President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[Topper]

I would never ask you to stop posting, '71. I just recalled the brouhaha when Obama made his 'exceptionalism' speech, and how it was evidence of his lack of patriotism. So I pulled it up. Is this what you mean when someone 'sounds like Obama'? What I would give for similar language from our president now. In this instance, wouldn't you take Obama's patriotism-lite over Trump's?

And yes, I took a pot shot about the liberal media. It was done in the hopes that one day even you can reconcile these two facts: the mainstream media will always lean 'left', and there isn't a general liberal media conspiracy.

The dominant mainstream media will be very left of center. Their filter is necessarily different than many other industries. Are there minor conspiratorial alliances from time to time? Perhaps.

The rhetoric is overshadowing policy objectives, such as downsizing the federal bureaucracy. Would you prefer agreeable rhetoric, or potential changes that might end up helping?

[byu71]

I would never ask you to stop posting, '71. I just recalled the brouhaha when Obama made his 'exceptionalism' speech, and how it was evidence of his lack of patriotism. So I pulled it up. Is this what you mean when someone 'sounds like Obama'? What I would give for similar language from our president now. In this instance, wouldn't you take Obama's patriotism-lite over Trump's?

And yes, I took a pot shot about the liberal media. It was done in the hopes that one day even you can reconcile these two facts: the mainstream media will always lean 'left', and there isn't a general liberal media conspiracy.

Great, because I post tons and you don't that often. So I am more expendible. Plus I am pretty much out of the loop in this group. Although I think Trump is an A1 egotistical jackass. However, with a republican congress there is a chance things can happen that I like. However, the dems want to destroy and he sure gives them plenty of opportunity.

I have been in political pain for 8 years. I think President Obama is a good man. However, as a republican he drove me nuts with his congenial smile and mislead people. Trump exaggerates and lies. President Obama wasn't as bad, so he get the mislead description which is softer than calling someone a liar.

I don't think there is a conspiracy press. I think the press reflects the majority on this board. I feel like I am sitting on a panel at the C word. On the other hand I could easily go over to Fox (cb) and think everyone agrees with me. That wouldn't be fun or enlightening. I have actually learned and changed my position on some things while on here.

[old_gregg]

d the C word

the C word

...could you not?

[byu71]

...could you not?

I gotta hand it to you. You come out with some stuff that goes over my head, but everyone gets. That makes the joke all the better.

[Walter Sobchak]

We're not perfect, but we're still not Russia or Putin. What bothers me is the thought that Trump says nice things about the world's thugs and insults countries that are friendly to us. Bullies unite! I don't want this kind of insane world view from our president to come back to hurt our country. Doesn't matter much if the crazy old man who lives down the street talks like that and lives in a world of fake news sources. It does when it's the President.

Like I said before, those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Must we really plumb the depths of moral depravity in this way? "Oh, we aren't as bad as Russia. How dare President Trump?!"

How about we hold ourselves to our own (crumbling) standards? Is that too much to ask?

Russia bombs Chechnya. Russia does this, Russia does that. That is an OUTRAGE!!!

We systematically torture prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. We obliterate a village in Yemen last week. Ah, shucks. Oopsies!

I'm no fan of Russia. It's just that I think the USA is an exceptional country, the most successful country in world history. Hands down. But where I part ways with many (and you perhaps) is that I don't feel that our "exceptionalism" burdens us with the special quasi-religious mission to police the world and "liberate" it from its immoral leaders. Unfortunately, our recent pursuits to this end (Iraq, Libya, Syria, and now Yemen) have ultimately deprived us of what makes us exceptional. We have sunk, by degrees, to a diminished moral status. That's the unvarnished truth that our imperfect President has laid bare.

President Trump's vision is a double-edged sword though. I've said this also. On the one side, he condemned the Iraq War and criticized the interventionalism of President Obama's administration in Syria and Libya. Yet, on the other side, he belligerently saber rattles with Iran and the MAGA nationalism of his hard-core base (and their neoconservative Republican party cheerleaders) will view any attempt to reach out to old enemies (e.g. Russia) as appeasement and a sign of "weakness".

I don't have any idea which way President Trump will fall (and it's hopeless to make any predictions), but hopefully this President Trump will:

Unlike other candidates for the presidency, war and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy without diplomacy. A superpower understands that caution and restraint are really truly signs of strength. Although not in government service, I was totally against the war in Iraq, very proudly, saying for many years that it would destabilize the Middle East. Sadly, I was correct…

My goal is to establish a foreign policy that will endure for several generations. That’s why I also look and have to look for talented experts with approaches and practical ideas, rather than surrounding myself with those who have perfect résumés but very little to brag about except responsibility for a long history of failed policies and continued losses at war. We have to look to new people.

If one of these "new" people is Elliott Abrams (rumored for the position of Deputy SoS), then the belligerent side of Trump's sword will likely consume the other. gg.

