There was murder done in New Zealand.
A man took a gun and shot and killed, as of this writing, 49 people.
They were worshipers at two mosques, people who were simply going
about their rituals of worship. He did not know these people, only
that they were different from him. It was an act of hate and fear,
and ultimately, cowardice. And it was wrong.
There are those who believe that white
nationalism is of no threat. That's its beliefs are of no danger.
But it is ultimately a belief system based on hate. It twists facts
to lure in those who do not look too closely at the veracity of those
facts. Its hate is no different than that espoused by those who are
called Islamic fundamentalists.
Today I have another book
recommendation for you. The book is “Rising Out of Hatred” by
Eli Saslow. It tells the story of Derek Black, son of the former
Klan leader and founder of the website Stormfront, Don Black. Derek
was raised in a white nationalist household and home schooled from
the fourth grade on, until he went to New College of Florida. Among
other things he believed in overturning the Fourteenth Amendment
which granted the right to birthright citizenship and reinstating a
European-only immigration system. His method? Somehow pack the
Supreme Court with justices who would support this. The book
chronicles his journey of awakening to a world that shook the beliefs
he was raised on. When Mr. Saslow first approached him he really
wasn't interested in speaking out, he just wanted to put his past
behind him. But he changed his mind after he realized that some of
the very things he had argued for during his time as a white
nationalist, which he now disagreed with, were becoming more
mainstream. He felt a responsibility.
He has chosen to speak out.
94 comments:
If Marcus were still visiting the blog he might find that interview interesting. That is if he had the courage to watch it.
You may be assuming too much. Marcus may think that some lethal displays of white supremacy like the recent outburst in New Zealand are long overdue.
He might, indeed. Or he might be intelligent enough to know that hate only breeds more hate and violence only breeds more violence.
One doesn't have to lose one's culture if everyone is allowed a place. It is up to the country's government to make sure that happens through well thought out policies. Walls only make things worse.
And, no, I wouldn't think Israel and the Palestinians is a good example of something that works.
Gotta hope today's shootings in the Netherlands doesn't get pegged as retaliation for the shootings in New Zealand. Otherwise we could be looking at radicals from both religious traditions targeting civilians, women and children included, associated with the ‛other’ religion.
The Netherlands' gunman apparently was targeting a female family member. Reuters
Gotta hope today's shootings in the Netherlands doesn't get pegged as retaliation for the shootings in New Zealand.
It might not have been in the Netherlands, but there have been calls by AQ to retaliate.
"…there have been calls by AQ to retaliate."
Oh yeah, this guy's a dream come true for al-Qaeda and Da’esh (or whatever the Hell their name shall become now that the territorial "state" is no more). They couldn't ask for better. He's a first string fighter in that holy war they've been trying so hard to get started.
Just a small aside. Do you follow the NCAA playoffs? If so do you have any thoughts as to who will be in the final four?
No, I don't have money riding on it.
"Do you follow the NCAA playoffs?"
Don't follow basketball hardly at all, neither collegiate nor professional.
Aww well, I'm guessing anyway. Because I don't follow it either.
According to David Ignatius, writing in the WashingtonPost, there are some Trumpkins across the American midwest who're beginning to lose a little of their prior commitment to overlooking Trump's empty promises.
...Trumpkins across the American midwest who're beginning to lose a little of their prior commitment to overlooking Trump's empty promises.
It just goes back to the economy being the focal point for many people's criteria for voting. When Trump didn't deliver it would make sense that people would rethink their support. At least it seems logical to me, it just feels like it's taken a long time for people to wake up.
It would also seem to be logical for people to look at what does work, like Erie, PA and start to rethink some of Trump's closed door policies. Immigrants have helped revitalize towns in the past.
I have to think that people will also get tired of Trump's harping on John McCain. The man is dead, let him rest in peace. It's ridiculous.
I read on Politico that an extended Trump rant, including bashing on the late Senator McCain, received a "cool reception" at a dedicated Trumpkin event in Lima, Ohio today.
