Mourning in America - Trump Year One: November '16 to

the trump/apprentice thing seems like more of an ethical issue on NBC's side than trump's

if you can't have Billy Bush at your network because he was involved in a dirty conversation with Trump, then I dunno how you can keep Trump himself

the apprentice thing is so far down my list of things to give a shit about right now, are we going to waste this administration complaining about how unclassy and tacky and "reality tv" he is or pay attention to what his admin actually does?

sadly, yeah

it's gonna be 4 years of coverage of him tweeting insults at comedy shows while his administration fucks over the planet and the working class every which way

I'd argue that the Apprentice thing is more about the incredibly uncomfortable conflict of interest of a standing president producing a television series on a major network than it is about Trump being tacky. It's not of paramount concern but it's nonetheless very concerning.

Accruing media mouthpieces while expressing general contempt for any exercise of the 1st amendment that's at all critical of him or his administration is a thing he's actually doing.

the conflict seems to be with NBC paying him a salary while also paying its journalists to write critically about him

Well

Outside of the Capitol Thursday night, a group of red state Democrats gathered to speak out about an upcoming must-pass spending bill they argue doesn't do enough for miners.

With the Capitol lit behind them, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA) – all up for re-election in 2018 in states Trump won– literally stood with the miners they were fighting for. It was a photo op for sure and the first opportunity red state Dems have had since the election to make an overt play for the white working class voters they lost to President-elect Trump.

Here's the issue.

Congress has paved the way for a must-pass spending bill. Without it, the government runs out of money at midnight. The legislation easily passed in the House of Representatives, but in the Senate, there is a problem. Tucked in the legislation is a provision to extend health care benefits for miners and their widows, but it only funds the care for four months. Democrats want the benefits extended for a full year. And they want another measure to be added that requires all government-funded projects to be required to use American products like steel.

This came out a few months before the election, re plan to purge Obama admin people from civil service:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-purge-exclusive-idUSKCN10003A

Maybe it's wishful thinking for me, but it could turn out to be a mistake. A de-baathification of washington.

drain the baath

If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers, Trump ally, Chris Christie, said on Tuesday.

oh the irony of chris christie, widely reviled hated public worker, delivering this message

I'd argue that the Apprentice thing is more about the incredibly uncomfortable conflict of interest of a standing president producing a television series on a major network than it is about Trump being tacky. It's not of paramount concern but it's nonetheless very concerning.

and yet the most infuriating thing was hearing all the shrieks from Trump supporters (and Trump himself) that Obama PLAYED GOLF!!! a couple times when so-and-so was happening

Are you all familiar with the handy acronym IOKIYAR*?

*It's OK If You're A Republican

BTW, while it's quite true that you can march/protest without a permit, it's frustrating to show up and just have lots of people milling about with no focal point and shouting hey hey ho ho.

If you want stuff like a podium on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for your speakers, or jumbotrons for those too distant to see, permits are useful. Not to mention porta-potties and trash collection and and and.

Permits may be fascist, maaaan. But Martin Luther King had microphones in front of him when he told people he had a dream. The reason is because he had a fucking permit.

ExxonMobil Chairman Rex Tillerson’s with ties to Vladimir Putin stock is rising in Donald Trump’s ever-expanding search for a secretary of state nominee

Given his tenuous grasp on reality, I'm a little surprised that Trump has yet to nominate a fictional villain to a cabinet position.

Bobby Valentine floated as ambassador to Japan

you could not. make. it up.

...What the actual fuck is wrong with this man? And what the actual fucking fuck is wrong with anyone who has the power to stop this shit and fails to do so?

sadly my first thought was that it made slightly more sense than his last 10+ announced appointees

like, bobby valentine has at least BEEN to Japan, and is known there in the baseball community at least. and more importantly, unlike the education, EPA, labor, HUD, etc, picks, he doesn't completely hate and oppose the idea of Japan as an entity

hm, i thought i wouldn't be surprised by any further appointments but it turns out i was wrong

so this is kind of obvious but isnt the gop basically telling the youth to go fuck themselves?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/gop-plan-major-social-security-cuts

no no, they're "saving" social security don't you see?

his fucking idiotic rally is on in the background here right now. It's mind boggling what this shit head is babbling on about. I want to cry!!

I refuse to listen to him at this point. The very sound of his voice makes me sick.

sadly my first thought was that it made slightly more sense than his last 10+ announced appointees

― Karl Malone, Friday, December 9, 2016 3:12 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

like, bobby valentine has at least BEEN to Japan, and is known there in the baseball community at least. and more importantly, unlike the education, EPA, labor, HUD, etc, picks, he doesn't completely hate and oppose the idea of Japan as an entity

― Karl Malone, Friday, December 9, 2016 3:13 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sadly otm

yea i can't watch videos or listen to his voice either xps

just watching him gesticulating is ridiculous and infuriating.

