Banana Republicans

[pucho812]

FWIW I voted for Feinstein. The California system puts the top two vote getters form the primary into the general election. So for her race we had Feinstein and Kevin Deleon. Delon  is bad for everyone.  He had a thing once were he was talking about Ghost guns, whatever that is. I guess he was referring to the rifle with an adjustable stock. He proceeded to tell people that  what he held was a ghost gun and it is capable of firing 30 clips in under half a second. He was dead serious to. Now aside from wrong terminology. No gun is capable of that.  he is a fraud and a phony who once when in the state government cast a ghost vote for another member of the assembly not there. The only real issue was it was opposite of what that person was going to vote. He never denied it but claims he didn't remember the incident.  He also authored a failed bill requiring people to get thumb printed when buying ammo. The courts struck it down for being vague.  I could go on with how bad he has been for California and I will gladly take Feinstein any day of the week.

 

[Matador]

I just thought you were saying that JR was calling it Fake News....

Sorry.... I get things mixed up sometimes......  :-[

JR was saying it was fake news to claim that Trump claimed the media was the enemy of the people...except for the direct quote where he said exactly that.  Or is it fake to say that Trump said that fake news was fake?

I get we are nested 3 levels in our collective Lie Inception, so no worries.

 

[hodad]

. Do you eat with that same mouth?

[edit- does anyone wonder why we don't have female forum members here?    [/edit]

JR

JR, I'm just echoing Trump--he a) was more graphic, and b) actually did it.  You voted an admitted serial sexual assaulter into office.  If you don't want me talking about your president that way, vote for a less repulsive candidate. 

The election in Georgia ain't over yet.  And as dmp points out, it was indeed a travesty.  Even Kris Kobach, who is at least as avid a vote suppressor as Kemp, had the decency to step aside for the election. 

PS  I'd think the attacks from the right on Blasey Ford would scare more women away from this forum than my use of the word "snatch," or my mocking of Trump's shallow, condescending attitudes toward women. 

 

[volker]

He had a thing once were he was talking about Ghost guns, whatever that is. I guess he was referring to the rifle with an adjustable stock. He proceeded to tell people that  what he held was a ghost gun and it is capable of firing 30 clips in under half a second. He was dead serious to. Now aside from wrong terminology. No gun is capable of that.  he is a fraud and a phony who once when in the state government cast a ghost vote for another member of the assembly not there.

Could be worse. He could be a fraud and phony who believes that a stealth bomber is actually invisible.

 

[pucho812]

Who's on 1st....lol

I don't know and I don't give a dam ;D

 

[Matador]

I don't see it that way...... I thought he was saying that it was specifically Fake News Trump was calling out....

But yeah whatever....

Who's on 1st....lol

I get what you are saying.  So the next question is:  what is 'specifically Fake News'?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I get what you are saying.  So the next question is:  what is 'specifically Fake News'?

The internet is full of fake news. There are websites making a living sorting the truth from false... (like Snopes).

If you search "fake news" on SNOPES they have 100 pages of "fake" stories.

Facebook has had to hire so many humans to vet their newsfeed that it is hurting their profit margin.

In  some cases  reputable news agencies make mistakes and retract or correct the errors, sometime little and late. A headline on the front page gets corrected deep in a later section. 

I do not keep a list but off the top of my head recently there were a few stories launched against Judge Kavanaugh, that turned out to be untrue. In fact Sen Grassley has submitted a couple to justice for possible criminal prosecution. Avanetti and Swetnik (she accused Kavanaugh of being present during gang rape, and more in her sworn testimony to the committee, and since then has reversed herself in TV interviews. )

Another woman (from KY) who is decades older than Kavanaugh tried to take credit for sending an anonymous letter to Sen Kamala Harris and later recanted.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/02/brett-kavanaugh-accuser-referred-fbi-doj-investigation/1863210002/

Now President Trumps digs his own hole by saying all the accusations against Kavanaugh were fake and that is not in evidence, even though the claims made were not proved (or even provable).

I have spent the last two years answering for President Trumps hyperbolic language and I am weary.. President Trump calls channels like CNN "fake news" because he knows it makes them too crazy to think straight (Jon Stewart pointed this out in an interview recently).

