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Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)


Simon

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4 hours ago, Grailknight said:

Unfortunately it will be nigh impossible to get both houses to override with a 2/3 vote. Hell, McConnell won't even allow a vote that Trump won't approve.

 

I can dream though. I think Trump would do a total meltdown if Congress did override him.

 

 

 

Actually, at this point I think it's not far off from getting 2/3 to override in each house.  It's by no means certain, but the longer this goes, the worse the Congressional Republicans look if they don't override a bipartisan-supported measure.  I'll go further.  Trump's demand for the funding, and holding the entire government hostage, is IMO increasing the chance, little by little, that he will be impeached.  In that context...an override of the appropriations bill veto is more palatable.

 

I'd also say that if Trump tries the "national emergency" declaration...which could be just bluster but hey, it's Trump so he might try it...the chance of his impeachment JUMPS.  There's no risk, IMO, that it could happen.  At least I hope not.  It'd *immediately* be challenged as unconstitutional and it feels to me to be absolutely so.  I cannot fathom that even this Court would buy it.  The scary part is, I'm not 100% sure they'd reject it.  But if he does try it, I think it quite possible that'd be the last straw.  It's a blatant, to my mind, violation of "uphold and defend" and therefore becomes a ready basis for an impeachment.  

 

The downside...if he got away with the declaration?  Welcome to tyranny unchecked.

 

EDIT:  I seriously doubt it'll last that long but...if the shutdown continues through the month, guess what gets impacted.  Your tax refund.  IRS can't process during a shutdown, they're considered non-essential.  Hit people in the wallet, they WILL scream.  

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Quote

 At the same time, he insisted the government would stay shuttered while the wall impasse continues, claiming without offering evidence that previous presidents have told him they wished they had built a wall themselves. 

 

 

That's from the "national emergency" article.  

 

Even for Trump, this feels like new depths of delusion.  

 

And then I see this on CNN:

 

Quote

During his freewheeling, 90-minute cabinet meeting Wednesday, President Donald Trump briefly argued that the Soviet Union "was right" to invade Afghanistan in 1979 because "terrorists were going into Russia," a head-scratching aside that was widely criticized as historically inaccurate.

 

Irrational.  Honestly...if this was a relative of mine making these statements, I'd have to seriously consider a psych evaluation for determining competency.  

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1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

EDIT:  I seriously doubt it'll last that long but...if the shutdown continues through the month, guess what gets impacted.  Your tax refund.  IRS can't process during a shutdown, they're considered non-essential.  Hit people in the wallet, they WILL scream 

 

Even the most loyal of Trump's base won't take the loss or delay of a tax refund lightly.

(Assuming they pay taxes at all.)

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56 minutes ago, csyphrett said:

the union for federal employees are suing over this. I don't know how accurate this is, only saw it on screen for like two seconds while waiting on my food

CES

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/31/politics/federal-workers-sue-government/index.html

 

Quote

The American Federation of Government Employees alleged Monday that the government is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by forcing employees deemed essential to work without pay.

 

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Yep.  Really sounds that they should have a good case, but whether the case can be heard in time remains to be seen.   

 

Of course, Trump will view any claim based on "fair labor practices" as just another liberal attack on business.

 

Also gotta say, CNN loves to manipulate by using the hardship stories front and center.  Over, and over, and over.  And in what they pick.

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12 hours ago, Starlord said:

 

My favorite comment on

Trump is the #1 expert on…



- Taxes

- Construction

- Campaign finance

- Drones

- Technology

- U.S. History

- Infrastructure

- ISIS

- Facebook

- Renewables

- Polls

- Courts

- Steel workers

- Golf

- Banks

- Nuclear arms

- The system

- Debt

- Politicians

...is:

Trump is expert on...



- tax evasion

- substandard construction

- dark money finance

- droning on

- anti-science

- revisionist history

- infrastructure destruction

- abetting ISIS

- fake Facebook posts

- renewed fossil fuels

-  fake polls

- corporatist courts

 

It looks like he got tired and stopped short. 

 

 
 
 
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Regarding the "Soviets in Afghanistan" item UncleVlad quoted: All Things Considered asked a historian who specializes in th Soviet Union where Trump could be getting such notions. The historian hardly knew where to begin in refuting it, there are so many layers of inaccuracy. But he made the attempt.

 

This is how deep delusion -- or deep deception -- work. Explaining the truth takes 10 times longer than the falsehood. And then you hope people stick around to hear it all.

 

Dean Shomshak

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I already know what he's going to say.* I don't feel I need to actually watch it.

 

--

*Border crisis, illegal immigrants are criminals and/or terrorists, we need a wall, the shutdown is the Democrats' fault, Make America Great Again©, ad infinitum.

 

Let me know if I've missed anything.

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We know it'll be lies, half-truths, etc.  Which is why watching it will be an extreme challenge.  But better to know firsthand.  IF you can keep dinner down.  

Altho, I eat later than many as a rule.  And I doubt I'll be able to tolerate more than 10-15 minutes (and it may not last longer than that anyway).  I might plan on eating after it's over...for safety.  

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4 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

My hat is off to whoever makes it through Trump's whole speech, either out of curiosity, sense of political responsibility, or because it's part of their job. I can't make myself listen to that man for more than a few minutes. It makes me physically ill.

 

You aren't alone. I have a friend who begins to twitch, literally twitch, less than 3 minutes into his bullsh**

 

I can endure longer but I end up turning into Statler and Waldorf

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CNN had a comment from an anonymous TV exec...pretty much, damned if you do for letting Trump spew, damned if you don't for censoring and playing into his "the press is all against me" line of attack.  Someone suggested that streaming it might be an option.  Something to that, but not yet.

 

Odd thought.  Every OTA network is gonna show this.  The only winners?  The streaming services like Hulu.  They can readily ignore it.

 

Hm.  PokerGO has a live stream of a cash game.  Perhaps I'll just watch that.  Less lies will happen...and considering the game they'll be playing, that's saying a WHOLE lot.  2-7 single draw, for those who know something about poiker...major bluffing required.

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There is absolutely a question of whether the POTUS should be given free airtime whenever he feels like it.  Especially one who is going to use that airtime to lie to the world.

 

The networks' hands were forced by Fox, who was going to broadcast his lies regardless.  If the other networks had refused to broadcast, it would have fed right in to the "fake media" fakery.  Instead, it sounds as though they'll carry the speech and debunk the "inaccuracies" in near real time.

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Holy crap, he's trying to play the pity card.  He has NO standing to play this card.

 

And claiming the cops want the wall...and that it'll be paid for by a trade deal.  

 

This is just gonna polarize everything even more.  It's all gonna be totally ugly.  BTW, Trump is a piss-poor speech reader.

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Oh, and he can go harping on the relatively isolated crimes of immigrants but not even consider gun control when far more gun violence is done by citizens.

 

And the comparison of a wall around the house, versus the wall around the whole border.....GAH.

 

Yes it was as expected.  Short tho.  Rebuttal time now.

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