The Former Trump Presidency Thread

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:44 pm

Wow, I think person doing the tweeting in the ethics office is really eager to keep their job...or has a lot of toddlers and elementary school children at home.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:10 pm

$iljanus wrote:Wow, I think person doing the tweeting in the ethics office is really eager to keep their job...

I suspect they're retiring instead. That whole sequence was high snark.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:15 pm

There is no way he is really going to divest, right?

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:21 pm

PLW wrote:There is no way he is really going to divest, right?

Even if he did, he wouldn't hang his kids out to dry. So they will still be vested, and he will still be able to act in ways that benefit them (and thus him) at our expense.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:51 pm

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 11:06 pm

Petraeus would have to notify probation officer if named secretary of State

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Wed Nov 30, 2016 11:42 pm

El Guapo wrote:I told my boss that I was going to hold off on trainings until sometime next year, once I see what securities laws are left.

This is my year to attend the major January estate planning conference in Orlando. I'm ditching the last day of retrospective and perspective to attend Disney with the family because (1) I don't want to waste my time, (2) you can only speculate about tax base erosion so long before realizing you're going to end up re-litigating basic legal concepts. and (3) eventually waiting in line for hours to see Princesses for becomes more interesting and less depressing.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:31 am

Defiant wrote:

I was bound to say it sooner or later - Ann Coulter is right.

The Medicare privatization effort is possibly the most intriguing political bomb of 2017. Pretty much no one is expecting it, since it was not mentioned at all in the election, and Medicare has strong bipartisan support (including among Trump's base).

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 1:10 am

President Bush immolated himself on Medicare reform at the start of his second term. I'm almost tempted to invite Trump to do the same in his first 100 days.

If the Trump Administration tries this foolishness, you know the machine Republicans are in charge of policy. It's the polar opposite of "Drain the Swamp."

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 5:11 am

It would happen the year I become eligible.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:02 am

"This is all a matter of opinion . . . there are no such things as facts.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/1 ... ts/509276/

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:16 am

Grifman wrote:"This is all a matter of opinion . . . there are no such things as facts.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/1 ... ts/509276/

Astounding. And this is a person who has a prominent position in the media.

We're so completely fucked.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:50 am

As I may have mentioned before, a few weeks ago Tucker Carlson was debating with some guest on his show about what "fake" news meant. Carlson's argument was how could you know what was "fake" vs. real news. He rejected the idea that you could tell "fake" news because it wasn't factually true.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:56 am

Grifman wrote:"This is all a matter of opinion . . . there are no such things as facts.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/1 ... ts/509276/

Yikes.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:08 pm

tgb wrote:
Grifman wrote:"This is all a matter of opinion . . . there are no such things as facts.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/1 ... ts/509276/
Yikes.

That's about right. There's a quote I remember from philosophy class (I wish I could remember who said it), "opinion is the lowest form of thought." That sums it up pretty well.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:35 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:And this is a person who has a prominent position in the media.

Can you really say that, though? Isn't Breitbart article commenter WhtPrd88AH just as prominent, especially given his willingness to keep posting hour after hour despite the dankness of his basement and the shitty quality of his weed?

We're so completely fucked.

I choose to believe you mean "completely Great Again."

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:38 pm

She is on CNN all the time.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 1:37 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:She is on CNN all the time.

CNN has some real serious issues in general. Jeffrey Lord is a regular (IIRC) and he's incredibly problematic. But I think the worst is having Lewandowski as a regular paid (by CNN) commentator shortly after his active work on the Trump campaign and *while he was still subject to a non-disparagement agreement with the Trump campaign whose violation could have cost him substantial money.* I mean, good lord.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:04 pm

Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:06 pm

Skinypupy wrote:
Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.

Hush you, perhaps he'll show up dressed for balmy, tropical Indiana December weather. William Henry Harrison redux FTW!

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:07 pm

Skinypupy wrote:
Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.