Little bit of that goes a long way with Trump; he'll be looking to return to applause lines real quick if he gets more than a couple repeats of the "cool reception".
"When Trump didn't deliver it would make sense that
people would rethink their support."
That may well be it. The liberals have gotten inured to Trumptweets; they don't even notice them anymore (other than the occasionally exceptional--as in Trump's twitterstorm of 53 tweets and retweets this past weekend; a remarkable burst of activity even for Trump, but it was mostly noted as an almost incoherent outburst of activity). For a while the dedicated Trumpkins could at least count on Trump outraging the liberals--pissing off their enemies, and that seemed to be enough. But their enemies have learned to ignore the noise. Trump ain't delivering even the jollies anymore (witness Marcus' marked lack of joy on the subject of Trump here recently).
I noticed this morning that NBC's "Today" show opened with a live action shot of the White House correspondent on the White House lawn, talking about how the Mueller investigation might be coming to close soon.
They start running with that on the opening of the Today show it means they're pretty damn sure. (May be pretty damn wrong, but still they're pretty damn sure.)
Everyone seems to think that Mueller is done. Trump is now saying that the report should be made public. I assume that he will probably change his mind on that.
It's been so long that I'm wondering if the report itself will be somewhat anti-climactic, especially as there has been so much speculation on various aspects of it.
It seems that Theresa May has managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat, getting the delay of Brexit approved by both the Parliament and the EU. It maybe gives her some breathing room, but they still have to agree on some kind of orderly exit, which will still be difficult.
Minnesota has won their first game in the NCAA tournament! I am thrilled for them, and me too since I picked them. lol!
"I'm wondering if the report itself will be somewhat anti-climactic"
I believe, as I have for awhile now, that Mueller's gonna nail his ass to the wall.
There is no crime in the Federal Criminal Code that goes by the name of ‛collusion’. Trump probably knows this; probably has known it for quite a long time, which is why he's fixated on the ‛NO COLLUSION’ trope.
I believe Mueller will, instead, name Trump himself as an unindicted co-conspirator on charges of espionage, failure to register as a foreign agent, felony campaign finance violations, conspiracy against the United States, tax evasion, money laundering (Russian oligarch money; Putin money), and probably several other crimes.
That's what I think's gonna happen.
Huge flooding problem in Mozambique. I suspect we will be seeing more extreme situations like this as the climate changes.
"Theresa May has managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat."
Nobody wants to get blamed for that mess, so they're all lookin' to hand it off a little longer. Eventually that'll run out of room.
I believe, as I have for awhile now, that Mueller's gonna nail his ass to the wall.
I hope so, because I believe that all of the things you listed are highly likely to be true.
"Minnesota has won their first game in the NCAA tournament!"
‼ ‼
Congrats.
Thanks. :)))
Well, it's done. Now we see what happens.
I hope they make it public. It's as important as the 911 Commission Report.
Partisan whining aside, this Special Counsel's investigation was done in record breaking time. Let's just hope he was thorough as well as fast.
No Trump tweets this morning.
One interesting thing is that people have been talking about the fact that Mueller has no further indictments planned. So many people were speculating on Jared Kushner or Donald Trump Jr. having some kind of charges brought against them.
That may be true of Mueller, but I think there are some investigations going on in the state of New York that may impact them? While Mueller may not have wanted to pursue anything, they might. It also doesn't mean that Mueller didn't turn over evidence to those investigators.
I could also see that Mueller would have left some things to Congress to deal with, if there is any evidence of serious crimes on the part of a high up government official(s).
"… people have been talking about the fact that Mueller
has no further indictments planned."
Mueller has a whole fistful of sealed indictments already filed. Until they're unsealed, nobody knows who they name.
I put this together with the fact that Mueller appears to have decided it wasn't worth it to subpoena Trump and make him sit for a deposition, and I put it together also with the idea that Mueller's wrapping this investigation up in record setting time (Trump's whining notwithstanding).
I'm left to conclude that either Mueller's not trying all that hard, or Mueller's already got Trump and Company nailed--just waiting for those indictments to be unsealed. (Possible this is also Mueller's response to the Justice Department's policy to refuse to indict a sitting President; leave those sealed a couple more years maybe--keeps the statute of limitations from running out in the meantime.)
