Republicans): The crime isn’t the violation, it’s pointing it out. The “bad guy” isn’t the violator, it’s the one who reports them.
My fear is……Nerve toxin….it’s been done before….it can happen again…
I think Trump will pivot to positively fawning over Kim Jong-un. He loves fellow dictators. Look at how he’s praised Duarte, Putin, you name the dictator and he has wonderful things to say about the fellow.
Just a nitpick, Elayne, but that first guy is Duterte (if you’re referring to the current Filipino strongman). There was a Salvadoran president named Duarte in the mid-1980s (José Napoleón, to be exact).
But, you do have a point.
This was the man who called the Chinese Government’s actions at Tiananmen Square a sign of a strong government.
In speaking of Un, I will relate the best line ever (and even a link) – italics mine.
“I won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un. I just won’t,” the President said. “As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine.”
http://cnn.it/2Hit8MV
TOO EASY. It’s just not fair.
TAC
Some of my conservative friends are crowing about the steel tariffs as a “great thing” because it’ll “help the last big steel manufacturer in the US, which is a good thing! How can yo not want that???”. Yeah, maybe they should have had that attitude when Trump was importing all that Chinese steel for his projects because it was “cheaper”…
If Kimmy so happens to kidnap Trump, would the US even try to get him back? Would anyone care ( besides his fans )?
We would do so with all appropriate force and rage. We would mobilize our forces in the Pacific, and it seems likely that Russia, Japan, and China would have our backs in an instant.
Diplomats have historically been inviolate in their host country; otherwise, if their safety could not be guaranteed, they wouldn’t go, and there would be no communications.
Kidnapping the President of the United States would be an act of war, and an action that would incur the wrath of the international community. Any country with a leader that insane should be prepared for a quick termination to their reign.
Hey Pete, what other Federal laws do you think should be ignored by “politicians who just want to govern in their own way”?
Well, the First Amendment, obviously. That’s the basis for everything that’s wrong in this country. Without the First Amendment, fake news would go away leaving Fox News as the only legitimate means of expression.
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How did “in their own way” become “in violation of law”?
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Oh, right. You need to make šhìŧ up to get to the conclusion you want to have. I should have realized.
Stephen Colbert:
As to his talks with Kim?
I figure the Great Negotiator is gonna come back without his pants.
http://www.gocomics.com/nickanderson/2018/03/10
Peter David: It has not yet been revealed where the meeting will take place, but if it happens in North Korea, Kim Jong-un would have the president of the United States exactly where he wants him. It doesn’t matter how much secret service protection he has; if a squad of armed soldiers surrounds him, the subsequent gun battle will not end well for the US. Trump could be taken prisoner or killed outright, and suddenly we’re in World War III.
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There is no way in Dante’s nine circles of Hëll that North Korea would ever be the meeting place. And if Trump were either taken prisoner or killed, Mike Pence would immediately become President, since Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment says that this occurs whenever the V.P. and a majority of either the Cabinet can declare that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. And if it did lead to World War III, it would likely be over soon, with most of the damaged contained in Asia. While Mike Pence may be a religious extremist, as well as a lying scumbag, he doesn’t even approach Trump’s ballpark for incompetence, so the remainder of that 2017 – 2020 Presidency would conclude with fall less tumult.
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Peter David: Let us keep in mind that Congress relentlessly went after Bill Clinton’s sex life for years, but they are standing behind someone who was banging a pørņ star while his wife was pregnant with their son.
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A minor point, but it was a few months after Melania had given birth to Barron, since Barron was born in March 2006, and the affair took place in the Summer of 2006, and took place at least partially during the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week”, which occurs the first week of August.
(Sources:
* https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-daniels/white-house-says-trump-won-arbitration-order-against-stormy-daniels-idUSKCN1GJ3BT
* https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/trump-mad-at-sarah-sanders-over-stormy-daniels-cnn-says.html)
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Peter David: How much greater damage this dumb-ášš move by Trump will accomplish is yet to be seen as other countries are swearing they will likewise implement tariffs on American goods.
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It gets worse. According to two White House officials, Trump imposed the sanctions because he was angry over Hope Hicks’ testimony to lawmakers investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, conduct by his embattled Jeff Sessions, and the treatment of Jared Kushner by Chief of Staff John Kelly, and was just gunning for a fight. He chose a trade war, spurred on by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro, the White House director for trade — and against longstanding advice from Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
(Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-was-angry-unglued-when-he-started-trade-war-officials-n852641)
Who’s afraid of the NRA?
Ran far away!
While in their pay!
Who’s afraid of the NRA?
Cowards one and all!
Every month its the same thing, “When is Chapter X being released for free.”