[Winstonm]

Quote

“Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” - Frederick Douglass

[johnu]

Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Let CIA Recruit Kim Jong Un’s Relatives As Informants

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President Donald Trump said this week that he wouldn’t have allowed the CIA to recruit Kim Jong Un’s family members as informants to spy on the North Korean dictator. The pronouncement marked the latest instance in which the president has appeared to side with a foreign adversary over the U.S. intelligence community.

Quote

The president’s comments about the agency’s alleged methods have raised concerns that he could be stripping the U.S. intelligence community of an important tool.

“Trump just crippled the CIA’s ability to recruit high-placed sources,” tweeted Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director at the FBI.

There's a word to describe Dennison behaviour

TREASONOUS

[y66]

Trump is definitely delusional if he thinks his off-the-cuff comments are helpful or if he thinks he has achieved anything of substance that gets us closer to the policy goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. For his base, delusional is a feature, not a bug.

[y66]

duplicate post

[johnu]

Trump on Russia dispute: 'Ultimately I'm always right'

Quote

Trump last week tweeted that Russia “has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela,” where it’s backed the government of dictator Nicolas Maduro.

A day later, the Kremlin denied Trump’s tweet, telling reporters "there have been no official messages in this regard from the Russian side nor could there be any,” according to The Washington Post.

Quote

“Well, let's just see who’s right. You know what you’re gonna do? You're gonna see in the end who’s right. You just watch it. Okay?” Trump said. “And we'll see who is right.”

After a pause, during which another reporter began asking a new question, Trump interrupted: “Ultimately I'm always right.”

“Ultimately I'm always right.” - Just a slight misstatement. This should have been "Ultimately I'm always a psychopath and a pathological liar".

[johnu]

Trump Says He Would Accept Dirt On 2020 Opponent From Foreign Government

Clearly Dennison has not read a single page of the Mueller report and has relied on his government paid personal attorney Barr for all of his information about the report.

Quote

“I’ve seen a lot of things over my whole life,” Trump said in defense of his son’s meeting to obtain opponent research. “I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. You don’t call the FBI.”

“This is somebody who says, ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh, let me call the FBI,” Trump said sarcastically. “Give me a break. Life doesn’t work that way.”

For once, Dennison accidentally said something that has the ring of truth to it, that he never called the FBI to report a potential crime. Of course, the FBI has had plenty of reason to investigate Dennison about a number of serious crimes against this country and it is a 100% certainty that Dennison did not self report his own criminal behavior.

[johnu]

 johnu, on 2019-June-11, 05:36, said:

Has Biden lost it???

Joe Biden: Republicans ‘Know Better,’ Will Change After Trump

Not Allowed On Air Force One, Steve King Still Welcomed At GOP Fundraiser

White supremacist Stunning Steve King gets a hero's welcome at a GOP fundraiser attended by Dennison. Maybe the Republicans will change after Dennison, unfortunately that may be a change for the worse.

[y66]

From Trump's Awful Comments Need a Real Response by Jonathan Bernstein at Bloomberg:

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President Donald Trump supplied a helpful reminder on Wednesday that he’s entirely unfit for the office he holds by once again welcoming foreign interference in U.S. elections. He told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that he’d accept dirt on his opponents offered by other governments and mocked the idea of telling the FBI about it. In fact, he specifically disagreed with FBI Director Christopher Wray’s request to politicians that they tell the bureau about such things.

Jonathan Chait accurately summarizes Trump’s position:

Trump continues to show every sign of hoping and expecting to benefit from foreign collusion in 2020. In May, he intended to send Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to pressure the government to supply dirt on Joe Biden. He and his ally, Mitch McConnell, are blocking measures (including ones with bipartisan support) to help safeguard elections against foreign attacks and social-media propaganda. His message to Russia, or any other government that wants a close relationship with him, is obvious: Do anything you can to help me win.

How bad is all this? Most of the comments I’ve seen condemning Trump’s remarks — none, I should note, from Republicans in Congress, although perhaps I missed some — treat it as grievous misbehavior for a political candidate. True enough. But it’s considerably worse coming from a sitting president. Trump’s obligations in office extend far beyond following campaign laws. He’s the country’s commander in chief and top diplomat, and as such responsible for making clear to all foreign nations and other groups that messing with the internal affairs of the United States will have serious consequences. Instead, he’s basically inviting everyone in.