What's the chances Mueller just didn't try all that hard? That's not the way I'd bet.
Bloomberg: "…[N]o sealed indictments are pending, according to officals."
I had read differently, but, gotta know that a journalist who claims to know of "sealed indictments", and who writes about the same, is relying on his own sources. By definition, sealed indictments are not acknowledged by official court sources. So, maybe there is no "fistful of sealed indictments" out there already.
That would mean that not only has Trump escaped the Mueller investigation unscathed, but so has Trump á´ŠÊ€. and Kushner, and pretty much everybody within the circle.
The Republicans will be much overjoyed to learn this, and the Democrats equally underjoyed. (I think it would also mean that, in spite of Trump and Company's repeatedly expressed eagerness to collude with the Russians, the Russians, in the end, declined to work with Trump and Company.)
Mueller has a whole fistful of sealed indictments already filed.
Funny, I had totally forgot about those. Yes, they could end up laying in wait for someone.
(Why on earth does Minnesota go for those 3 point baskets when they can't sink one to save their life? And why don't these guys hit the free throws?)
Sorry, I just couldn't resist that small aside. Anyway, I still think there are still some shoes to drop with those other investigations in New York. Mueller seemed to be keeping a narrow focus on the Trump camp's
dealings with Russia and let others deal with other criminal behavior.
Perhaps there was a reason Mueller wanted to wrap this up, something that was of timely concern?
Well, federal prosecutors can simply file charges on their own volition. They don't have to get a grand jury indictment (in fact, that's the less common of the two ways to get yourself a criminal charge in the federal system--just having charges filed by the prosecutor, over his own signature without bothering with a grand jury hearing is the most common way).
It's possible, I suppose, that Mueller has recommended the filing of charges against several people, but has foregone the grand jury indictment avenue because testimony before the grand jury is supposedly secret (even after charges are filed), and Mueller might think it important to recommend that charges be filed and to make public why he's recommending that. I.e. what evidence he's got on those folks can be made public instead of being held secret as grand jury ‛proceedings’.
Or, then again, maybe Trump and Company gonna skate.
So I just finished the book I mentioned in my post, "Rising out of Hatred - The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist". Yes, I hadn't finished it when I wrote the post, but I still felt it deserved a post, especially after what happened in New Zealand.
I can understand better why so many are sticking with Trump. I can also understand why you have been saying that so many don't care if he burns down the house, because this is what they want. It's extremely disappointing to me that so many in my country would identify with white nationalist sentiments. That means they are either racists or dupes to fall for the incorrect and basically fraudulent data being promulgated by that group.
No checks and balances can redeem what we've unleashed. The reality is that half the voters chose white supremacy...
It's now our job to argue constantly that what voters did in elevating this man to the White House constitutes the greatest assault on our people in a generation, and to offer another option...
Those of us on the other side need to be clear that Mr. Trump's callous disregard for people outside his demographic is intolerable, and will be destructive to the entire nation. Excerpt from Derek Black's OpEd in the New York Times November 2016
Geez, that Michigan State can hit the 3 pointers!
Or, then again, maybe Trump and Company gonna skate.
Maybe. But then impeachment was always a long shot.
Curious that his White Nationalist supporters would be okay with cozying up to Russia.
"That means they are either racists or dupes…"
A lot of them will claim to be neither. However, they obviously don't have a significant problem with allying themselves with racists and white nationalist types--doesn't bother them in the least. (Likewise they don't really have a problem with the idea that Putin was working to get Trump elected--happy to have the help--just don't want to have to admit that much unless it's absolutely necessary. If it were to become absolutely necessary to admit that they're okay taking help from Putin, well, then they'll admit it then, but not before.)
"Curious that his White Nationalist supporters would
be okay with cozying up to Russia."
Not at all curious. Putin is clearly a fascist, not a communist, never was a communist (neither were most of the governing class in the old Soviet Union), and he's a white identity type to boot.
