45th President of the United States, Donald Trump (Vol. 7)
Discussion
All that investment in Scotus is paying off for the donald.
By a 5 to 4 vote (decision by Roberts), the Supreme Court has said it cannot decide the question of partisan gerrymandering in federal courts. SCOTUS will not strike down the gerrymandering in North Carolina and Maryland.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that federal courts may not block gerrymandering in a 5-4 decision that fell along partisan lines.
“We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, who delivered the opinion of the court. Roberts wrote that those asking the top court to block gerrymandered districts effectively sought “an unprecedented expansion of judicial power.”
“Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions,” he wrote.
The court’s decision prompted a fierce dissent from its liberal wing. Justice Elena Kagan penned a dissent joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.
“Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one,” Kagan wrote. “The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/supreme-court-deci...
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422...
By a 5 to 4 vote (decision by Roberts), the Supreme Court has said it cannot decide the question of partisan gerrymandering in federal courts. SCOTUS will not strike down the gerrymandering in North Carolina and Maryland.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that federal courts may not block gerrymandering in a 5-4 decision that fell along partisan lines.
“We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, who delivered the opinion of the court. Roberts wrote that those asking the top court to block gerrymandered districts effectively sought “an unprecedented expansion of judicial power.”
“Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions,” he wrote.
The court’s decision prompted a fierce dissent from its liberal wing. Justice Elena Kagan penned a dissent joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.
“Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one,” Kagan wrote. “The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/supreme-court-deci...
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422...
Shakermaker said:
amusingduck said:
USWNT defender Ali Krieger issued a strong rebuke to President Donald Trump after he tweeted about teammate Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday.
"In regards to the 'President's' tweet today, I know women who you cannot control or grope anger you, but I stand by (Rapinoe) & will sit this one out as well," Krieger wrote.
"I don't support this administration nor their fight against LGBTQ+ citizens, immigrants & our most vulnerable."
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2019/0...
Kushner greeted by tumbleweed in Bahrain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/26/jare...
Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Twitter's new warning label could curb spread of Trump tweets:
https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/twitter-will-...
https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/twitter-will-...
captain_cynic said:
Tartan Pixie said:
Trump isn't as extreme as Hitler or Mussolini but the logical underpinnings are the same, as is the direction of travel.
Mussolini and Hitler never started out as autocratic dictators. They had to do something to attract people to their cause to begin with. In both cases it was giving them someone to blame for all their woes (I.E. 1920: You're poor because the Jewish bankers have taken all your money. 2016: You're poor because the Mexicans have taken your jobs).Giving the lazy, incompetent and/or stupid anyone else to blame gets the on board pretty quick. Especially if you're using an already disliked minority.
I don't see classical (Italian) fascism as the end goal of the far right in the US, rather crony capitalism where corporations essentially write law and any show of democracy is at best, a farce. Ultimately, I'm not worried about Trump. Trump is really just the front man, the patsy and ultimately if need be, the fall guy for the actual powerbrokers of the far right (people like the Koch's). Fortunately, Trump is hurting the far right far more than helping them at this point in time.
Also this is why I believe Trump will eventually be found not guilty of collusion. Even if he did take advantage of the situations provided by foreign governments I don't believe there will be enough evidence to say that he was involved in creating them. If there is not evidence beyond reasonable doubt, he must be acquitted. Other crimes he may end up putting Trump in the big house, most notably the number of bribes he's been taking, embezzling public money (both via his properties) and abusing his position as president for his own advantage.
What sparked all this was midenginedcoupe's comment that "The slide to fascism is greased by "nice" people standing by and saying nothing."
In modern discourse people don't tend to differentiate between a nazi and a fascist so I intentionally muddled the two because frankly I'd written enough and didn't want to make the post even longer by explaining the difference, so you're right that Trump doesn't fit with classical Italian fascism but I'd argue he's much closer to early 30's national socialism than any other political model I can think of including crony capitalism.
If you look at someone like Putin as the crony capitalist / oligarch model he's very different to trump. Putin doesn't suffer from zero sum thinking and is capable of finding win-win positions with allies, the other important point is that Russia's state finances are well managed to defend the country from external shocks. American capitalists also tend to not care about someone's race so long as you can make them money.
Trump by contrast is not capable of creating a win-win situation, which is a core part of nazi ideology. If you believe in racial supremacy then there must be a process of you proving yourself supreme over others which leads to the win-lose mentality.