Sure, that's just what the dishonest liars at the so-called New York Times would want you to believe, and why they're failing. Sad.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:19 pm

El Guapo wrote:
Captain Caveman wrote:She is on CNN all the time.
CNN has some real serious issues in general. Jeffrey Lord is a regular (IIRC) and he's incredibly problematic. But I think the worst is having Lewandowski as a regular paid (by CNN) commentator shortly after his active work on the Trump campaign and *while he was still subject to a non-disparagement agreement with the Trump campaign whose violation could have cost him substantial money.* I mean, good lord.

I've pretty much written off CNN for this reason. On the surface hiring partisans from both sides to get deep insight sounds good for about 5 seconds. Most networks are happy to just invite them on to bullshit. But bringing them in-house? Bonkers. That they actually signed deals with them negates the judgement of their execs. I can't imagine their anchors wanted to deal with these clowns. SNL tore them apart for it - and nailed it perfectly with their Westworld sketch.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:27 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:She is on CNN all the time.

She's not on there as a journalist but as a Trump surrogate. so what can you expect? She's an equivalent of Donna Brazzile.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:37 pm

Grifman wrote:
Captain Caveman wrote:She is on CNN all the time.
She's not on there as a journalist but as a Trump surrogate. so what can you expect? She's an equivalent of Donna Brazzile.

Yeah, she's a talking head. But even so, I would hope that a network presenting itself as "news" would avoid putting people on the air who claim that "there are no such things as facts". Differing perspectives and diversity of thought are good things. Denying that objective facts exist, however, means you're just being given a platform to propagate misinformation and propaganda.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:38 pm

Skinypupy wrote:
Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.

That's picking just to pick.

Carrier sells air conditioners and the brand is enhanced even if it's a dog and pony show.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:45 pm

noxiousdog wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:
Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.
That's picking just to pick.

Carrier sells air conditioners and the brand is enhanced even if it's a dog and pony show.

Sure, but if he's going to make a big public spectacle about how he swooped in and singlehandedly saved all these jobs, he should at least know what those jobs actually are.

I agree it's a minor nitpick.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:48 pm

He was in the neighborhood of an accurate statement - that is an achievement - let's not cut him down for it. The American people accepted a far lower bar for competency and we just have to live with it!

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:57 pm

malchior wrote:
El Guapo wrote:
Captain Caveman wrote:She is on CNN all the time.
CNN has some real serious issues in general. Jeffrey Lord is a regular (IIRC) and he's incredibly problematic. But I think the worst is having Lewandowski as a regular paid (by CNN) commentator shortly after his active work on the Trump campaign and *while he was still subject to a non-disparagement agreement with the Trump campaign whose violation could have cost him substantial money.* I mean, good lord.
I've pretty much written off CNN for this reason. On the surface hiring partisans from both sides to get deep insight sounds good for about 5 seconds. Most networks are happy to just invite them on to bullshit. But bringing them in-house? Bonkers. That they actually signed deals with them negates the judgement of their execs. I can't imagine their anchors wanted to deal with these clowns. SNL tore them apart for it - and nailed it perfectly with their Westworld sketch.

SNL also did a great job skewering CNN's silly use of graphics.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 7:19 pm

Isn't this the State Governor's job? Why was Governor Pence unable to handle this situation without a federal intervention?

Seriously, the theatre is so transparent, with Pence pretending it's Donald winning. So easy to manipulate. Sad.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 8:34 pm

noxiousdog wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:
Furnaces, Donald. They make furnaces.
That's picking just to pick.

Carrier sells air conditioners and the brand is enhanced even if it's a dog and pony show.

I thought it was a Global Warming joke. No?

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 12:06 am

Yes, that's the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 12:24 am

The Carrier deal is pretty underwhelming. Trump campaigned on using the threat of tariffs and sanctions to keep jobs in the country, but instead promises over 7 million in tax breaks to save less than one thousand jobs. First, it sounds like this gives smart companies incentives to threaten to pull out. Secondly it doesn't sound like a great deal. More jobs than not are still moving to Mexico and yet we are handing over quite a bit of taxpayer money.