Another morning without Trump tweets.
!
(Likewise they don't really have a problem with the idea that Putin was working to get Trump elected--
At minimum that places them in the "duped" category.
Putin is clearly a fascist, not a communist, never was a communist (neither were most of the governing class in the old Soviet Union), and he's a white identity type to boot.
All true. But he also would like the United States to fall back into the second rate power category. To him Russia should reign supreme in he world hierarchy. The United States is a threat to that.
Another morning without Trump tweets.
!
Mueller has accomplished what others have failed to do, shut up Trump for more than a day. lol!
Perhaps Trump is smarter than we give him credit for. Either that or they did manage to hide his phone.
"At minimum that places them in the 'duped' category."
No, it doesn't. You're missing the point. They're okay with the idea. It's not a deal breaker for them.
Like their association with neo-Nazis and white supremacists; it's not a deal breaker for them.
They know, as we know, that Trump is a minority President. He lost the election; he won the electoral college. Our system was set up so that can happen. (It was called America's ‛original sin’ for many years, but now it's their only hope to hold on to power just a little bit longer.)
If they have to accept Putin's help, then they'll accept Putin's help. Not a deal breaker for them. But that doesn't mean they have to admit to it. They'd rather not do that if they can avoid it (much like they pretended to believe Obama was a Muslim on account of it got them nasty looks and lectures from their grandkids to admit to the their real objection--black bastard takin’ over their White House).
So, they'll fight the allegation of Putin's assistance as long as they can, but not because they mind taking his assistance. Rather, they mind taking the sidewise looks and stern lectures on political hypocracy from the non-Trumpkins.
It has just occurred to me that Mueller's grand jury had its tenure and jurisdiction extended by six months back in early January. I haven't heard anything about the grand jury being discharged in the intervening time. That means the grand jury is still empaneled and will be until early July.
They're okay with the idea.
Then that would make them something else. They would be better off with pretending to be duped.
Well the part of the Mueller report that has been made public has concluded that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It takes a pass on the obstruction issue.
Trump is crowing and the Democrats are probably stewing. But strangely I feel a sense of odd relief. I was really not looking forward to a fight over whether or not Trump was/is a Russia tool. However, that doesn't mean that I believe Trump is innocent. His behavior has shown a marked tendency to follow along with Russian interests to an odd degree. Nor does this change my opinion of him or his policies in general.
I believe Trump will use whatever or whomever suites him to get what he wants. He has no ethics in that respect.
"Then that would make them something else."
You need to get it through your head here. These people believe that their true worst enemies are other Americans, the American voting majority to be specific. These are the heirs of the Old South, who waged a bloody war in an attempt to secede from the United States. They still fly that flag. And they're losing the demographic trends, and they know it. This is their last chance to destroy the American democracy before it overwhelms them. They'll accept the allies who'll have them.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
In the meantime… Mueller's report has been summarized at the Justice Department. As I'm getting the news, the summary is: 1) No evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, and 2) The evidence of obstruction of justice by Trump is deemed insufficient to sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.
I am surprised. But, then again, I was working on the assumption that there were a fistful of sealed indictments waiting to be sprung, and those reports were apparently false.
So, while I'd been working my way to a belief in the idea that we needed to impeach Trump (even though the Republicans would never convict in the Senate), I'm doing an about face now. No point in it. Waste of time and effort.
Finally, I am also surprised at what I perceive to be a certain lack of diligence by Mueller. He closed up shop without ever interviewing Trump; apparently never interviewed Trump á´ŠÊ€. either; and closed up with some discovery still undone and waiting secret hearing in front of the Supreme Trumpkins. And that's just the stuff we know about.
Post Script:
I find myself surprised, as I said, by the fact that Trump closed up shop with some of the investigation undone. When I was laboring under the misconception of sealed indictments extant it made sense to me--Mueller already had his ass--didn't need the additional information. Instead it appears that Mueller decided to punt on the question of Obstruction of Justice (no opinion on the subject he says) in spite of the fact that it was his job to answer that question. And he decided to punt it off without interviewing either Trump or Trump á´ŠÊ€. I would not have expected that sort of dereliction out of Mueller, but there it is. And so, yeah, I guessed that one wrong; I am surprised.
