Donald Trump is the President Mark IV (Read Mod Warning in OP)

Gbear

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Why do you think most black people are offended when white people use the N word?

I think you'd need to specify which black people and which uses of the N word.

I don't automatically assume people are incapable of understanding context.

Quin_Dub

Can we move on from the "What word is offensive or not" discussion please

weisses

everlast75 wrote: »

Its very simple.

Black people find it offensive when white people say it.

So I don't say it.

I don't care if "they say it".

I know its offensive so I don't use it.

I can make it through life without saying it. I expect all white people could too.

I fully agree with this

But if the word itself is painful why would black people use it at all ? that's my whole point

White people using it then its a weapon .... black people using it it turns into a tool ....

Funny thing is when bringing this up Im labelled a troll .... the irony

kunst nugget

Gbear wrote: »

I'm baffled that people give a ****e either way.

It's one thing if someone threatens you and is using racist slurs in anger.

It's another if ye're having a laugh.

I'd want to be very comfortable with a black person to do race-based jokes with them given the capacity to offend, but the notion that it's some sort of moral dilemma is absurd hand-wringing nonsense.

Some people just take themselves far too seriously.

And the upshot of this is that you have people hiding behind "liberals" being **** craic as the reason they get annoyed when they make genuinely offensive racist comments or insults.

Which is exactly what will happen with Trump if the comments come out, as it has done for his previous offensive comments.
It's a lot easier to play the "locker room talk" card about being a pig when you have humourless self-important types kicking up a stink over nothing.

Labeling the trivial as offensive kills nuance.

Woah, woah there, Gbear. I'm not getting horribly offended by these jokes or needing smelling salts because an Irish person told an Irish joke. I just don't understand why you'd want to tell a joke that perpetuates a national stereotype about us being thick.

At least change it to a Kerryman joke because they are all genuinely dense.


But like everyone else here said, it's all about context.

everlast75

In accordance with the Mod's directions, leaving that discussion aside.....


Do ye think the Senate will buckle to pressure and postpone the hearing.

Momentum is on the side of putting it off

Igotadose

A good analysis of what the economy means to the President's popularity: summary: When the economy is bad, it's bad for the POTUS. When it's good, that doesn't really mean much. Quoting from the article: "
The conclusions are straightforward: A bad economy makes it especially difficult for a president to be popular. A better economy doesn’t produce popularity — it just makes it more achievable. And the Carville Dictum needs a simple revision: It’s the economy, stupid. Except when it ain’t."
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/407286-presidential-approval-its-the-economy-except-when-its-not

So, about the economy really won't fix Trump's popularity - he's still a racist misogynistic lazy stupid pig with no morals who fcuk's porn stars while his wife is recovering from childbirth (no wonder she sleeps in a separate bedroom, uggh porn stars.) Not one thing about the economy is going to fix that.

As far as foreign relations goes, a thawing between NK and SK is actually a good thing, and frankly might be due to Trump's kowtowing to Kim-Jun Ung. It's his only foreign policy positive event so far in his presidency.

Plus, again, there's enormous debt to be issued next month, just in time for the midterms. The tGOP are feverishly bloating the deficit in order to avoid shutdowns, in fact going beyond what they apparently agreed to at some point amongst themselves. Got to keep those gummint employees voting R. Though, the pay freeze Trump announced is probably not going over well.

And, another witch caught in the witch hunt, Michael Flynn, is now to be sentenced. SENTENCED. As in, "Yes, I committed a crime when I lied to the FBI about discussing sanctions with Russia during the Presidential transition period." Imagine, from one time putative NSC president an d a decorated lieutenant general, to a felon, in just a few months working with Trump. Great career move.
http://time.com/5399038/robert-mueller-michael-flynn-sentencing/

Trent Houseboat

It's possible that the economy is fixing Trumps approval, and that it would be far worse if he inherited a bad economy.
The stupid **** he's been doing might have seen someone tarred and feathered during a recession.

looksee

RIGOLO wrote: »

Its interesting that the anti-Trumpers are more concerned with a tape that no one even knows exists ..

than the real and substantive progress being made on a major geo political issue for the Asia-Pacific region and the stabilising of NK nucleaur program.

With one anti-Trumper even going so far as to imply Trump had nothing to do with the successfull NK-SK developments.

I think thats embarassing for the new liberal left.
It shows what their agenda really is, ie no real or geniune interest in issues, just get Trump.
I think the resistance is weakening, like a boxer who has tired themselves out by simply raining soft blows on a stronger opponent without ever having landed a KO, the left has punched itself out....

