President Donald Trump: The Thread

[Balta1701]

@yashar

POTUS signed an order this afternoon which removed the Director of National Intelligence from National Security Council + added Steve Bannon

 

Congrats. Our Joint Chiefs now have an anti semite.

[Soxbadger]

Once again...PLEASE someone defend all this.

 

No one will. They will remain silent. Just like when they are asked about how can they be against free trade. They will just bring up some random topic or they will remain silent.

 

They arent fighters, they are cowards.

[Reddy]

I. f***ING. LOVE. THIS. FIGHT.

 

New York is making me fall in love with it all over again. Punchin' Nazis on the daily. Nothing better than that.

[Balta1701]

I. f***ING. LOVE. THIS. FIGHT.

 

New York is making me fall in love with it all over again. Punchin' Nazis on the daily. Nothing better than that.

I hate this fight.

 

We won this decades ago. Americans decided to be better than this. Then the Republican Party decided they weren't. And I'm still waiting for them to say that this isn't them.

 

Remember that whole "Muslims don't deserve the right to religion if it's in lower Manhattan" gag from the 2010 election? Congrats Republicans. Stand up! Tell us how religious freedom is only fine as long as you are a certain religion. Here's what you stood up for over YEARS. Where are the comments to support this? They're ISLALMIC. Sure my friend models Moon formation, but HE MIGHT BE EVIL HE'S FROM AN EVIL RELIGION LOOK AT HIS NON WHITE FACE. Tell me why he should be blocked from this country. I'm waiting. If he went to NEW YORK he'd be EVIL.

 

I don't want this fight. We shouldn't be fighting that certain religions or facial features are worse than others. I shouldn't be sitting here wondering why "Congress should be making laws prohibiting certain religions" is a thing. We figured out this before we figured out slavery. But it is.

 

I can debate whether or not Americans should provide health insurance for the lowest 10% of its income brackets. I can debate 20% versus 27% federal tax rates. I can debate corporate tax reform.

 

I do not love any fight over whether or not Americans should jail people because they come from the wrong county. I do not love any fight over whether or not we are letting the wrong people into this country because of their birth. This is a fight WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER REACHED AND YOU ALLOWED IT FOR YEARS.

[Reddy]

I hate this fight.

 

We won this decades ago. Americans decided to be better than this. Then the Republican Party decided they weren't. And I'm still waiting for them to say that this isn't them.

 

Remember that whole "Muslims don't deserve the right to religion if it's in lower Manhattan" gag from the 2010 election? Congrats Republicans. Stand up! Tell us how religious freedom is only fine as long as you are a certain religion. Here's what you stood up for over YEARS. Where are the comments to support this? They're ISLALMIC. Sure my friend models Moon formation, but HE MIGHT BE EVIL HE'S FROM AN EVIL RELIGION LOOK AT HIS NON WHITE FACE. Tell me why he should be blocked from this country. I'm waiting. If he went to NEW YORK he'd be EVIL.

 

I don't want this fight. We shouldn't be fighting that certain religions or facial features are worse than others. I shouldn't be sitting here wondering why "Congress should be making laws prohibiting certain religions" is a thing. We figured out this before we figured out slavery. But it is.

 

I hear you. I get it. But here's what's great about this fight:

 

Everything we're fighting now has always been there. It never went away. We closed the curtains, and swept it under the rug, but it has always, always been there. Now, with the rise of Trumpism, the curtains have been flung open, and there's NOTHING hidden anymore. We see half of America for what it is, and what it has always been. The beauty of that is that now we can kill it - or at least have the weight of the free world come crashing down on top of it. I truly don't think these policies stay in place. I don't think Trump succeeds. He's mobilizing an army to stand up against him in a way I've never seen or read about in books.

 

There's potential that our generation gets to be the one that smashes fascist authoritarianism once and for all, and that, to me, is exciting. (Plus, having this mindset helps me fight harder without getting heartbroken, overwhelmed or exhausted)

[Soxbadger]

I hate this fight.

 

We won this decades ago. Americans decided to be better than this. Then the Republican Party decided they weren't. And I'm still waiting for them to say that this isn't them.