Correction there: Mueller closed up shop with some of the investigation undone.
Couple of thoughts came to me overnight…
Mueller specifically found that the Russians made several offers of assistance to the Trump campaign.
We already knew that, during the campaign, Jared Kushner made at least two attempts to set up a secret "back-channel" to communicate with the Russians. (And there was a third attempt run through Erik Prince, brother of current Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos.)
We know that Trump á´ŠÊ€. was eager to connect with the Russians and receive their assistance. (‛…I love it, especially later in the summer…’)
We know that Trump himself publicly asked the Russians to assist his campaign. (‛Russia, if you're listening…’)
And we now know that, in spite of all this going on, Mueller supposedly found no evidence that the Russians and the Trump campaign were successful in getting together.
If this is true it bespeaks a frightening level of incompetence on the part of team Trump. (Or, perhaps, Bill Barr, now head of Trump's Justice Department, didn't really level with us about Mueller's findings. Or, could be a bit of both.)
The Supreme Trumpkins have, as of this morning, rejected the appeal of the super-secret unnamed "foreign-government owned corporation" which was resisting Mueller's discovery up until Mueller folded up shop on Friday. Little late now to be upholding further discovery one might think.
ABCNews
One might think the case maybe had precedential value, except that it's all very secret and the lower courts who might rely on the Supreme Trumpkin ruling as precedent have no clue what it's all about either.
David Frum, card carrying conservative; speechwriter for Dubya; once an editorial page editor for the Wall Street Journal; used to be an editor for The Weekly Standard (now defunct):
"Good news, America. Russia helped install your
president. But although he owes his job in large part to
that help, the president did not conspire or collude with
his helpers. He was the beneficiary of a foreign
intelligence operation, but not an active participant in
that operation. He received the stolen goods, but he
did not conspire with the thieves in advance.
"This is what Donald Trump’s administration and its
enablers in Congress and the media are already calling
exoneration."
***
"Are Americans comfortable with this president in the
White House, now that they know…?"
"…[L]et’s not lose sight of what we already know, both from
[Mueller's] investigation and from news reports over the past two
years.
***
"We know that the Russian government interfered repeatedly in
the 2016 presidential election, by hacking into computer servers of
the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. We
know that it did this with the goals of dividing Americans and helping
Donald Trump win the presidency. We know that when top members
of the Trump campaign learned about this interference, they didn’t
just fail to report it to the F.B.I. They welcomed it. They encouraged
it. They made jokes about it. On the same day that Mr. Trump
publicly urged the Russians to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails, they
began to do just that. And we know that when questioned by federal
authorities, many of Mr. Trump’s top associates lied, sometimes
repeatedly, about their communications with Russians. None of this is
in dispute.
"That Mr. Mueller couldn’t find sufficient evidence that Mr. Trump or
anyone involved in his campaign had coordinated directly with the
Russians may be explained by the fact that they didn’t need to. They
were already getting that help.
***
"Mr. Putin did have a clear favorite. He interfered on his behalf, and
his favorite was elected president. Trump campaign officials knew
about this and were more than happy for the help. Then they lied
about receiving that help. This isn’t complicated."
Editorial NewYorkTimes
You need to get it through your head here. These people believe that their true worst enemies are other Americans, the American voting majority to be specific.
Oh, no, I understand what you are saying. Actively working with a foreign power to undermine your country would make you a traitor. The "something else" I was talking about. Obviously if they don't consider the United States their country they are free to move to another. Perhaps Russia?
Little late now to be upholding further discovery one might think.
:)
Not if the case is going forward. I believe Mueller did hand off some things when he ended his investigation of collusion.
They certainly are racking up some hefty fines to...hide...something.
"Obviously if they don't consider the United States their country
they are free to move to another."
