[moose]

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/winners-and-losers-of-the-recent-nuclear-holocaust

[Oldmanmatt]

No comment.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-to-meet-russian-foreign-minister-at-the-white-house-as-moscows-alleged-election-interference-is-back-in-spotlight/2017/05/10/c6717e4c-34f3-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html?utm_term=.328734d2777e

[TobyD]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/12/donald-trump-has-no-shame-that-makes-him-dangerous

Well worth a read. Extremely gloomy but true.

[Oldmanmatt]

A "professional " view...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/opinion/how-worried-should-i-be.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/upshot/democracy-in-america-how-is-it-doing.html

[mrjonathanr]

The art of debate, quite an interesting exchange (if you can cope with 20 minutes stonewalling that is).

Making it personal only reveals weakness in a position. It's a basic rule of argument

 

[andy popp]

Well, I think its fair to say the last eight days have been the most unrelenting, jaw-droppingly incredible shitstorm yet. Let's see what the next week bring. At this point, it could be almost anything.

[Oldmanmatt]

It's beyond incredible now.
Can you imagine a British politician clinging on under such a shit storm of accusations? Thatcher was ousted for using the "Royal We" ffs (I know there was more to it, but a fraction of what Trump faces).
The man has no shame and that has to be the most dangerous characteristic possible in such a powerful position.
Oddly, looking back now, I would never have thought of that as the single most frightening thing I could say about a leader; before this wanker graced our lives.

Mind you, May's not much better, she really is a selfish, power hungry, bitch; intent on wringing every drop of personal gain she can from her situation and advancing some weird dogma that would make Palin blush. Match made in hell? Hands held across the pond as we become the 51st state of the Glorious Fourth Reich?

http://robertreich.org/post/160651192690


It's possible I got out of bed on the wrong side today...

[moose]

Interesting article on the history of impeachment and how it might be applied to Trump:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/08/how-trump-could-get-fired

A sample:

More than fifty thousand mental-health professionals have signed a petition stating that Trump is “too seriously mentally ill to perform the duties of president and should be removed” under the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
.....
As an example of “pathological inattention,” Tribe noted that, on April 11th, days after North Korea launched a missile, Trump described an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, as part of an “armada” advancing on North Korea, even though the ship was sailing away from North Korea at the time. Moreover, Tribe said, Trump’s language borders on incapacity. Asked recently why he reversed a pledge to brand China a currency manipulator, Trump said, of President Xi Jinping, “No. 1, he’s not, since my time. You know, very specific formula. You would think it’s like generalities, it’s not. They have—they’ve actually—their currency’s gone up. So it’s a very, very specific formula.”

[SA Chris]

That's not a sentence, that's verbal diarrhea.

On a par with the classic beauty queen response.

[dave]

I wouldn't trust Trump to work with children or animals though.

[Oldmanmatt]

I wouldn't trust Trump to work with children or animals though.

Cox seems to think it's where he belongs...



He does look like a psychotic version of Mr Tumble though, as this image from POTUS's last press conference shows:




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[andy popp]

Well, I think its fair to say the last eight days have been the most unrelenting, jaw-droppingly incredible shitstorm yet. Let's see what the next week bring. At this point, it could be almost anything.

I wrote this before the NYT broke the news about the Comey memo in the evening. Poor, naive me actually thought we were done for the day.

[petejh]

He didn't do a very good job of controlling the media did he..

[Oldmanmatt]

Premature?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-impeachment-president-mike-pence-republican-congress-support-not-so-bad-a7740341.html?cmpid=facebook-post

We're a bit late for the Ides of March, but could we pencil him in for the Ides of June?

Should be nice weather for it then, too.

[andy popp]

Premature?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-impeachment-president-mike-pence-republican-congress-support-not-so-bad-a7740341.html?cmpid=facebook-post

We're a bit late for the Ides of March, but could we pencil him in for the Ides of June?

Should be nice weather for it then, too.