 

Remember that whole "Muslims don't deserve the right to religion if it's in lower Manhattan" gag from the 2010 election? Congrats Republicans. Stand up! Tell us how religious freedom is only fine as long as you are a certain religion. Here's what you stood up for over YEARS. Where are the comments to support this? They're ISLALMIC. Sure my friend models Moon formation, but HE MIGHT BE EVIL HE'S FROM AN EVIL RELIGION LOOK AT HIS NON WHITE FACE. Tell me why he should be blocked from this country. I'm waiting. If he went to NEW YORK he'd be EVIL.

 

I don't want this fight. We shouldn't be fighting that certain religions or facial features are worse than others. I shouldn't be sitting here wondering why "Congress should be making laws prohibiting certain religions" is a thing. We figured out this before we figured out slavery. But it is.

 

I can debate whether or not Americans should provide health insurance for the lowest 10% of its income brackets. I can debate 20% versus 27% federal tax rates. I can debate corporate tax reform.

 

I do not love any fight over whether or not Americans should jail people because they come from the wrong county. I do not love any fight over whether or not we are letting the wrong people into this country because of their birth. This is a fight WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER REACHED AND YOU ALLOWED IT FOR YEARS.

 

I wish it never came to this. In a perfect world every person in the US would realize that they were once the "other" the person that someone else kept out. And that they would understand we are only here because someone else fought for "others".

 

But if we have to fight, I will fight.

 

And I will remember, I will remember every person who ever said they supported the Republican party, every person who was silent. And most likely, I will end up banned from this site, because the kid gloves are off and I will be everywhere. No more sympathy when they whine.

[Balta1701]

Goodnight.

[Soxbadger]

Balta,

 

Republican's are Soviets. They have more in common with Stalin than Reagan.

 

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

 

Mr. Gorbachev, BUILD THAT WALL!!!

[Balta1701]

Mr. Gorbachev, BUILD THAT WALL!!!

A former head of one of the Mexican Communications directorates replied to a tweet by the Israeli Prime Minister praising wall construction, with pictures of the walls at Bergen-Belsen.

 

A classic example of walls working.

[Chicago White Sox]

I hear you. I get it. But here's what's great about this fight:

 

Everything we're fighting now has always been there. It never went away. We closed the curtains, and swept it under the rug, but it has always, always been there. Now, with the rise of Trumpism, the curtains have been flung open, and there's NOTHING hidden anymore. We see half of America for what it is, and what it has always been. The beauty of that is that now we can kill it - or at least have the weight of the free world come crashing down on top of it. I truly don't think these policies stay in place. I don't think Trump succeeds. He's mobilizing an army to stand up against him in a way I've never seen or read about in books.

 

There's potential that our generation gets to be the one that smashes fascist authoritarianism once and for all, and that, to me, is exciting. (Plus, having this mindset helps me fight harder without getting heartbroken, overwhelmed or exhausted)

Dude, there is nothing good about this, nothing at all. I get your Mr. Activist around here, but your general line of thinking is absolute insanity to me.

[BigSqwert]

Multiple nation-wide protests and marches already and it's only been 8 days with many more on the way. This is unprecedented.

[caulfield12]

https://www.crowdrise.com/donating-to-syria...draiser/kalpenn

 

Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar, Designated Survivor) has already raised over $160k since yesterday in the name of fighting Steve Bannon and this random internet tool who tweeted to Penn (who's Indian-American) "you don't belong in this country you fuc*ing joke."

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kal-pe...4b017637794bb0c

 

 

Victoria (Texas) mosque burned down early Sat morning....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-mosque-des...-161902098.html

 

VICTORIA, Texas (AP) — An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago.

 

A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. and called the fire department.

 

"It's sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge," Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic center's president, said. "It looks completely destroyed."

Edited January 29, 2017 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

President* Donald Trump shook up the organization of his National Security Council meetings, Time Magazine White House correspondent Zeke Miller reported, Saturday. The change effectively placed Breitbart editor, spiritual leader of the Alt-Right movement, and Trump’s chief propagandist and political adviser, Stephen Bannon, onto a permanent position in National Security Council meetings. The executive order outlined who would be on the “Principals Committee” or the PC of the NSC. The memo included “the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist,” who is Bannon. It strangely did not include the Director of National Intelligence, or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 

The Committee will be Chaired by the National Security Adviser, who is Mike Flynn, a man under investigation for his links to Russia, and for calling Russian officials 5 times the day President Barack Obama ordered several Russian officials to leave the country in retaliation for Russia’s hacking of the DNC.