There is clearly an adversarial relationship between POTUS and mainstream media. More than 90% of news stories about President Trump are negative. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/10/still-hostile-news-coverage-of-president-trump-is-/ This is clearly editorial bias by omission of positive stories.

Then there are misleading headlines.  I recall when Nicki Haley got pinged in the NYT for expensive curtains (she didn't have any control over buying). https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/new-york-times-backtracks-on-a-tale-about-some-expensive-curtains/2018/09/14/57b53eda-b850-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?utm_term=.65dd82077133 The body of that very article even contradicted the picture they were painting of Trump administration excess in the headline and lead paragraphs (drapes were approved by President Obama's administration in 2016).

I don't like doing homework for you guys and have repeated many times not to take every President Trump tweets literally... He is playing the media and opposition to keep them bouncing off the walls. Not my preference for a communication style, but he doesn't listen to me.

If media wants to gain some traction, instead of just calling him a liar over and over, how about fact checking his tweets..and let the audience draw their own conclusion. He surely gives them copious rope to hang him with, but stop calling him a liar, he is a "blowhard" (there is a difference). 

JR

 

[living sounds]

Here is the whole exchange and some good information surrounding it:

https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2018/Senate/Maps/Nov09.html#item-7

 

[living sounds]

I just wish some of these articles would quit appearing like the writers are hoping someone will notice their humor and give them a shot as a writer on S&L or something..... Just gets tiring...... Yes the tan lines I noticed and thought that myself too when I saw it live .....

I was thinking more about the bit regarding the obvious fake news propagated by the white house communications director. And the unpresidential behaviour overall. Just imagine Obama or his staff had acted like this...

 

[JohnRoberts]

I was thinking more about the bit regarding the obvious fake news propagated by the white house communications director. And the unpresidential behaviour overall. Just imagine Obama or his staff had acted like this...

I recall being called to task (something you guys like to do) for accusing Hillary of lying***. After that I wasted several hours reading through her congressional testimony transcripts looking for proof of outright lies. What I learned was A) I will never get that time back and B) she is skillful at deflecting and dissembling, when asked specific questions. She put her background as a lawyer to very good use and her congressional questioners were no match. 

She is the polar opposite of Trump regarding careful choice of words when messaging, he lacks any such filters and finesse. He is an open book and says what he thinks, often without thinking.

"Fake news" has become code for messages that both sides don't like.  When it gets dumbed down and over used like this it completely lacks power and specific meaning.

JR

*** History has shown that Hillary and several in President Obama's administration were less than honest about Benghazi. It was not a spontaneous demonstration caused by a video (that film maker spent 1 year in jail for a parole violation, apparently as punishment for the video). This is the obvious example but there were several cases when the facts were inconvenient so ignored.  Like "ISIS is the JV team", "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor", etc ad nauseum.  The way to tell when a politician is lying is that their lips are moving. That said President Trump is not a typical politician, he is a typical real estate developer/reality TV star (blowhard), but to repeat for the Nth time his tweets are far from accurate and to be taken literally (advice I would suggest about all tweets from everybody... like don't take your stock advice from Elon Musk tweets  : ). 

 

[dmp]

There's a difference between a statement that proves to be complicated and controversial with future knowledge and a statement that outright conflicts with facts, and was made for intentional reasons to mislead. Trump is doing the later.
For instance, Trump just said that he hadn't met Whitaker (the newly acting AG) before, with his political purge of the Justice Dept. Trump has met Whitaker several times in the Oval office. It's a lie. Trump is lying not only to the press but  to the American people.

Also this morning:
Reporter: "Do you want acting AG Whitaker to rein in Mueller?"
Trump: "what a stupid question"

And as to whether what Trump posts on twitter should be taken literally or not.  Trump refused to say if he would fire Sessions in a press conference the day after the midterm, and then 2 hours later posted the news to Twitter. His statements to twitter are acting in his official capacity as President.

The California system puts the top two vote getters form the primary into the general election.

I would be really unhappy with a system that works that way. A two party system is bad enough much less a one party system.