Hitler believed that he didn't need economic allies so increasingly relied on deficit spending as trading relationships were abandoned, exactly the same thinking that Trump uses. In the first few years this led to a surge in the German economy that got people on board because he was doing it, he was providing jobs, growing the economy and giving the country its national pride back. Which worked fine until Hitler was unable to secure more debt at which point his actions were guided by his notions of racial superiority and we all know how that worked out.
When the nazi party started out Hans on the Berlin omnibus wanted a job, some national pride and to MGGA, he wasn't signing up for wars or killing Jews but presumably did think it was fun to wind up lefties. This is where we are in America today so I'm with midenginedcoupe on this one.
Fortunately America is in a much stronger position than 1930's Germany and four years isn't enough time for him to do too much damage. I see Trump more as the teething issues of shifting in to the data and automation era than any real danger of backsliding towards the era of ideology. It is interesting though to see a country return to a failed ideology of the past when it feels its influence in the world declining.
captain_cynic said:
Tartan Pixie said:
Trump isn't as extreme as Hitler or Mussolini but the logical underpinnings are the same, as is the direction of travel.
<snip>I don't see classical (Italian) fascism as the end goal of the far right in the US, rather crony capitalism where corporations essentially write law and any show of democracy is at best, a farce. Ultimately, I'm not worried about Trump. Trump is really just the front man, the patsy and ultimately if need be, the fall guy for the actual powerbrokers of the far right (people like the Koch's). Fortunately, Trump is hurting the far right far more than helping them at this point in time.
<snip>
Browser game is a fake news vaccine that reduces susceptibility to disinformation: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fake-news-vacc...
Link to the game: https://getbadnews.com/#intro
Takes about 15 mins to play, is quite amusing.
Would happily give this to a child or less savvy adult as a fun way to make them aware of fake news.
Less effective for older people with a news junkie habit that has over the years grown to a wide streak of cynicism.
Link to the game: https://getbadnews.com/#intro
Takes about 15 mins to play, is quite amusing.
Would happily give this to a child or less savvy adult as a fun way to make them aware of fake news.
Less effective for older people with a news junkie habit that has over the years grown to a wide streak of cynicism.
Tartan Pixie said:
Kushner greeted by tumbleweed in Bahrain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/26/jare...
Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Not only that, it seems Kushner went freewheeling on his own, with his own plan, didn't involve anyone, other than to pay for his trips.Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
I guess thats what happens when you elect a team that don't have a clue how government works and try to muddle through because they know better.
In newly disclosed testimony, former secretary of state Rex Tillerson said President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, operated independently with powerful leaders around the world without coordination with the State Department, leaving Tillerson out of the loop and in the dark on emerging U.S. policies and simmering geopolitical crises.
In a transcript of his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tillerson also described the challenge of briefing a president who does not read briefing papers and often got distracted by peripheral topics, noting he had to keep his message short and focus on a single topic.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-secu...
Manafort pled not guilty to mortgage fraud in New York yesterday on the grounds of double jeopardy
Paul Manafort’s lawyer says he intends to seek the dismissal of state mortgage fraud charges, citing New York’s strong double jeopardy protections.
https://apnews.com/087319ee98c941b3af1ffc74dc2e106...
Paul Manafort’s lawyer says he intends to seek the dismissal of state mortgage fraud charges, citing New York’s strong double jeopardy protections.
https://apnews.com/087319ee98c941b3af1ffc74dc2e106...
Tartan Pixie said:
Kushner greeted by tumbleweed in Bahrain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/26/jare...
Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Did you see who the US put up for the G20 meeting?Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Ivanka Trump
Jared Kushner
Mick Mulvaney
Wilbur Ross
Mike Pompeo
Trump
Steve Mnuchin
Bob Lighthizer
John Bolton
Dan Scavino
Peter Navarro.
His daughter and social media manager (ex golf caddy) don't have the security clearance to be there, other than that it's family and toadies
After losing in court over trying to add a race question to the census, trump says he'll try to delay it.
A string of lower-court judges found that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated federal law and regulations in attempting to include the question on the census.
Evidence was provided that proved they thought it would remove black and democratic voters
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-asks...
Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University, said Trump did not appear to be suggesting a marginal adjustment of the census schedule for purposes of litigation but rather was trying try to mold the process to his needs.
Tribe called it an indication of “the administration’s contempt of the rule of law.”
“The combination of the president’s abject ignorance and manipulative flexibility on these matters is, at a minimum, quite telling,” Tribe said. “It suggests all matters — constitutional and legal — are subject to his whim.”