They do consider the United States to be their country. They used to talk about ‛taking their country back’ (Sarah Palin made that one famous although she didn't come up with it), and now they talk about ‛making America great again’. That doesn't mean they intend to share their country with the rest of us. In fact, excluding the rest of us from participation is a large part of what they think will be ‛great’ going forward.
Given everything that Mueller has exposed over the past two years during his investigation I think that...
"Are Americans comfortable with this president in the
White House, now that they know…?"
this might be the question he would pose to the American voters.
It's not just that Trump is a poor president, or that he is not well liked, it is that he has appealed to the worst of us to get elected, he has also possibly engaged in questionable business practices. Is this president really the person the majority of us would want to emulate?
If the answer is "no" then whomever the Democrats run in 2020 that is the person that should be voted in. We can't let Mueller do our dirty work for us. We have to stand up and be counted...Trump or no Trump. It is up to us now.
That doesn't mean they intend to share their country with the rest of us. In fact, excluding the rest of us from participation is a large part of what they think will be ‛great’ going forward.
lol!
Okay, so then they are either fools or just stupid. Repression doesn't work well to encourage people to work hard or innovate.
I think that the analysis by Shan Wu is really close. The other analysis is too obsessed with the politics.
I think Mueller is a smart guy. There was a reason he did what he did.
"Okay, so then they are either fools or just stupid."
Mostly, they're just desperate. The world is changing; America is changing. And they don't like it. They liked it better when black folks didn't complain in public about cops shooting black men in the back (certainly didn't march and yell--and worst thing vote). They liked it better when they didn't see gay people on their TV sets (not out of the closet anyway; certainly not getting married). They liked it better when women just shut up and suffered in silence about getting abused both at home and at work. Putin agrees with them on all these things.
But, the world is changing; America is changing, and they can't stop it, and they don't like it.
"There was a reason he did what he did."
Let us not forget that Mueller was, and is, a loyal Republican. He had the opportunity to look into matters ‛arising out of’ of investigation of Trump's collusion with the Russians. He chose to not take up any of those matters except where they might give him leverage over witnesses he wanted to question. Otherwise, he had no interest in getting to the bottom of the many of the issues that technically fell within his jurisdiction. (I was surprised to discover this, but it's certainly true.)
Bad editing, syntax is a little garbled up there ↑↑, but I think you'll get the point.
But, the world is changing; America is changing, and they can't stop it, and they don't like it.
Change isn't easy, especially if it is something you don't like. But there are some changes that you have no control over, changes that you just have to try to live with.
Otherwise, he had no interest in getting to the bottom of the many of the issues that technically fell within his jurisdiction. (I was surprised to discover this, but it's certainly true.)
Maybe, maybe not. I'll wait a bit...
Meanwhile I see that Trump is resurrecting his attack on the ACA, aka ObamaCare. One of these days he will shoot himself in the foot and it will actually do permanent damage. I just hope that damage is to his chances of keeping the White House rather than the country.
"Meanwhile I see that Trump is resurrecting his
attack on the ACA, aka ObamaCare."
Yeah, I saw that.
That strikes me as an uncharacteristic departure from Trump's typical instinctive command of the sore spots and grievances of his ‛base’. The dedicated Trumpkins benefited from ObamaCare at a higher than national average rate of use. They were the less likely to have health insurance through their work. (ObamaCare remains a bête noire to the Republican ‛Establishment’ many of whom still want to kill it off before it becomes even more popular, and even harder to get rid of).
I suspect Trump has allowed himself to get out in front of his dedicated Trumpkins on this one on account of that horrid word ‛ObamaCare’. It's possible that his monomaniacal dedication to the destruction of all things Obama will lead him to waste efforts on something that doesn't widely offend his base and can't be made to widely offend them. If so, it only proves that even Trump's instinct for sniffing out grievances occasionally fails him.