[Northwestcoug]

The dominant mainstream media will be very left of center. Their filter is necessarily different than many other industries. Are there minor conspiratorial alliances from time to time? Perhaps.

The rhetoric is overshadowing policy objectives, such as downsizing the federal bureaucracy. Would you prefer agreeable rhetoric, or potential changes that might end up helping?

Sigh. And this is why we have a Trump presidency....

At the risk of a rebuke from those who are tired of these conversations:

Conservative media can rail about how mainstream journalists ignore stories that conservatives think are important. Federal downsizing may be of prime importance to you, but it isn't a huge deal for the majority of Americans. The media, by and large, reflects what is important to the majority of Americans. There is no grand conspiracy to hide conservative 'truths' or liberal 'lies'. There are unethical journalists who do such things, but they are blips on the radar screen. The only reason why the media is left of center is because the overwhelming majority of people who are interested in journalism also lean left of center. They see the world from their perspective.

I will take 'agreeable rhetoric' when it is called for, and affliction of those in power when it is called for. I'm not looking for a slant in media coverage that helps the causes I support.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

I'm really starting to love this guy.

Embedded Tweet

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[myboynoah]

I'm really starting to love this guy.

Embedded Tweet

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If that's his only hope, bad use of his hope.

[BlueK]

Jeff Sessions according to wikipedia:

Sessions has been the leading congressional opponent of illegal immigration and proponent of reducing legal immigration:

In a May 2006 floor speech, he said, “Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society.”

In 2005, Sessions spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. in favor of the War in Iraq organized in opposition to an anti-war protest held the day before. Sessions said of the anti-war protesters: "The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world. I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."[71] The same year, he opposed legislation by Senator John McCain prohibiting the US military from engaging in torture; the amendment passed 90–9.

Sessions supported the reduction (but not the elimination) of the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine, ultimately passed into law with the Fair Sentencing Act 2010

Sessions has been a strong supporter of civil forfeiture, the government practice of seizing property when it has allegedly been involved in a crime.[80] Sessions opposes "any reform" of civil forfeiture legislation.

The crack vs. powdered cocaine thing is interesting to me in that the only real difference is the perceived socioeconomic differences of one group of users vs. the other.

[BlueK]

Here we go. Judge Gorsuch says President Donald Trump's tweets about the judiciary are "demoralizing" and "disheartening."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/politi...ets/index.html

Trump will not be amused.

Nice to see our Supreme Court nominee has integrity and respect for the institution he will be joining.

[Topper]

Sigh. And this is why we have a Trump presidency....

At the risk of a rebuke from those who are tired of these conversations:

Conservative media can rail about how mainstream journalists ignore stories that conservatives think are important. Federal downsizing may be of prime importance to you, but it isn't a huge deal for the majority of Americans. The media, by and large, reflects what is important to the majority of Americans. There is no grand conspiracy to hide conservative 'truths' or liberal 'lies'. There are unethical journalists who do such things, but they are blips on the radar screen. The only reason why the media is left of center is because the overwhelming majority of people who are interested in journalism also lean left of center. They see the world from their perspective.

I will take 'agreeable rhetoric' when it is called for, and affliction of those in power when it is called for. I'm not looking for a slant in media coverage that helps the causes I support.

Federal downsizing should be important, because it is directly related to the cost of government, and labor costs are a significant component of those costs.

[Topper]

Jeff Sessions according to wikipedia:

Sessions has been the leading congressional opponent of illegal immigration and proponent of reducing legal immigration:

In a May 2006 floor speech, he said, “Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society.”

In 2005, Sessions spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. in favor of the War in Iraq organized in opposition to an anti-war protest held the day before. Sessions said of the anti-war protesters: "The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world. I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."[71] The same year, he opposed legislation by Senator John McCain prohibiting the US military from engaging in torture; the amendment passed 90–9.

Sessions supported the reduction (but not the elimination) of the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine, ultimately passed into law with the Fair Sentencing Act 2010

Sessions has been a strong supporter of civil forfeiture, the government practice of seizing property when it has allegedly been involved in a crime.[80] Sessions opposes "any reform" of civil forfeiture legislation.

The crack vs. powdered cocaine thing is interesting to me in that the only real difference is the perceived socioeconomic differences of one group of users vs. the other.

I would be okay with Sessions going down. He is anti-libertarian.

[BlueK]

I would be okay with Sessions going down. He is anti-libertarian.

Agreed. Not hard to see why he jumped on the Trump bandwagon so quickly.

[byu71]

Here we go. Judge Gorsuch says President Donald Trump's tweets about the judiciary are "demoralizing" and "disheartening."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/politi...ets/index.html

Trump will not be amused.

Nice to see our Supreme Court nominee has integrity and respect for the institution he will be joining.

I hope that helps him with some dems

[Uncle Ted]

I would be okay with Sessions going down. He is anti-libertarian.

Yeah, F him.