A string of lower-court judges found that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated federal law and regulations in attempting to include the question on the census.
Evidence was provided that proved they thought it would remove black and democratic voters
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-asks...
Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University, said Trump did not appear to be suggesting a marginal adjustment of the census schedule for purposes of litigation but rather was trying try to mold the process to his needs.
Tribe called it an indication of “the administration’s contempt of the rule of law.”
“The combination of the president’s abject ignorance and manipulative flexibility on these matters is, at a minimum, quite telling,” Tribe said. “It suggests all matters — constitutional and legal — are subject to his whim.”
Tartan Pixie said:
Kushner greeted by tumbleweed in Bahrain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/26/jare...
Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
I dunno......possibly...... Russia benefits somehow? Not a single government minister in sight as the Israelis, Palestinians and surrounding countries all snub Kushner by sending low level trade delegates to the launch of his deal of the century.
There's a pattern here across North Korea, China, Iran and now Palestine. These are all places where Trump told us he was going to get a deal and not just a deal but the biggliest bestest deal ever that would variously save the world, bring peace to the middle east and be the best trade deal ever.
To fail once maybe even twice can be written off as a cock up but four times? What's going on here? Is team Trump really this incompetent or are they getting some benefit from consistent failure that I'm not seeing?
Oh FFS!
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/114447361202119...
Trump makes a chummy joke with Putin over “meddling in the elections.” Putin chuckles. Just a replay of Helsinki, Trump taking Putin’s side over US intelligence.
He walked in with Putin, stood next to MBS for the photo
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/114447361202119...
Trump makes a chummy joke with Putin over “meddling in the elections.” Putin chuckles. Just a replay of Helsinki, Trump taking Putin’s side over US intelligence.
He walked in with Putin, stood next to MBS for the photo
Putting Kushner, a man with no experience of politics or diplomacy let alone global/religious issues in charge of the middle east peace process is mind boggling!
THE MIDDLE EASE PEACE PROCESS.
It's absolutely astounding to me.
Entrusting global security to a man who doesn't qualify for security clearance!!
Trump should be impeached just for that.
It's such a dereliction of duty.
Plus with Kushner being a property developer and what we've subsequently found out about his actions regarding wanting to build Trump properties in the middle east, it's a huge conflict of interest too.
THE MIDDLE EASE PEACE PROCESS.
It's absolutely astounding to me.
Entrusting global security to a man who doesn't qualify for security clearance!!
Trump should be impeached just for that.
It's such a dereliction of duty.
Plus with Kushner being a property developer and what we've subsequently found out about his actions regarding wanting to build Trump properties in the middle east, it's a huge conflict of interest too.
Byker28i said:
Oh FFS!
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/114447361202119...
Trump makes a chummy joke with Putin over “meddling in the elections.” Putin chuckles. Just a replay of Helsinki, Trump taking Putin’s side over US intelligence.
He walked in with Putin, stood next to MBS for the photo
How stupid do you have to be, to make a joke of that in front of the world's press?https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/114447361202119...
Trump makes a chummy joke with Putin over “meddling in the elections.” Putin chuckles. Just a replay of Helsinki, Trump taking Putin’s side over US intelligence.
He walked in with Putin, stood next to MBS for the photo
Gameface said:
How stupid do you have to be, to make a joke of that in front of the world's press?
It's not stupidity it is a rock-solid belief in your own impunity.His entire life he has done whatever he wants with absolutely ZERO consequences.
And as president that effect has only heightened.
When you are above the law, can do no wrong and are lauded for behaving like a complete tool, why on earth would you stop?
The latest person to not want their music associated with trump is Ozzy Osbourne
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ozzy...
They did have some helpful suggestions though..
"The Osbournes also offered some alternative songs Trump could use, naming the smattering of musicians that have voiced their support for him. “In the meantime, we have a suggestion for Mr. Trump: perhaps he should reach out to some of his musician friends. Maybe Kayne West (‘Gold Digger’), Kid Rock (‘I Am the Bullgod’) or Ted Nugent (‘Stranglehold’) will allow use of their music.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ozzy...
They did have some helpful suggestions though..
"The Osbournes also offered some alternative songs Trump could use, naming the smattering of musicians that have voiced their support for him. “In the meantime, we have a suggestion for Mr. Trump: perhaps he should reach out to some of his musician friends. Maybe Kayne West (‘Gold Digger’), Kid Rock (‘I Am the Bullgod’) or Ted Nugent (‘Stranglehold’) will allow use of their music.”
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