Dear Rigolo,

I am an anti-Trumper. I despise the man and am only too happy to find every possible way of putting him down. I don't care about the crumbs of things you can find to say he has done right, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

I don't much care about the Republican party, I don't have any respect for them but I don't get worked up about them, they are about on a par with the Fianna Fail party I remember from the 80s and 90s. In general though, even though they may be corrupt within the US the world moves on. The mere thought though that this obscene piece of rubbish that managed to get himself elected, with his petulant, self obsessed, lying behaviour, is someone that gets to make decisions that can affect the rest of the world gives me chills.

He is disgusting in every way and I would be very glad to see him gone. And at this stage I also despise anyone who supports him. Support the Reps if you wish, but for heaven's sake, see him for what he is.

Yours disgustedly etc

Igotadose

everlast75 wrote: »

In accordance with the Mod's directions, leaving that discussion aside.....


Do ye think the Senate will buckle to pressure and postpone the hearing.

Momentum is on the side of putting it off

I hope they don't - I'm hoping they have the hearing and the vote as soon as they can, and he's defeated. Hope is not a strategy, however. My logical mind says they'll postpone but somehow squeeze it in before the midterms so they can
1. Have a half-hearted, suborned investigation
2. "Prove" there was nothing there
3. Vote him in.

Despite Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas got in. Back then, the parties occasionally showed a tiny bit of concern for the country. Today, it's all about party and reelection, so I don't think they can stop Kavanaugh if he's put to a vote.

Manic Moran

I’m not sure why the FBI would investigate, it’s a local crime, not a federal one. Plus it’s long past the Statute of Limitations anyway. The time for police involvement is long past. [Edit. I see the FBI did investigate something similar with Clarence Thomas, so I guess there is precedent]

The practical reality is that at this date, nothing is likely to come out of an FBI investigation which won’t be said in a hearing. The GOP have offfered to allow her to appear before the panel in public or private session, which seems a reasonable compromise.

CNN is now calling this a game of chicken, and they are not exactly wrong.

Pelvis

Manic Moran wrote: »

I’m not sure why the FBI would investigate, it’s a local crime, not a federal one. Plus it’s long past the Statute of Limitations anyway. The time for police involvement is long past.

The practical reality is that at this date, nothing is likely to come out of an FBI investigation which won’t be said in a hearing. The GOP have offfered to allow her to appear before the panel in public or private session, which seems a reasonable compromise.

CNN is now calling this a game of chicken, and they are not exactly wrong.

It's not a criminal investigation, it's an investigation as part of Kavanaugh's background check.

You have no idea what might be said in the hearing. The FBI have the resources to investigate the accusation, speak to the accused and accuser, her husband, her therapist, Mark Judge, and potentially others that may have been at the party. Once all the facts are gathered, the committee is in a better position to question both parties.

mcmoustache

Trump believes that he should have fired Comey when he won the Primaries. I'm not exactly sure how that works.

“If I did one mistake with Comey, I should have fired him before I got here. I should have fired him the day I won the primaries,” the president said. “I should have fired him right after the convention, say I don’t want that guy.”

I know he says a lot of things that give away his stupidity but this one is particularly dumb. I hope some journo asks SHS about it.

Penn

FBI and DOJ likely to defy Trump's request to declassify all the documents/texts and still redact some of the information for national security reasons

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/fbi-doj-said-to-plan-redactions-despite-trump-s-document-order?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social

President Donald Trump has demanded the “immediate declassification” of sensitive materials about the Russia investigation, but the agencies responsible are expected to propose redactions that would keep some information secret, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are going through a methodical review and can’t offer a timeline for finishing, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive matter.

.....

The Justice Department and FBI are expected to submit their documents and proposed redactions to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which will assemble all the material into a package and hand it over to the White House, according to the people.

While the agencies want to guard against revealing classified sources and methods about the ongoing Russia investigation, doing so could put them in direct conflict with Trump, who as president has the power to override the agencies and declassify material on his own.

Professor Moriarty

mcmoustache wrote: »

Trump believes that he should have fired Comey when he won the Primaries. I'm not exactly sure how that works.



I know he says a lot of things that give away his stupidity but this one is particularly dumb. I hope some journo asks SHS about it.

It neatly sums up everything you need to know about The Donald. Arrogance, stupidity and ignorance.

mcmoustache

Penn wrote: »

FBI and DOJ likely to defy Trump's request to declassify all the documents/texts and still redact some of the information for national security reasons

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/fbi-doj-said-to-plan-redactions-despite-trump-s-document-order?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social

That makes a lot of sense.