Ugh.

geezer · Post by **geezer** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 1:08 am

Defiant wrote:
Yes, that's the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

This just makes me want to cry.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 2:57 am

Of course, there is no reference for this House data point so it's not science.

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for October 2016 tied with 2003 as the third highest for October in the 137-year period of record, at 0.73°C (1.31°F) above the 20th century average of 14.0°C (57.1°F). This is 0.26°C (0.47°F) cooler than the record warmth of October 2015 when El Niño conditions were strengthening and 0.50°C (0.90°F) cooler than the all-time record warmth of March 2016 when the El Niño was near the end of its peak. Including 2016, the past three Octobers have been the three warmest in the historical record; however, October 2016 also marked the lowest monthly departure from average for any month since November 2014, which was 0.69°C (1.24°F) above average.

The average global temperature across land surfaces was 0.76°C (1.37°F) above the 20th century average of 9.3°C (48.7°F)—the 16th highest October global land temperature on record but also the lowest October value since 2002, when the departure from average was +0.49°C (+0.88°F).

Warmer- to much-warmer-than-average conditions were present across large areas of the world's land surface, with record warmth across parts of Mexico and the Caribbean, parts of west central Africa, sections of southeastern Asia, western Alaska extending to Far East Russia, where temperatures were more than 5°C (9°F) above their 1981–2010 averages, according to the Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles map above. Cooler- and much-cooler-than-average conditions were observed much of western Canada, most of eastern Europe, and a large swath extending across much of central Asia, where temperatures were more than 5°C (9°F) above below their 1981–2010 averages in places. No land areas experienced record cold temperatures during October 2016.

NOAA Global Analysis-October 2016

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:51 am

I still don't get how this is political. Other than big buckets of money. And that is disgusting when the US military is beginning to make noise that this will likely be the gravest threat to world security. I can't believe humanity could be this stupid but then again we elected Trump so all bets are off. Also steep or record (aka unexpected) plummets of temperatures could be anomalous aka climate change related but still don't mean anything in isolation. Why would climate scientists talk about a one off event?

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:51 am

Here's WaPo's take on the whole thing, including the data cherry picked for that misleading tweet.

Basically, because this October is a degree cooler than last October (bye bye, El Nino!), it's "record cooling". Even though we're still warmer than average.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:53 am

Starting January 20, Donald Trump Can Send Unblockable Mass Text Messages to the Entire Nation

While it’d be a true nightmare to get screeching alerts from your phone that “Loser Senate Democrats still won’t confirm great man Peter Thiel to Supreme Court. Sad!”, there are some checks and balances on this. While President-elect Trump hasn’t shown much impulse control when it comes to his favorite mass-messaging service, Twitter, the process for issuing a WEA isn’t as simple as typing out a 90-character alert from a presidential smartphone and hitting “Send.”

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:56 am

pr0ner wrote:Here's WaPo's take on the whole thing, including the data cherry picked for that misleading tweet.

Basically, because this October is a degree cooler than last October (bye bye, El Nino!), it's "record cooling". Even though we're still warmer than average.

FFS - this is completely dishonest and these shameless propagandists have to know it. Fuck them.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 10:20 am

malchior wrote:I can't believe humanity could be this stupid but then again we elected Trump so all bets are off.

Apparently we live in a world where what you want to be true, is good enough.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 10:45 am

Defiant wrote:Starting January 20, Donald Trump Can Send Unblockable Mass Text Messages to the Entire Nation

While it’d be a true nightmare to get screeching alerts from your phone that “Loser Senate Democrats still won’t confirm great man Peter Thiel to Supreme Court. Sad!”, there are some checks and balances on this. While President-elect Trump hasn’t shown much impulse control when it comes to his favorite mass-messaging service, Twitter, the process for issuing a WEA isn’t as simple as typing out a 90-character alert from a presidential smartphone and hitting “Send.”

I'm willing to believe a lot of things about this administration, but fear that he's about to start abusing the emergency alert system just seems like over the top alarm. At least at this point.