President Donald Trump: The Thread

[Steve9347]

Keystone Pipeline to create 35 new permanent jobs.

 

"The pipeline in question will create a minimum of 18,000 new and permanent jobs." - Sean Spicer

 

The keystone pipeline will actually destroy jobs as oil normally shipped by rail is switched to transport by pipeline.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Steve9347

[BigSqwert]

If he's building a 30 foot high wall, invest in 31 foot ladders.

Or a few good shovels to dig a tunnel beneath it.

[StrangeSox]

This is worth sharing again.

 

"What the Nazis were doing was not describing what was true, but what would have to be true to justify what they planned to do next."

 

Elliott Lusztig on twitter (@ezlusztig):

Hannah Arendt in her book The Origin of Totalitarianism provides a helpful guide for interpreting the language of fascists.

She noted how decent liberals of 1930s Germany would "fact check" the Nazis' bizarre claims about Jews like they were meant to be factual

What they failed to understand, Arendt suggests, is that the Nazi Jew hating was not a statement of fact but a declaration of intent.

So when someone would blame the Jews for Germany's defeat in WW1 naive people would counter by saying there's no evidence of that.

What the Nazis were doing was not describing what was true, but what would have to be true to justify what they planned to do next.

Did 3 million "illegals" cast votes in this election? Clearly not. But fact checking is just a way of playing along with their game.

What Trump is saying is not that 3m illegals voted. What he's saying is: I'm going to steal the voting rights of millions of Americans.

[Steve9347]

DAVID MUIR: When you say "in your opinion" and "millions of illegal votes"—that is something that is extremely fundamental to our functioning democracy, a fair and free election. Now, what you have presented so far has been debunked. It has been called false—

 

TRUMP: Take a look at the Pew reports—

 

MUIR: I called the author of the Pew report last night and he told me that they found no evidence of voter fraud.

 

TRUMP: Really? Then why did he write the report?

 

MUIR: He said, "No evidence of voter fraud."

 

TRUMP: Excuse me. Then why did he write the report? He’s groveling. You know, I always talk about the reporters that grovel when they want to write something that you want to hear but not necessarily millions of people want to hear, or have to hear.

 

TRUMP: I will say this: of those votes cast, none of them come to me. They would all be for the other side. None of them come to me. But when you look at the people that are registered, dead, illegal, and two states, and some cases maybe three states? We have a lot to look into.

[Steve9347]

This is worth sharing again.

 

"What the Nazis were doing was not describing what was true, but what would have to be true to justify what they planned to do next."

 

Elliott Lusztig on twitter (@ezlusztig):

Hannah Arendt in her book The Origin of Totalitarianism provides a helpful guide for interpreting the language of fascists.

She noted how decent liberals of 1930s Germany would "fact check" the Nazis' bizarre claims about Jews like they were meant to be factual

What they failed to understand, Arendt suggests, is that the Nazi Jew hating was not a statement of fact but a declaration of intent.

So when someone would blame the Jews for Germany's defeat in WW1 naive people would counter by saying there's no evidence of that.

What the Nazis were doing was not describing what was true, but what would have to be true to justify what they planned to do next.

Did 3 million "illegals" cast votes in this election? Clearly not. But fact checking is just a way of playing along with their game.

What Trump is saying is not that 3m illegals voted. What he's saying is: I'm going to steal the voting rights of millions of Americans.

But I have no idea what we can do to combat this other than start shooting rockets at the White House.

 

Dear Internet, I am not proposing that anyone shoot rockets at the White House. I believe President Trump to be a great and honorable man. I will go quietly when the black cars arrive here in 15 minutes.

 

But in seriousness, what can a caring citizen of the United States do other than place phone calls and send emails?

Edited January 26, 2017 by Steve9347

[Reddy]

But I have no idea what we can do to combat this other than start shooting rockets at the White House.

 

Dear Internet, I am not proposing that anyone shoot rockets at the White House. I believe President Trump to be a great and honorable man. I will go quietly when the black cars arrive here in 15 minutes.