 

Miller compared the arrangement to the arrangement of the NSC under President Obama, which included all the principals of national security, including the DNI and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but did not include any political advisers.

 

 

 

http://reverbpress.com/politics/trump-adds...n-joint-chiefs/

[Quin]

@yashar

POTUS signed an order this afternoon which removed the Director of National Intelligence from National Security Council + added Steve Bannon

 

Congrats. Our Joint Chiefs now have an anti semite.

 

I would also like to see anyone defend this.

[pettie4sox]

I was at O'hare tonight and that protest was intense. I was working but I felt the passion for justice the people exerted.

Edited January 29, 2017 by KagakuOtoko

[Steve9347]

How can the average American man help the legal system? Donate to the ACLU? Pay legal fees for immigrants? Just curious.

Donate, place calls, get involved, etc.

 

I'm joining a group on Tuesday night whose plan is to write thousands of post cards for delivery to certain offices. Do what we can, I guess.

[RockRaines]

We've gotten in a time machine and gone back 50 years. I'm shocked at what's going on here. It's very reminiscent of the first stages of the nazi party.

[caulfield12]

We've gotten in a time machine and gone back 50 years. I'm shocked at what's going on here. It's very reminiscent of the first stages of the nazi party.

 

Well, that would be the height of the Civil Rights movement...moving to the Vietnam protests, riots all across the country in 1967-68, calamitous Democratic National Convention in Chicago w/ Daley, assasinations of MLK and JFK. Then the abrupt change from JFK/LBJ to Nixon.

 

The better parallels are the America First/Lindbergh movement and McCarthyism.

 

 

Executive Disorder...Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban...White House overruled DHS, everyone unclear or not notified until the day of the EO

 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/don...-ban/index.html

 

 

Trump's unilateral moves, which have drawn the ire of human rights groups and prompted protests at US airports, reflect the President's desire to quickly make good on his campaign promises. But they also encapsulate the pitfalls of an administration largely operated by officials with scant federal experience.

 

It wasn't until Friday -- the day Trump signed the order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspending all refugee admission for 120 days -- that career homeland security staff were allowed to see the final details of the order, a person familiar with the matter said.

 

The result was widespread confusion across the country on Saturday as airports struggled to adjust to the new directives. In New York, two Iraqi nationals sued the federal government after they were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and 10 others were detained as well.

 

In Philadelphia, a Syrian family of six who had a visa through a family connection in the US was placed on a return flight to Doha, Qatar, and Department of Homeland Security officials said others who were in the air would be detained upon arrival and put back on a plane to their home country.

 

 

The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas, and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance, according to numerous officials who spoke to CNN on Saturday.

 

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Department of Homeland Security leadership saw the final details shortly before the order was finalized, government officials said.

 

Friday night, DHS arrived at the legal interpretation that the executive order restrictions applying to seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen -- did not apply to people with lawful permanent residence, generally referred to as green card holders.

Edited January 29, 2017 by caulfield12

[Reddy]

Dude, there is nothing good about this, nothing at all. I get your Mr. Activist around here, but your general line of thinking is absolute insanity to me.

I appreciate your viewpoint, and disagree. The progressive movement has never been more unified than it is right now. A common enemy makes us stronger, and all but guarantees that we will win. It may get worse - a lot worse - before it gets better, but I believe it will if we all stand and do our part.

 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

 

 

[Reddy]

I wish it never came to this. In a perfect world every person in the US would realize that they were once the "other" the person that someone else kept out. And that they would understand we are only here because someone else fought for "others".

 

But if we have to fight, I will fight.

 

And I will remember, I will remember every person who ever said they supported the Republican party, every person who was silent. And most likely, I will end up banned from this site, because the kid gloves are off and I will be everywhere. No more sympathy when they whine.

 

 

[Reddy]

Donate, place calls, get involved, etc.

 

I'm joining a group on Tuesday night whose plan is to write thousands of post cards for delivery to certain offices. Do what we can, I guess.

 

Supporting the ACLU, protesting (because it really does piss Trump off) and divesting from big banks may be our best weapons.

[NorthSideSox72]

 

Ditto goes for the Congresspeople but they're just confirming my opinion at this point.