Intelligence agencies know how important it is to keep sources and methods under wraps. When methods get revealed, they become less useful as targets can counteract them. When sources get revealed, even worse things happen - sources go dark and new ones would rightfully be reluctant if there's a chance that their cover will be blown.

It seems to already be happening to sources in Russia and it's very understandable - why would a spy in Russia help the US if there's a chance of it getting back to Putin? This means that the US has less of a clue about what's going on in that part of the world.

But hey, tax cuts, amirite?

Quin_Dub

Trump continues his assault on Jeff Sessions

Trump on Sessions: 'I don't have an attorney general'

"I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad," Mr Trump said during Tuesday's interview.

He added that he was "very disappointed" about Mr Sessions' decision to leave the investigation.

Asked whether he would consider firing Mr Sessions, the president responded: "We'll see what happens. A lot of people have asked me to do that.

"And I guess I study history, and I say I just want to leave things alone, but it was very unfair what he did [in recusing himself from the Russia investigation]."

Mr Trump also told Hill.TV that he was "not happy" with Mr Sessions on immigration and other issues, and said the attorney general had performed "very poorly" during the nomination process for the post.

"I mean, he was mixed up and confused, and people that worked with him for, you know, a long time in the Senate were not nice to him, but he was giving very confusing answers," he said.

"Answers that should have been easily answered. And that was a rough time for him."

No idea what the "I study history" bit is about (aside from it clearly not being true) as it is utterly irrelevant and out of context , but that is par for the course in his statements I guess.

Penn

Quin_Dub wrote: »

No idea what the "I study history" bit is about (aside from it clearly not being true) as it is utterly irrelevant and out of context , but that is par for the course in his statements I guess.

Probably referencing the Saturday Night Massacre, where Nixon ordered his AG to fire the special prosecutor regarding Watergate. His AG refused and resigned, so Nixon ordered his Deputy to do it, but he resigned too, then he ordered the next guy in line to do it and he did. But the political and public fallout for it was severe, eventually leading to Nixon's resignation.

If Trump fired Sessions, he'd then have to fire Rosenstein too, then appoint someone to fire Mueller and end the special counsel. It'd be the same as what Nixon did. So I guess he means he wants to leave things alone and not fire anyone because of what happened Nixon, but Trump is still showing he'll do it if he thinks he can get away with it.

It's probably the only sliver of history Trump is interested in right now; "How to shut down an investigation into my crimes and still be able to be President"

weisses

everlast75 wrote: »

In accordance with the Mod's directions, leaving that discussion aside.....


Do ye think the Senate will buckle to pressure and postpone the hearing.

Momentum is on the side of putting it off

Chris Cuomo had a very sensible discussion with Michael Moore about it on CNN

everlast75

If what is posted here is true, that the intelligence community can refuse the request to reclassify, then i suspect trump will use that to fire who he wants to

Itssoeasy

Penn wrote: »

Probably referencing the Saturday Night Massacre, where Nixon ordered his AG to fire the special prosecutor regarding Watergate. His AG refused and resigned, so Nixon ordered his Deputy to do it, but he resigned too, then he ordered the next guy in line to do it and he did. But the political and public fallout for it was severe, eventually leading to Nixon's resignation.

If Trump fired Sessions, he'd then have to fire Rosenstein too, then appoint someone to fire Mueller and end the special counsel. It'd be the same as what Nixon did. So I guess he means he wants to leave things alone and not fire anyone because of what happened Nixon, but Trump is still showing he'll do it if he thinks he can get away with it.

It's probably the only sliver of history Trump is interested in right now; "How to shut down an investigation into my crimes and still be able to be President"

For a guy who says the Russia probe is a hoax he is doing all he can to have people think otherwise.

An interesting connection to the nixon AG refusing to fire the special counsel, the acting AG who actually carried out the order from Nixon was one Robert Bork who was nominated for the Supreme Court by Reagan and was rejected. The person eventually confirmed was Anthony Kennedy who Bret Kavanagh is trying to succeed. I found it interesting anyway.

jobbridge4life

Itssoeasy wrote: »

For a guy who says the Russia probe is a hoax he is doing all he can to have people think otherwise.

An interesting connection to the nixon AG refusing to fire the special counsel, the acting AG who actually carried out the order from Nixon was one Robert Bork who was nominated for the Supreme Court by Reagan and was rejected. The person eventually confirmed was Anthony Kennedy who Bret Kavanagh is trying to succeed. I found it interesting anyway.

It is interesting and goes to show how incestuous that world is.