 

But in seriousness, what can a caring citizen of the United States do other than place phone calls and send emails?

March. I'm not kidding. I know many think it's a waste of time and energy, but I think John Lewis may disagree. And it gets deep under Trump's skin. The more we piss him off and the more unstable he gets, the more likely he is to do something so ridiculous that he'll have to be impeached - or not - in which case things get reeeeally fun.

 

Beyond that, support lobbyist organizations like the ACLU and the Sierra Club, divest from big banks, refuse to spend your money on products that benefit Trump and the Kochs. Our greatest voice is the way we spend our money.

 

Join up with local organizations and volunteer, organize, support local candidates for school board and town council, etc etc etc.

 

There are so many ways we can be a part of the revolution.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Reddy

[BigSqwert]

But I have no idea what we can do to combat this other than start shooting rockets at the White House.

 

Dear Internet, I am not proposing that anyone shoot rockets at the White House. I believe President Drumpf to be a great and honorable man. I will go quietly when the black cars arrive here in 15 minutes.

 

But in seriousness, what can a caring citizen of the United States do other than place phone calls and send emails?

 

Continue calling your representatives, protest, and support organizations like the ACLU.

[StrangeSox]

Keep pressure on your representatives and senators. A few thousand calls out of millions of people can be enough to influence their votes and positions.

 

I posted a link in the dem thread, but find local organizations and do what you can to help build grassroots movements. I know I've been too passive myself.

 

Find out what campaigns you can volunteer for once the 2018 elections ramp up even if they're not your district, and don't forget about local elections coming this April.

 

 

[BigSqwert]

How come Anonymous or others can't hack into his files and release his taxes. He's probably dumb enough to have it on an unsecure personal laptop.

[Reddy]

Keep pressure on your representatives and senators. A few thousand calls out of millions of people can be enough to influence their votes and positions.

 

I posted a link in the dem thread, but find local organizations and do what you can to help build grassroots movements. I know I've been too passive myself.

 

Find out what campaigns you can volunteer for once the 2018 elections ramp up even if they're not your district, and don't forget about local elections coming this April.

This

[Reddy]

How come Anonymous or others can't hack into his files and release his taxes. He's probably dumb enough to have it on an unsecure personal laptop.

They're working on it. Wikileaks is on it, too.

[BigSqwert]

I just moved all of my funds from Chase bank to a local credit union, including me and my wife's retirement funds.

 

EdIt for context: There's a grassroots push to have people move their money from traditional banks (who are involved in the Dakota Access Pipeline) to credit unions.

 

If you decide to do the same, make sure to let them know why you are making the switch.

Edited January 26, 2017 by BigSqwert

[Reddy]

I just moved all of my funds from Chase bank to a local credit union, including me and my wife's retirement funds.

[illinilaw08]

I haven't responded to most of the individual Holy s*** moments of this young Presidency. But I have to say, this story hit me hard. The combination of outright racism, lack of either honesty or memory (or both - scary either way), and the fact that he's driving policy based on 2nd hand anecdotes... somehow this particular vignette delivered it a little stronger. None are a surprise - just this was a striking illustration.

 

To me, the fear is that, unless the Republicans in Congress stand up to this behavior early, there's a risk of normalizing Trump's behavior. If he's signing an Executive Order to publish all crimes committed by immigrants, or chasing voter fraud based on a second hand, racist, anecdote from a German friend of his, and that's the baseline of his behavior, anything that falls below that level of crazy seems reasonable by comparison.

 

The Democrats can't do anything (other than use the filibuster) to stop Trump's agenda. Some Republicans in the Senate are going to have show the world that moderate Republicans still exist.

[BigSqwert]

The train wreck continues.

 

The State Department’s entire senior management team just resigned

[LittleHurt05]

How come Anonymous or others can't hack into his files and release his taxes. He's probably dumb enough to have it on an unsecure personal laptop.

 

I'm surprised there never was an IRS whistleblower who released them. Now it's probably too late for that though.