 

[living sounds]

Let me quote the Wikipedia for you:

"Despite persistent accusations against President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Susan Rice, ten investigations — six by Republican-controlled congressional committees — did not find that they or any other high-ranking Obama administration officials had acted improperly. "

Now, Hillary Clinton is an incredibly intelligent policy wonk, who, accroding to all what you can hear and read was genuinely striving to improve peoples lives and  especially focused on children.  And like most such-minded people a bad salesperson.

I for one am sick and tired of the Orwellian attempts on truth and decency by the right. By selective editing. By the spinning of narraticves. Repitition of made-up talking points and illogical arguments. And now outright lies. Effective advertising, yes. But advertising does never change the underlying facts. Choose what you believe, but it will not change objective reality. However, it can and does often result in tragedy. Everyone has to ask themselves if they want to participate in it. I know my countries history, and the unfortunate pattern is the same.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Let me quote the Wikipedia for you:

"Despite persistent accusations against President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Susan Rice, ten investigations — six by Republican-controlled congressional committees — did not find that they or any other high-ranking Obama administration officials had acted improperly. "

If wiki says that it must be true...

I read many of those very congressional hearing transcripts and like I said Hillary is a skilled lawyer.

Now, Hillary Clinton is an incredibly intelligent policy wonk, who, accroding to all what you can hear and read was genuinely striving to improve peoples lives and  especially focused on children.  And like most such-minded people a bad salesperson.

cough...  I will concede she is a bad political campaigner, but like everybody else (me included) she expected to win. 

I for one am sick and tired of the Orwellian attempts on truth and decency by the right.

who me?

By selective editing. By the spinning of narraticves. Repitition of made-up talking points and illogical arguments. And now outright lies. Effective advertising, yes. But advertising does never change the underlying facts. Choose what you believe, but it will not change objective reality. However, it can and does often result in tragedy. Everyone has to ask themselves if they want to participate in it. I know my countries history, and the unfortunate pattern is the same.

that is a mouthful...

and I have better things to do.

Have a good weekend

JR

 

[Banzai]

I would be really unhappy with a system that works that way. A two party system is bad enough much less a one party system.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Nice visual

Governance is harder to improve than criticize.

JR

PS: Has anybody noticed how Jeff Sessions is suddenly the darling of the left?  Seems a little like the on again off again romance with Comey.. 

 

[pucho812]

Nice visual

Governance is harder to improve than criticize.

JR

PS: Has anybody noticed how Jeff Sessions is suddenly the darling of the left?  Seems a little like the on again off again romance with Comey..

I refer to it as a "novela" which is Spanish for Mexican soap opera. I suppose I could just call it a soap opera but this sounds funnier.

 

[Banzai]

Nice visual

Governance is harder to improve than criticize.

They don't you call you 'conservatives' for nothing – perfectly happy keeping everything exactly the same, because change or progress is always too complicated, too difficult, and too expensive...

Of course, Democrats are so wonderful because they're all about 'bipartisanship' and 'compromise'. As if they couldn't be anymore predictable, see Pelosi's first speech after midterms.

"Heads They Win, Tails We Lose: Our Fake Two-Party System"
http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/twoParty.html

 

[living sounds]

PS: Has anybody noticed how Jeff Sessions is suddenly the darling of the left?  Seems a little like the on again off again romance with Comey..

It might look that way, but it is about principles more than the people. Sessions won't ever be the darling of the left though, he has been and is being critized constantly for all the bad policies he advanced as well as for his underlying extremist views.

 

[living sounds]

If wiki says that it must be true...

I read many of those very congressional hearing transcripts and like I said Hillary is a skilled lawyer.cough...  I will concede she is a bad political campaigner, but like everybody else (me included) she expected to win.  who me? that is a mouthful...

and I have better things to do.

Have a good weekend

JR

Please don't take it personal, it is never intended that way.

 

[JohnRoberts]

They don't you call you 'conservatives' for nothing – perfectly happy keeping everything exactly the same, because change or progress is always too complicated, too difficult, and too expensive...

Of course, Democrats are so wonderful because they're all about 'bipartisanship' and 'compromise'. As if they couldn't be anymore predictable, see Pelosi's first speech after midterms.

"Heads They Win, Tails We Lose: Our Fake Two-Party System"
http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/twoParty.html

Not very nice, kind, or accurate.

At least I hope it makes you feel better saying it.

JR