As the political scientist Jennifer Victor says: “Democracy happens when people use a legitimate process to select leaders from among its citizens. If people from another country influence the selection of leaders, the sovereignty of the democracy is eroded. If foreigners affect an election, the results are comprised.” The flip side is that the U.S. government is supposed to conduct foreign policy on behalf of the nation, not on behalf of the personal interests — political and private — of the president.

So what should happen now?

For one thing, it would be helpful for Wray to speak up and explain why Trump is wrong. If he doesn’t do so on his own, perhaps the House Judiciary Committee could invite him to explain it to them. This would be an appropriate time, too, for former President George W. Bush to say something. (Whatever one thinks of Bush’s terms in office, it’s hard to imagine him inviting a foreign nation to disrupt our elections.) The same for any former FBI directors, secretaries of defense and state, and other heavyweights, especially Republicans.

But we all know the truth: This is really on the current Republicans who could do something about it. That includes the people at Fox News and other Republican-aligned media, who don’t actually have to pretend that encouraging foreign nations to influence U.S. elections is exemplary behavior for a president. And it includes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other congressional Republicans, who have the ability to put an end to this if they want. As long as they’re all willing to join Trump in this kind of despicable behavior, there’s no reason to expect him to stop.

[Winstonm]

Instant Karma's gonna get you
knock you right in the head....

Quote

The House of Representatives may be refusing to initiate impeachment proceedings to determine if President Donald Trump is fit to be president, but he will soon face proceedings to see if his character is adequate for owning a bar.

At issue is the liquor license for Trump’s infamous Washington, DC hotel.

The renewal of the license was challenged over whether Trump was fit to be owner. The Trump Organization sought to have the complaint dismissed, but the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control board denied the request.

The board allowed the group contesting the license to protest on the grounds of character, as the law requires the owner to be “of good character and generally fit for the responsibilities of the licensure.”

(my emphasis)

[barmar]

While the irony of someone being qualified to be POTUS but not own a bar is not lost on me, it's a false comparison. You can deny a liquor license, but during the election someone had to get the position.

And the Constitution doesn't actually have a "good character" requirement for POTUS. If the people want a demagogue or racist (or both), they can have it.

[Winstonm]

 barmar, on 2019-June-14, 08:55, said:

While the irony of someone being qualified to be POTUS but not own a bar is not lost on me, it's a false comparison. You can deny a liquor license, but during the election someone had to get the position.

And the Constitution doesn't actually have a "good character" requirement for POTUS. If the people want a demagogue or racist (or both), they can have it.

Actually, I would argue that anyone who hires John Bolton is not mentally competent enough to sell liquor.

[y66]

 barmar, on 2019-June-14, 08:55, said:

While the irony of someone being qualified to be POTUS but not own a bar is not lost on me, it's a false comparison. You can deny a liquor license, but during the election someone had to get the position.

And the Constitution doesn't actually have a "good character" requirement for POTUS. The people wanted a racist demagogue -- and they got one.

fyp

[y66]

According to the NYT:

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American law makes it a crime for a candidate to accept money or anything of value from foreign governments or citizens for the purposes of winning an election. Many lawyers argued about whether incriminating information, as Mr. Trump’s campaign in 2016 agreed to take from the Russian government, would qualify as a thing of value.

It seems to me that the law is clear. I don't understand why Dems aren't asking a judge to spell this out for everyone who thinks otherwise.

[Winstonm]

Now that Individual-1 has validated every slimy and disgusting characteristic of the human species as good people on both sides, I find it remarkable how wide and far-flung goes the racism and homophobia, and xenophobia in the U.S.A.

I just read about a police detective (retired) who was also a "pastor", and he was recently recorded in a sermon calling for the state to enforce the death penalty on gays, as they were animals. How could we have allowed this guy in a position of power in the first place?