Pence is a Christian fundamentalist zealot. As I saw someone else comment yesterday, he probably thinks The Handmaid's Tale is a blueprint for an ideal society. For that reason alone I don't want Trump alone to fall know because of the Comey memo or some other scandal. The ideal is that eventually there is proof of collusion between the campaign and Russia, enough to invalidate the entire election ... but that is very probably just ideal daydreaming.

[Oldmanmatt]

The rest of the world might (might, possibly, fuck knows) be better off with the religious nut-job; than with the Orange Baboon nut-job, holding a nuclear trigger...

You're right about the Handmaid's tale though. I've yet to watch the new TV offering, but I'm told the writers have brought it right into contemporary society and the insidious way the "reforms" are acted out, seem entirely plausible.
It must be ten or even fifteen years, since I read it. Must dig out a copy and swat up, so I know whats happening just before everyone else...[emoji33]

[tomtom]

https://youtu.be/SSLyFiHOC5I?t=1m21s

From 1:20 if this doesnt start then....

[Sasquatch]

Even if impeachment proceedings start, I can't imagine him actually stepping down.  So the proceedings would carry on for at least 12-18 months.  We would have a new house/senate election by then, likely shifting the balance of power.  Then he'd be impeached and pence would be a lame duck for 12 months.  I'm not afraid of Pence because I can't imagine Trump giving in.

[andy popp]

Thanks for that take on it Sas, I hadn't thought of it like that.

You're right about the Handmaid's tale though. I've yet to watch the new TV offering, but I'm told the writers have brought it right into contemporary society and the insidious way the "reforms" are acted out, seem entirely plausible.

I've watched the first four or five episodes. Its very worth watching in my view. The updating is pretty subtle but the way it plays out feels increasingly plausible.

[Oldmanmatt]

Thanks for that take on it Sas, I hadn't thought of it like that.

You're right about the Handmaid's tale though. I've yet to watch the new TV offering, but I'm told the writers have brought it right into contemporary society and the insidious way the "reforms" are acted out, seem entirely plausible.

I've watched the first four or five episodes. Its very worth watching in my view. The updating is pretty subtle but the way it plays out feels increasingly plausible.

Just waiting for it to air here.

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/05/handmaid-s-tale-dystopian-dread-new-golden-age-television


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Oldmanmatt]

Good piece.

Chaos.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-systems-failed-with-comey-firing-but-trump-pushed-the-buttons/2017/05/13/e9db104e-375c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html?utm_term=.44ae425ebb86


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dave]

Even if Pence's principle are terrible, at least he has principles. Trump on the other hand is only there on a ego trip and to enrich himself. Pence is a cunt but Trump is in another league.

[jfdm]

The art of debate, quite an interesting exchange (if you can cope with 20 minutes stonewalling that is).

Making it personal only reveals weakness in a position. It's a basic rule of argument

 

Incredible, fucking unbelievable.
What a joke, where there's smoke there's fire.
I hope the journalist keep digging for the truth.

[SA Chris]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/17/donald-trump-coast-guard-gradution-unfairly-treated-president-238505

By the same token I don't think any politician has treated the press more unfairly.

[andy popp]

Well, I think its fair to say the last eight days have been the most unrelenting, jaw-droppingly incredible shitstorm yet. Let's see what the next week bring. At this point, it could be almost anything.

I wrote this before the NYT broke the news about the Comey memo in the evening. Poor, naive me actually thought we were done for the day.

And I wrote that before yesterday's late revelations of a) appointment of a special counsel/prosecutor b) recording of senior GOP politicians "joking" that Trump could be in Putin's pay in mid 2016 and c) that Flynn told the Tump campaign he was being investigated for ties to Russia before he was appointed and before Sally Yates told them (and they still went ahead and appointed him National Security advisor anyway).

The timing of the Washington Post's release of story b) late yesterday suggests to me that they have more lined up and ready to go. Things accelerated a lot yesterday.