Itssoeasy

jobbridge4life wrote: »

It is interesting and goes to show how incestuous that world is.

It kind of does a bit.

mcmoustache

weisses wrote: »

Chris Cuomo had a very sensible discussion with Michael Moore about it on CNN

A bit off-topic but I can't stand Michael Moore. He has always struck me as a self-serving shyster.

Hande hoche!

Assume the furor over the Fisa documents will be similar to the various memos (which seems an eternity ago). That it will be presented as as gravely damaging to the security apparatus/ a necessary instance to prevent government over reach. Then if they come out, won't be anything ground breaking.

pixelburp

mcmoustache wrote: »

A bit off-topic but I can't stand Michael Moore. He has always struck me as a self-serving shyster.

When I was in college Michael Moore seemed an enticing anti establishment figure. Now he just comes off like a leftwing Tucker Carlson. Well, maybe not THAT bad, but no less credible than the typical demagogue on the right. His presence in any dialogue is unwelcome IMO, politics is partisan enough already.

spacecoyote

mcmoustache wrote: »

Trump believes that he should have fired Comey when he won the Primaries. I'm not exactly sure how that works.



I know he says a lot of things that give away his stupidity but this one is particularly dumb. I hope some journo asks SHS about it.

I actually think I understand what he was trying to say...

If he had declared after the primaries that he thought Comey was dodgy & would fire him if he became president then no one would have thought anything really of it when he did & replaced him with his own pick.

He's an idiot though so incapable of articulating a coherent thought

On the flipside of it though, he likely wouldn't have gotten that helping hand of the announcement that HC was being investigated by the FBI in the closing run-in to the election which was a big help for him if he'd been threatening Comey pre-election

Pelvis

There's been some corroboration on the Kavanaugh assault allegation, with a schoolmate of the accuser, though not a friend, claiming on Facebook she remembers talk of the incident at the time.

The post was deleted, she could be just a spoofer, but all the more reason for the FBI to get involved.

demfad

spacecoyote wrote: »

I actually think I understand what he was trying to say...

If he had declared after the primaries that he thought Comey was dodgy & would fire him if he became president then no one would have thought anything really of it when he did & replaced him with his own pick.

He's an idiot though so incapable of articulating a coherent thought

On the flipside of it though, he likely wouldn't have gotten that helping hand of the announcement that HC was being investigated by the FBI in the closing run-in to the election which was a big help for him if he'd been threatening Comey pre-election

Trump would have fired whomever the FBI director was at the time assuming the FBI director did not become a shill for Trump. That was the issue: Comey would not declare loyalty to Trump and would not drop the investigation.

aloyisious

RIGOLO wrote: »

Another great success for the Trump Administration Foreign policy.

And to think we had to listen to all the anti-Trumpers say he had been played for a fool and he got nothing out of the first meeting.
Its a peace negotiation, play the long game.

A historic milestone in bringing North Korea in from the cold.
The second day of a 3 day summit, which is the 3rd summit of hte year.
Signing an agreement which will lead to further dismantling of the NK nuclear facilities.

North and South Korea commit to 'era of no war'
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/18/asia/north-korea-south-korea-summit-intl/index.html

The two countries also pledged to:
Submit a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Create rail and road links between North and South within the next year.
Stop military drills aimed at each other along the Military Demarcation Line, which divides the two countries, by November 1.
Remove 11 guard posts in the demilitarized zone by the end of the year.
Normalize the Kaesong Industrial complex and Kumgang tourism project as soon as the conditions allow.

I dont expect the anti-Trumpers to give the administration credit for this, no surprise there.

Trump Administration continues its march forward, America booming , trade imbalance being addressed and foreign policy bringing NK to the table... all huge wins and message for the GOP candidates come the mid-terms.

With things going so swimmingly-well, maybe Don will instruct his Sec/State to visit Korea and bring him back a 1st hand report on how things are there then.

Captain Obvious

RIGOLO wrote: »

Its interesting that the anti-Trumpers are more concerned with a tape that no one even knows exists ..

than the real and substantive progress being made on a major geo political issue for the Asia-Pacific region and the stabilising of NK nucleaur program.

With one anti-Trumper even going so far as to imply Trump had nothing to do with the successfull NK-SK developments.

I think thats embarassing for the new liberal left.
It shows what their agenda really is, ie no real or geniune interest in issues, just get Trump.
I think the resistance is weakening, like a boxer who has tired themselves out by simply raining soft blows on a stronger opponent without ever having landed a KO, the left has punched itself out....

Where would anyone have gotten the idea that Trump's NK strategy wasn't working?

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula