Donald trump. what is your take on him?

[tands]

Trump seems to have won that little tiff by being elected, and in so doing limiting Obama's 'legacy' to some successful place holding. I'm amused. That birth certificate thing they released looked photoshopped in a couple places, if I remember right. I know my shops.

 

[volker]

Five days ago: "Qatar is a supporter of terrorists!!11"

Today: "Let's sell them arms worth 12 billion"

Tomorrow: Trump at ground-breaking ceremony for new Trump tower in Doha... :

 

[JohnRoberts]

Five days ago: "Qatar is a supporter of terrorists!!11"

Qatar was part of the recent coalition assembled with Saudi Arabia and others in the region... before Saudi accused Qatar of supporting terror. (I already posted that Qatar plays both sides of the street, as if Saudi Arabia is completely clean).  President Trump made a comment in support of the Saudi criticism, but not supporting the breakup of the coalition. 

Today: "Let's sell them arms worth 12 billion"

That's money they can't give to terrorists.  We have major air base(s) in Qatar in regular use, so benefit from working with them.

Iran has just flown 100 tons of food to Qatar breaking the Saudi blockade and weakening the US formed coalition.

Tomorrow: Trump at ground-breaking ceremony for new Trump tower in Doha... :

Sorry I couldn't find news reports about a new Trump tower there?  Apparently Qatar airways is tenant of trump Tower in US.

JR

PS: Two men in US (one from michigan other from NYC) were just arrested for working with Hezbollah to scout and plan future terror targets in US and Panama.  This seems pretty real and serious.

 

[micaddict]

I'd say the Donald is worrying about other things at the moment.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I'd say the Donald is worrying about other things at the moment.

Yup, today the administration is promoting their apprentice program to help workers get high paying jobs... (postponed from yesterday because of the shooting).

Of course as usual the media has a different agenda, charging and trying POTUS in the press for charges that aren't arguably even a crime (if he did do what they claim).

The political climate has gotten even more poisonous (if possible) and now violent. I don't anticipate this deteriorating to full civil war, but not trending in a good direction.

JR

 

[fazer]

I like the idea of apprenticeship programs.  Lots of companies in the 60's, 70's and 80's did apprenticeship programs to train people for what they needed.  If you were lucky enough to be in studios during this time period,  we always were trained by the older engineers.  I remember learning more in a week than a year in collage.  I'm glad I got my degree for numerous reasons but there are a handful of people that really helped in a mentoring roll that I got real working knowledge from and also how to handle pressure situations. 

 

[tands]

Of course as usual the media has a different agenda, charging and trying POTUS in the press for charges that aren't arguably even a crime (if he did do what they claim).

Not just the media, the dems and the deep state too, the enoulments suit for example. Let's all get our pantsuits on and wave some papers. On the other hand, republicans did the same sh*t to Obama, and Clinton before that.  It's pretty clear nobody is buying the crocodile tears from republicans over the 'woeful state of civil discourse'. Sniffle.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I like the idea of apprenticeship programs.  Lots of companies in the 60's, 70's and 80's did apprenticeship programs to train people for what they needed.  If you were lucky enough to be in studios during this time period,  we always were trained by the older engineers.  I remember learning more in a week than a year in collage.  I'm glad I got my degree for numerous reasons but there are a handful of people that really helped in a mentoring roll that I got real working knowledge from and also how to handle pressure situations.

yup, the government pretty much killed apprentice programs due to several competing interests (requiring full pay, etc).  There were some reported abuses of apprentice programs but on the whole they did far more good than bad. In Germany the unions embrace and work with apprentice programs, in the US the unions were less agreeable.

There are lots of areas we can improve, but this is one case of returning to an old way, for mostly new skills, but even some old skills like welding or plumbing can earn better pay than a college degree in basket weaving will get. .

JR

PS: I learned a bunch working for minimum wage in a machine shop, but IMO they got their money's worth ($1.25/hr). A couple different co-op jobs during college were instructive (while actually being paid).

 

[JohnRoberts]

Not just the media, the dems and the deep state too, the enoulments suit for example. Let's all get our pantsuits on and wave some papers. On the other hand, republicans did the same sh*t to Obama, and Clinton before that.  It's pretty clear nobody is buying the crocodile tears from republicans over the 'woeful state of civil discourse'. Sniffle.

Yes there is an ebb and flow as the pendulum of party power shifts back and forth... with the side in power investigating the one that just lost power and vice versa.  I dislike saying it is different this time but it sure feels different this time... Now the party in power is suffering from active opposition from their own government workers leaking government documents to the press often illegally.

I don't recall seeing groups of legislators targeted for assassination, at least not in this country.  We can try to write this recent attack off as yet another isolated crazy person, but the voices in his head were listening to the hyperbolic political screed on social media and in the press (according to his facebook page).. Of course even ugly political speech is protected by the first amendment but IMO we could stand to tone down the public enmity between parties. Politics is like a family argument, we are not each other's mortal enemies... we have real enemies out there who are enjoying watching this unproductive scrum.

JR

 

[tands]

I don't recall seeing groups of legislators targeted for assassination, at least not in this country. 

Well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Giffords

 

[tands]

Yes there is an ebb and flow as the pendulum of party power shifts back and forth... with the side in power investigating the one that just lost power and vice versa.  I dislike saying it is different this time but it sure feels different this time... Now the party in power is suffering from active opposition from their own government workers leaking government documents to the press often illegally.

The deep state is waging a war on Trump, because he's derailing their sweet, sweet, plans. Just sit back and watch it unfold, there's nothing you or I can do about it. I find it comical, actually.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Giffords

Not a group of legislators at the same time...  I see your Gabby Giffords and raise you Jack Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and more single legislator targets.  While Steve Scalise was the highest ranking member present, and only one with security, it is still to be determined that he was the target. The shooter reportedly asked if they were republicans or democrats, so not very precisely planned.

Back in the day there were fist fights and gunfire inside congress but i don't recall reading about deaths from that. There were deaths from shooting duels off campus.

JR

PS: Yes there were more people shot and killed at the Gifford's incident but she appeared to be the primary target.

 

[JohnRoberts]

The deep state is waging a war on Trump, because he's derailing their sweet, sweet, plans. Just sit back and watch it unfold, there's nothing you or I can do about it. I find it comical, actually.

This may be comical to our enemies but not very funny.... Not even rational. If they unseat Trump they get Pence who is a far more effective politician to promote the same agenda.

Just Trump derangement syndrome caught up inside a positive feedback loop due to sympathetic media echo chamber.

This too will end  (I hope). Glad I'm old.

JR

 

[tands]

I don't have any enemies, really. I think they'll just harass him as an object lesson to the rest until his 4 years are up, minimum, but I think they'd love to have a pet Pence if they can get Trump to bow out.

Let's not bs about it, JR.

 

[Matador]

I don't recall seeing groups of legislators targeted for assassination, at least not in this country.  We can try to write this recent attack off as yet another isolated crazy person, but the voices in his head were listening to the hyperbolic political screed on social media and in the press (according to his facebook page).. Of course even ugly political speech is protected by the first amendment but IMO we could stand to tone down the public enmity between parties. Politics is like a family argument, we are not each other's mortal enemies... we have real enemies out there who are enjoying watching this unproductive scrum.

JR

How quickly we often forget:

[quote author=Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr.]
Congresswoman Giffords, an avid supporter of sin and baby-killing, was shot for that mischief. A federal judge in Baltimore, part of the massive military community in Maryland and in the District of Columbia, put Westboro Baptist Church on trial for faithful words from God. Federal Judge Roll paid for those sins with his life.
[/quote]
Crazy, emotionally disturbed people are just that:  crazy and emotionally disturbed, but it's sad we are so often quick to cordon people off into left and right 'camps', and denounce those who aren't in ours, when these things happen.

 

[tands]

Yes, it's false to make a distinction between nutjob shooters and politically motivated shooters, as JR is attempting to do. They're both nutjobs.

 

[Matador]

I'm not sure JR is trying to do that, however there are a plethora of examples of 'right-wing' shooters as well as left, which tells me you are right, there are just crazy shooters.

 

[Banzai]

Qatar was part of the recent coalition assembled with Saudi Arabia and others in the region... before Saudi accused Qatar of supporting terror. (I already posted that Qatar plays both sides of the street, as if Saudi Arabia is completely clean).  President Trump made a comment in support of the Saudi criticism, but not supporting the breakup of the coalition.  That's money they can't give to terrorists.  We have major air base(s) in Qatar in regular use, so benefit from working with them.

Iran has just flown 100 tons of food to Qatar breaking the Saudi blockade and weakening the US formed coalition. Sorry I couldn't find news reports about a new Trump tower there?  Apparently Qatar airways is tenant of trump Tower in US.

JR

PS: Two men in US (one from michigan other from NYC) were just arrested for working with Hezbollah to scout and plan future terror targets in US and Panama.  This seems pretty real and serious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vD1pJR98dA

If you want something real and serious, that's a video of a US Congressman stating the attacks on Tehran were not only a 'good thing', but the US should directly support ISIS and other Sunni terrorist groups to attack again.

Not bad, after the White House already stated Iran deserved these attacks... Guess Tillerson openly outlining a US policy of regime change in Iran, that's just par for the course. That approach having worked wonders in Iraq, Libya and Syria, I can only imagine how impatient they are to get started.

And nothing any of us can do: The inmates are running the asylum.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Yes, it's false to make a distinction between nutjob shooters and politically motivated shooters, as JR is attempting to do. They're both nutjobs.

Nut jobs are nut jobs, but I perceive a shift in acceptability or justification of violence for political ends.  I attended many political protests (back before some of you were born) that were almost universally non-violent (DNC in Chicago, 1968 was a notable exception and perhaps the start of deterioration in the US). The students shot by national guard soldiers was overreach by the Ohio governor, arming NG troops when confronting flower power hippies at Kent State.

These days breaking windows and starting fires seems perfectly acceptable as a form of protest to shut down free speech (those folks need to understand some more history about free speech, etc). 

One group calls themselves anti-fascist with clearly no awareness of what the word even means.

Of course opinions vary...

JR

 

[DaveP]

One group calls themselves anti-fascist with clearly no awareness of what the word even means.

Most of our fathers and grandfathers were anti-fascists when they fought in WW2 against actual Fascists.

They would have thought of today's anti-fascists as protesters looking for a cause.

DaveP