On a tangent only somewhat relevant to Trump (Trump has a habit of trying to make everything all about himself, all the time) it appears Trump's campaign to save coal mining has run into a bit of a snag. A new study out (admittedly sponsored by a pro-environmental group) has come to the conclusion that ¾ of America's coal can no longer be mined, shipped, and burned cheaper than renewable energy sources can be brought online to replace the same (specifically, wind and solar). EnergyInnovation.Org (PDF file)
Theresa May is opening a gambit to get the third iteration of a Brexit deal passed. She knows some of her fellow Conservatives are eager to run for her job, so she's made it known that if she can get this third version to pass, then she'll feel like she's done her duty, and she'll resign and leave it somebody else to work on "Phase Two", which will be working out the new arrangements between Britain and the EU.
This gives those who've been sabotaging her from within her own party an incentive to quit that and help get the Brexit vote through Parliament this time, in the hope that they can be the new Conservative leader to succeed her. Reuters It's creative, I'll give her that. Probably won't work, but she's givin' it what she's got to give it.
It's possible that his monomaniacal dedication to the destruction of all things Obama will lead him to waste efforts on something that doesn't widely offend his base and can't be made to widely offend them.
It gives the Democrats a very real issue to oppose Trump on that affects every American.
If everything that Mueller has uncovered doesn't move people maybe this will. Although I would rather it die an ignoble death rather than come to pass.
"Although I would rather it die an ignoble death rather
than come to pass."
I'm afraid I didn't manage to catch the meaning of that last sentence.
A new study out (admittedly sponsored by a pro-environmental group) has come to the conclusion that ¾ of America's coal can no longer be mined, shipped, and burned cheaper than renewable energy sources can be brought online to replace the same (specifically, wind and solar).
Perfect, appeal to wait is a prime motivator for business...money.
I'm afraid I didn't manage to catch the meaning of that last sentence.
If Trump succeeds in killing ObamaCare it will be a horrible outcome for millions of people. So much so that it would get their attention even more so than the lies and corruption that was exhibited by Trump's cohorts who have been brought to account through the Mueller investigation. I hope his idea of killing ObamaCare dies quickly before that happens.
Perfect, appeal to wait is a prime motivator for business...money.
That should read ..."appeal to what"...
Got it. I didn't catch the original referent for the pronoun ‛it’ in the phrase "I would rather it die", but I got it now.
..."appeal to what"...
Yeah, that makes more sense now as well.
It's creative, I'll give her that.
That's for sure. I gotta think it would be a win win for everyone, including Theresa May. She's got to be getting tired and frustrated with the whole situation. It's a clever way out. But you're probably right, it won't work.
Making America Great Again: The Trump administration wants to put a man on the moon before they leave office in 2024 (they're assuming a lot there). NewYorkTimes
After that they're going to build a railroad clear across the United States, the long way--east to west (maybe move some Indian tribes out of the way in the process--kill off the buffalo, destroy their food supplies oughta help with that).
Desperately seeking a legacy...
Politico: "Lock her up!!" Has become "Lock them up!!"
Trump is prepping his crowds for his coming pardons for Manafort and whomever else (felons) has not drawn his ire over the course of the Mueller investigation.
And he's getting ready to use his "exoneration" from Barr as his leading weapon against the rest of the country. And his dedicated Trumpkins are eating it up. Problem for Trump is, to quote the poet, "There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago." Current polling suggests that the American majority is not buying into that ‛exoneration’ narrative he's been selling on FoxNews.
Perhaps there's been enough revelations during the Mueller investigation that people are starting to wake up? At least those who were fringe supporters to start with.
Meanwhile it seems that Britain is imploding. They again had demonstrators protesting the lack of an exit in their Brexit. Today was supposed to be the day and they had people out expressing their displeasure at nothing happening.
And we thought we had problems...
The president once again claimed complete exoneration Thursday night.
He's claimed all sorts of things that aren't true.
Over the years, and in the face of serious evidence to the contrary, the population of Germany have insisted that they, the general population, were unaware of worst excesses of the Nazi regime of the 1930s and 40s. The evidence suggests otherwise, but the Germans have been insistent across three generations that the evidence is wrong.