Quote

A Tennessee detective and pastor has sparked an investigation after reportedly suggesting the death penalty should be used against gays in a sermon earlier this month, local news station WVLT reports. In the June 2 sermon at All Scripture Baptist Church, Knox County Sheriff's Office detective Grayson Fritts reportedly said “our government, like the police, should enforce Leviticus 20:13.” That particular bible verse reads, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” Fritts also allegedly asserted that God gave “civil government” the authority to “send the police in 2019 out to these LGBT FREAKS and arrest them,” and called those who attended Pride parades “filthy animal[s].”

The sermon is reportedly under investigation by the Knox County District Attorney's Office. According to the sheriff’s office, Fritts asked for early retirement just days before giving the sermon and is confirmed for “workforce reduction” on July 19. In the meantime, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said Fritts is on paid sick leave.

[Winstonm]

We have a president who says he runs the country and claims that the constitution lets him do anything he wants, an Attorney-General who agrees with those views, and an DOJ Office of Legal Counsel that just released a memo stating the president and the AG are right. The Senate does not try to push back, and the Supreme Counrt is littered with two appointees of this president.

Meanwhile, the media keeps reporting as if nothing were out of the ordinary, that this is all simply different viewpoints instead of what it truly is: a dismantling of the U.S. democratic republic.

[barmar]

 Winstonm, on 2019-June-16, 14:00, said:

Meanwhile, the media keeps reporting as if nothing were out of the ordinary, that this is all simply different viewpoints instead of what it truly is: a dismantling of the U.S. democratic republic.

Not the media I listen to, which frequently frets about how this is corruption of our democratic principles.

The problem is that the polarization of our society means that most people only watch/listen to media that's biased to their existing viewpoints. Shortly after Mueller did his press briefing, the news showed a Republican woman who said this was the first she'd heard that the Mueller Report didn't fully exonerate Trump -- all she knew was what Barr had said, which Fox News repeated, even though other media outlets had repeatedly reported that Barr's summary was totally misleading.

So for the most part, people just get the reports that reinforce what they already believe. The liberal media reports on how devastating Trump is to American values, but the people who need to hear that never do.

[Chas_P]

 barmar, on 2019-June-16, 15:30, said:

Not the media I listen to, which frequently frets about how this is corruption of our democratic principles.

As Simon and Garfunkel sang in The Boxer...."A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

[johnu]

 Chas_NoDignity_TrumpStooge, on 2019-June-16, 17:39, said:

[johnu]

 barmar, on 2019-June-16, 15:30, said:

Not the media I listen to, which frequently frets about how this is corruption of our democratic principles.

The majority of people who watch the news (I won't get into a discussion about those who basically don't watch any in depth news) do so on the major networks and their affiliates. After commercials, promos, introductions, etc, you are lucky to get about 18-20 minutes per half hour news show. And a lot of that news has nothing to do with politics or government, so that would be things like sports, weather, major accidents/mass shootings, obituaries, etc.

 barmar, on 2019-June-16, 15:30, said:

The problem is that the polarization of our society means that most people only watch/listen to media that's biased to their existing viewpoints. Shortly after Mueller did his press briefing, the news showed a Republican woman who said this was the first she'd heard that the Mueller Report didn't fully exonerate Trump -- all she knew was what Barr had said, which Fox News repeated, even though other media outlets had repeatedly reported that Barr's summary was totally misleading.

So for the most part, people just get the reports that reinforce what they already believe. The liberal media reports on how devastating Trump is to American values, but the people who need to hear that never do.

In the case of the Fox Propaganda Channel, it's not just reinforcing what many of their viewers already believe. The right fringe propaganda channel actively creates their own reality with a blend of conspiracy theories, race baiting, religious intolerance, and outright lies like Barr's that are not challenged for accuracy. The silver lining is that as popular as Fox Propaganda is in the ratings, the percentage of people in the voter population as a whole is pretty small.

[Winstonm]

 barmar, on 2019-June-16, 15:30, said:

The problem is that the polarization of our society means that most people only watch/listen to media that's biased to their existing viewpoints..... The liberal media reports on how devastating Trump is to American values, but the people who need to hear that never do.

This is exactly the problem. News, as a ratings-chaser, is no longer news but entertainment. These news programs cannot afford to permanently anger either side so they present both sides as if they had equal claims and justifications, reporting on these differences of opinions instead of pointing out how convoluted one side has become. It becomes reporting that is based on access to people to interview - not on a neutral objective report of facts.