[Reddy]

To me, the fear is that, unless the Republicans in Congress stand up to this behavior early, there's a risk of normalizing Trump's behavior. If he's signing an Executive Order to publish all crimes committed by immigrants, or chasing voter fraud based on a second hand, racist, anecdote from a German friend of his, and that's the baseline of his behavior, anything that falls below that level of crazy seems reasonable by comparison.

 

The Democrats can't do anything (other than use the filibuster) to stop Trump's agenda. Some Republicans in the Senate are going to have show the world that moderate Republicans still exist.

any actual legislation requires 60 votes.

[LittleHurt05]

Is there any way to veto or reverse an executive order? Do Congress or the Supreme Court have any power against them? The orders seem to override everything we learned about checks and balances as kids.

[NorthSideSox72]

any actual legislation requires 60 votes.

 

That's the good news.

 

Is there any way to veto or reverse an executive order? Do Congress or the Supreme Court have any power against them? The orders seem to override everything we learned about checks and balances as kids.

 

Legislature can override an EO with legislation, but getting things through Congress that would go against a same-party President is unlikely.

 

If the EO is actually illegal (like the whole torture thing for example) or unconstitutional, it can be challenged in court.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

By the way, all the marching and yelling is good, but if you want to get the most bang for your buck, it's three simple things:

 

1. Get involved in community organzations

2. Vote

3. RUN FOR OFFICE

 

I mean, look at the candidates being run out there. Look at the 2016 Illinois House and Senate races - in half of them, someone ran unopposed. Seriously - in a state that is the massive fiscal disaster that Illinois is, neither party can find enough candidates to run for the f***ing Congressional seats!

 

[Reddy]

By the way, all the marching and yelling is good, but if you want to get the most bang for your buck, it's three simple things:

 

1. Get involved in community organzations

2. Vote

3. RUN FOR OFFICE

 

I mean, look at the candidates being run out there. Look at the 2016 Illinois House and Senate races - in half of them, someone ran unopposed. Seriously - in a state that is the massive fiscal disaster that Illinois is, neither party can find enough candidates to run for the f***ing Congressional seats!

 

Agreed. And yeah, that Indivisible site is an amazing resource. Forget who posted it, but it bears repeating:

 

Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda

 

 

[StrangeSox]

Filibuster only lasts as long as the majority wants it to. Individual senators are loathe to give up that power, but it could happen. Democrats did it for certain appointments after Republicans refused to even consider any for a couple of years under Obama. Ultimately it's another undemocratic veto point in an already undemocratic body so I'm not a fan ideologically, but as long as it's there they need to use it every bit as much as the Republicans did while in opposition if not more.

 

Republicans, conservatives and moderates who might not be fans of Democrats but may be troubled by specific actions that trump and the Republican Congress are taking need to contact their representatives, too.

[Chisoxfn]

To me, the fear is that, unless the Republicans in Congress stand up to this behavior early, there's a risk of normalizing Trump's behavior. If he's signing an Executive Order to publish all crimes committed by immigrants, or chasing voter fraud based on a second hand, racist, anecdote from a German friend of his, and that's the baseline of his behavior, anything that falls below that level of crazy seems reasonable by comparison.

 

The Democrats can't do anything (other than use the filibuster) to stop Trump's agenda. Some Republicans in the Senate are going to have show the world that moderate Republicans still exist.

This is terrifying...unless of course his list is inclusive of all immigrants, including people who immigrated hundreds of years ago...thus basically including everyone. I mean...is my daughter an immigrant...my wife (first generation born here). Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Even if you just came across...I still find it disgusting. So depressing that this clown is president.

[CrimsonWeltall]

I mean...is my daughter an immigrant...my wife (first generation born here).

 

Depends. How Mexican and/or Muslim are they?

[Soxbadger]

You guys are some cry baby b****es. It's funny reading all these posts. Obama f***ed this country up more than words can describe, yet you little girls are crying and it's only been 5 days for my man Trump to be in office? Gonna be a long 8 years for you ladies.

 

BUT IT WAS A DAMN GOOD POST.