I've been thinking more about that of late about as I marvel at how it came to be that the dedicated Trumpkins have become so dedicated to Trump. We have Evangelical Christians who're eager to pretend to believe that God himself sent Trump to make America into a Christian nation. (I'll not even go there past observing that they pretend to believe that; just make the observation and let it go at that.) We have lifelong conservatives who're more than willing to embrace Trump's trashing of conservative principles and follow him as he leads the Republican Party into spendthrift populism.
We have lifelong ‛law and order’ types who're suddenly eager to espouse the belief that the federal government is overtaken by an insidious ‛Deep State’ dedicated to perverting the administration of the law.
And they all know who he is. And they pretend anyway.
Yeah, the Germans knew who and what Hitler was. And, no, Hitler probably was not the oratorical genius that the historians have often described. (Hell, Trump has trouble just getting a sentence put together; it matters not to the dedicated Trumpkins. Good chance Hitler was no better of a public speaker.)
It could have happened here. We are perhaps lucky that we got Trump today instead of somebody just a little bit smoother a little bit later.
It could have happened here. We are perhaps lucky that we got Trump today instead of somebody just a little bit smoother a little bit later.
Isn't there a saying that goes..."all it takes is a few good men to do nothing."
It's not just those who bought into, and are still buying into, what Trump is selling that are the problem. It also takes the indifference or ignorance of those who don't pay attention.
It has further occurred to me that a lot of Trump's allure to his dedicated Trumpkins is the fact that he is not a little bit smoother. A good portion of his dedicated Trumpkins are only there for the fire--he's their designated arsonist and they damn well expect to see the hated Americans burn. Somebody smoother probably wouldn't haven't gotten them into those mass rallies that Trump is so fond of (Hitler was big on those things as well as history reminds us).
It's more than possible that only an obvious threat to democracy would have been able to pull the disenchanted, angry old white folks vote together with whatever remains of the Republican political power structure (the old-line worshipers of Saint Ronald of the Ray Guns) for one last desperate assault on the system itself.
Could be that if Trump were any smoother he'd never have pulled that off. Could be he's as close as we're ever gonna come to going down the road that lead the Germans to Hitler.
He does appeal to the baser side of people.
It does sound like we do have a serious problem on the border, which he has only exacerbated with his policies. The latest is that he is cutting off aid to Honduras, Guatemala & Honduras. Sure, encourage more violence by reducing programs designed to address it. Violence being one of the causes of people fleeing those countries.
*sigh*
The Wall, of course, is a powerful draw. It's the finish line, big and bold, the symbol that beckons them in their dreams, gives them the resolve to endure the journey and keep on coming on. If they can only touch The Wall then they've made it; they can apply for asylum if only they can manage to just touch The Wall.
Score one for the good guys.
An appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is considered likely in the case.
Of course. But I think Trump doesn't have a good record in that court.
"…a serious problem on the border, which he has only
exacerbated with his policies…"
Trump has generally resisted all efforts to pump money into getting more immigration judges and courtrooms for them to work in, and Miranda lawyers for the applicants, and detention facilities in which to keep the applicants, pending hearing on their applications for asylum.
Trump don't wanna hear 'bout asylum. Trump don't wanna fund no asylum.
Trump wants to build The Wall. And, of course, they see The Wall as the finish line; what they gotta do, from their perspective, is just keep comin' on 'til they can finally touch The Wall.
Not everybody believes Attorney General Barr's 4 page rendition of the Mueller Report.
"Does the Mueller Report clear the President of wrongdoing?"
Yes: 29%
Unsure 31%
No: 40%
NBCNews/WallStreetJournal Poll
Meantime, Trump is getting out ahead of the news with the continuous declarations of his "exoneration".
It is worthy of note that only 29% believe that report clears Trump of colluding with the Russians, but Trump's support level is still 43%. Which means we got a significant percentage of people who admit to believing Trump was colluding with the Russians, but also admit to being okay with that.
It is those 14% who are the scary ones.
I'm convinced that there are an additional group of dedicated Trumpkins who believe Trump did indeed collude with the Russians and yet won't admit to that because they don't want to publicly admit that they're okay with accepting the Russian support; they insist on maintaining the faerie tale as a convenience to themselves. Those are the ones who are scariest to me.
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