I genuinely (and blessedly) don't think I've heard Trump speak or seen any video of him since he was elected.

Oh no wait, I saw that fucking first 100 days video but I think that's it.

I genuinely (and blessedly) don't think I've heard Trump speak or seen any video of him since he was elected.

― The Pleasure Principal (Old Lunch), Friday, December 9, 2016 2:46 PM (thirty-eight seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

possibly the worst part of being in the inauguration protests is the risk of that
well and it's going to be cold as fuckin balls

you'd also be able to avoid people with signs calling him like 'orange' and 'a cheeto' like okay we get it

oh god, sitting through that cold was interminable when it was a president I was enthusiastic about, I can't imagine being in that environment for Trump

yea i was there in 08 and it was unbelievably cold

anger warms the heart more than pride though
it also lasts longer

Anger is an energy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN-GGeNPQEg

Maybe it will rain, and Trump ends up pulling a William Henry Harrison.

Predictions feel like a fool's game at this point, but 'Trump dies in office' feels like a pretty safe one to me.

Dead to me, tbh.

id personally prefer "trump first president removed from office" but either way works

Even if it isn't by natural causes, you figure he will at some point tweet something nasty about the Secret Service and they'll start being all 'oh hey look at those pretty flowers over there, aren't they something' at all of his public appearances.

not sure if this article has been posted but i know a number of you have said the same thing: https://newrepublic.com/article/139245/trumps-distractions-will-provide-republican-cover-rip-apart-safety-net "Trump’s Distractions Will Provide Republican Cover to Rip Apart the Safety Net"

On a daily basis, Trump has proven able to divert media attention away from the plutocratic government he is assembling and on to a variety of shiny objects. His meetings with Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio received far more coverage, for instance, than the fact that his designated Environmental Protection Agency director worked hand in glove with polluters as Oklahoma’s attorney general. He has not tweeted about Obamacare or turning Medicare over to private insurers, but he did appoint one of the most fiercely dedicated foes of both programs to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2005, when Democrats wanted the GOP’s plan to privatize Social Security to drive news coverage, Bush played into their hands. In a way, he did so consistent with the best liberal traditions of public debate. Likewise, when President Barack Obama asked Congress to pass health care reform, Congress undertook a major public legislating process, while Obama quarterbacked. He gave a prime-time health care reform address to a joint session of Congress, and participated in a televised negotiation with congressional Republicans at the Blair House—a final gesture for cross-over support—before Democrats passed it on their own.

In all likelihood, Trump isn’t going to do any of this.

And in a very intentional way, he won’t really have to. House Speaker Paul Ryan has been priming Republicans in Congress to streamline Obamacare repeal and Medicare privatization for years. Unifying control of government so Congress can set the agenda, and the president can sit back and sign bills, has been the party’s long-game for years. The difference is that instead of keeping drama at bay, the GOP president will be creating routine distractions from the hard work of crafting unpopular legislation.

For the press, the temptation will be hard to resist. Covering major legislation is grueling, complicated work that doesn’t generate a return-to-clicks in the way a Trump rally or a Trump tweet does. Many dedicated, hardworking reporters will work insane hours covering the GOP’s decision-making and legislative maneuvers, but much of that hard work will end up below the fold, where much of the public won’t see it. This will insulate the party from blowback while the process is underway, which is precisely when blowback is most needed.

i.e. trump's tweets may be reprehensible and disturbing but keep your eye on the ball re: shitty and dangerous GOP legislation

oh god, sitting through that cold was interminable when it was a president I was enthusiastic about, I can't imagine being in that environment for Trump

― ¶ (DJP), Friday, December 9, 2016 3:51 PM (twenty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's OK there should be plenty of hot air

Isn't part of the problem that people already don't pay attention to or understand enough the machinations of government? I mean why does this work as a "distraction" technique in the first place? Why are more people clicking the tweet story than the medicare story?

I feel like I said this somewhere before, but Trump tweets (and, by extension, any words he types or utters) only have utility as a window into the complex of mental illnesses from which he suffers. None of it represents his true intentions or reflects his actions or means a goddamn thing so, yes, focus your attention on what he actually does.

Are you all familiar with the handy acronym IOKIYAR*?

*It's OK If You're A Republican

― jane burkini (suzy), Friday, December 9, 2016 2:51 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

thats some fucked up acronym algebra my dude

By that logic wouldn't most of Trump supporters also be mentally ill?

xp

I can't take credit/blame for the acronym algebra! It's been in use for 15 years.