Not sure if this refers to me, as I've voted more R's than D's over the years, but... pretty sure you and I are friends on FB, and you are welcome to see what I said there in the past few days.

 

This whole thing is abjectly disgusting. Glad a court put a stay on part of it, and hopefully we can slam the rest of it right back up Bannon's ass next week.

 

I am seeing quite a few Republican politicians put words against it. What should happen though, is they legislate it away - something they absolutely have the power to do, if they choose to.

 

[caulfield12]

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/about/leaders...nce-integration

 

With Clapper out, the two principal positions are unfilled currently. Michael Dempsey is acting DNI. With someone as experienced as Dan Coats in the Senate (and w/ foreigm relations), you'd think they are just waiting for his confirmation?

 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Dunford

Dunford was expected to stay on as JCS head, and has worked closely with Mattis at different points in his career.

 

 

But that won’t be true. In fact, Mattis’ anti-Iran animus and his often over-the-top description of its “malign influence” places him at odds with a number of officers on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff—most notably, with Joseph “Fighting Joe” Dunford, the current Joint Chiefs chairman, who also happened to be chief of staff to Mattis when Mattis was the commander of the 1st Marine Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

To have a smooth operation at the Pentagon, “Fighting Joe” will have to get along with a man he once saluted—and Mattis will have to respect Dunford’s role as the president’s chief military adviser, even when the two disagree on key military questions. The two are not only friends, they also fought side by side in the same war, but the issue seems in doubt—and the doubt starts with whether Iran is the threat that Mattis thinks it is.

 

Somewhere in Fighting Joe’s office is a thick volume labeled “National Military Strategy.” While the document has not been finalized, it details the military’s thinking on the threats facing the U.S., and how the military plans to respond to them. The most important part of the NMS is its five-part “Annex,” which lists what the U.S. military, and Dunford, believes are America’s greatest threats, what several senior military officers recently described to me as “the four-plus-one”: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and (the “plus one”), “VEOs”—violent extremist organizations.

 

The NMS contradicts Mattis’ worldview. The gravest threat to America, according to the document, is not “Iran, Iran, Iran,” but “Russia, Russia, Russia.” Dunford has emphasized this in public testimony, but not without some disagreement among his top officers, who head up the powerful Joint Staff, a military headquarters that provides the JCS chairman with strategic direction. Select Joint Staff officers, I was recently told by a ranking senior member of the staff, have pointed out to Dunford that while Russia remains the most dangerous threat to the U.S. (because of its nuclear arsenal) it is not the most likely threat. The most likely threats are the VEOs—like ISIS. Iran comes in at Number 3.

Edited January 29, 2017 by caulfield12

[RockRaines]

Not sure if this refers to me, as I've voted more R's than D's over the years, but... pretty sure you and I are friends on FB, and you are welcome to see what I said there in the past few days.

 

This whole thing is abjectly disgusting. Glad a court put a stay on part of it, and hopefully we can slam the rest of it right back up Bannon's ass next week.

 

I am seeing quite a few Republican politicians put words against it. What should happen though, is they legislate it away - something they absolutely have the power to do, if they choose to.

They are too spineless to oppose the party. The threat of losing their support and jobs is too much for them to support what's right. And that's where we are with our government.

[caulfield12]

They are too spineless to oppose the party. The threat of losing their support and jobs is too much for them to support what's right. And that's where we are with our government.

 

 

There has only really been ONE that was overtly critical.

 

 

"This is ridiculous," Dent, R-Pa., told The Washington Post. "I guess I understand what his intention is, but unfortunately the order appears to have been rushed through without full consideration. You know, there are many, many nuances of immigration policy that can be life or death for many innocent, vulnerable people around the world."

 

Two Christian families were sent back on a 18-hour flight, an Allentown relative told NBC 10.

Dent urged the Trump administration to reverse his executive order.

 

The Assails' relatives -- two brothers, their wives and two children -- were not refugees. They are reportedly Christian and had obtained visas and green cards months ago, with plans to obtain American citizenship. They planned to live in Allentown, which has a large Syrian population and has been a landing spot for refugees.

 

"This family was sent home despite having all their paperwork in order," said Dent, who didn't endorse Trump in last year's presidential election campaign. "So this 90-day ban could imperil the lives of this family and potentially others, and it's unacceptable, and I urge the administration to halt enforcement of this order until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be reinstated."