U.S. Politics

[il_serpente]

Trump and Barr sending unbadged US Marshals and Customs and Border Protection police in unmarked cars into Portland to kidnap peaceful protesters:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/portland-federal-police-unmarked-vans_n_5f11affec5b619afc40096da

Demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, say federal officers driving unmarked vans have been stopping to detain people during late-night protests this week, a legally dubious move that local officials are condemning.

The officers have been seen in videos posted to social media dressed in green military fatigues with “police” patches but no agency affiliation on clear display. One video shows two officers approaching a person who has their hands up, then wordlessly escorting them to a gray minivan before driving off.

Officers have been detaining protesters using this tactic since at least Tuesday, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. 

Two protesters, Mark Pettibone and Conner O’Shea, told the outlet they were chased by an unmarked minivan early Wednesday morning as they were heading home after peacefully demonstrating. Pettibone did not escape. 

...

In a statement released Thursday, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf characterized the demonstrations as a “siege” against the city of Portland by a “violent mob,” and accused “anarchists” of painting graffiti on buildings.

“Each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property, including the federal courthouse, and attack the brave law enforcement officers protecting it,” Wolf said. “A federal courthouse is a symbol of justice ― to attack it is to attack America.”

 

If Trump wins in November I may actually start thinking about leaving the country.   Vancouver is nice, or maybe back to Europe.

[LondonLax]

Reading some of the responses on Twitter to the video you get some of the Trumpists cheering this on as ‘taking back the streets’ whilst others claim it is a ‘false flag’ operation to make Trump look like a fascist

People can rationalise anything. 

[AXD]

6 hours ago, LondonLax said:

Reading some of the responses on Twitter to the video you get some of the Trumpists cheering this on as ‘taking back the streets’ whilst others claim it is a ‘false flag’ operation to make Trump look like a fascist

People can rationalise anything. 

You should see the relegation thread

[sne]

Well this was bizarre.

 

[Davkaus]

Nicked from Reddit:
  - *February 7 - <10 cases*: “He (Xi) will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.” 

- *February 10 - <10 cases*: “a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April.” 

- *February 25 - 15 cases*: "So I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away.” 

- *February 26 - 15 cases*: “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero." 

- *February 27 - 60 cases*: "It's going to disappear...One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” 

- *March 6 - 319 cases*: Trump again stated the virus would "go away."

  - *March 10 - 994 cases*: “We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away,”

  - *March 12 - 1,631 cases*: “It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.” 

- *March 30 - 168,680 cases*: “It will go away. You know it — you know it is going away, and it will go away.” 

- *March 31 - 193,954 cases*: "It’s going to go away, hopefully at the end of the month. And, if not, hopefully it will be soon after that.” 

- *April 3 - 284,504 cases*: "It is going to go away. It is going away.…I said it’s going away, and it is going away.” 

- *April 7 - 410,788 cases*: "It will go away” “the cases really didn’t build up for a while.” “I think what happens is it’s going to go away. This is going to go away”.

  - *April 29 - 1,068,111 cases*: "It’s gonna go. It’s gonna leave. It’s gonna be gone. It’s going to be eradicated and – uh – it might take longer. It might be in smaller sections. It won’t be what we had” 

- *May 8 - 1,326,579 cases*: “It’s going to go away. And we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.” 

- *May 15 - 1,517,723 cases*: “It’ll go away at some point, It’ll go away. It may flare up and it may not flare up." 

- *June 16 - 2,211,406 cases*: “I always say, even without it [a vaccine], it goes away.”  - *June 17 - 2,237,660 cases*: Coronavirus would “fade away”. 

- *June 23 - 2,246,338 cases*: “We did so well before the plague and we’re doing so well after the plague. It’s going away.” 

- *July 1 - 2,778,452 cases*: "We're headed back in a very strong fashion. ... And I think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear. I hope." 

- *July 19 - 3,836,674 cases*: "I will be right eventually. You know, I said, 'It's going to disappear.' I'll say it again. ... It's going to disappear, and I'll be right," 

Bonus quote:  >"And I don't agree with the statement that if everybody would wear a mask, everything disappears."

 

[LondonLax]

9 hours ago, Davkaus said:

Nicked from Reddit:
  - *February 7 - <10 cases*: “He (Xi) will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.” 

- *February 10 - <10 cases*: “a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April.” 

- *February 25 - 15 cases*: "So I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away.” 

- *February 26 - 15 cases*: “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero." 

- *February 27 - 60 cases*: "It's going to disappear...One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” 

- *March 6 - 319 cases*: Trump again stated the virus would "go away."

  - *March 10 - 994 cases*: “We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away,”

  - *March 12 - 1,631 cases*: “It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.” 

- *March 30 - 168,680 cases*: “It will go away. You know it — you know it is going away, and it will go away.” 

- *March 31 - 193,954 cases*: "It’s going to go away, hopefully at the end of the month. And, if not, hopefully it will be soon after that.” 

- *April 3 - 284,504 cases*: "It is going to go away. It is going away.…I said it’s going away, and it is going away.” 

- *April 7 - 410,788 cases*: "It will go away” “the cases really didn’t build up for a while.” “I think what happens is it’s going to go away. This is going to go away”.

  - *April 29 - 1,068,111 cases*: "It’s gonna go. It’s gonna leave. It’s gonna be gone. It’s going to be eradicated and – uh – it might take longer. It might be in smaller sections. It won’t be what we had” 

- *May 8 - 1,326,579 cases*: “It’s going to go away. And we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.” 

- *May 15 - 1,517,723 cases*: “It’ll go away at some point, It’ll go away. It may flare up and it may not flare up." 

- *June 16 - 2,211,406 cases*: “I always say, even without it [a vaccine], it goes away.”  - *June 17 - 2,237,660 cases*: Coronavirus would “fade away”. 

- *June 23 - 2,246,338 cases*: “We did so well before the plague and we’re doing so well after the plague. It’s going away.” 

- *July 1 - 2,778,452 cases*: "We're headed back in a very strong fashion. ... And I think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear. I hope." 

- *July 19 - 3,836,674 cases*: "I will be right eventually. You know, I said, 'It's going to disappear.' I'll say it again. ... It's going to disappear, and I'll be right," 

Bonus quote:  >"And I don't agree with the statement that if everybody would wear a mask, everything disappears."

 

I think that is called letting the wish be the father of the thought.

[StefanAVFC]

This thread is just incredible. 

Some of what he says, he's barely coherent.

 

[villakram]

Worth chewing on... mostly 3rd level education but the last few mins are on the broader economy.

 

[snowychap]

Trump consults Bush torture lawyer on how to skirt law and rule by decree

Quote

The Trump administration has been consulting the former government lawyer who wrote the legal justification for waterboarding on how the president might try to rule by decree.

John Yoo told the Guardian he has been talking to White House officials about his view that a recent supreme court ruling on immigration would allow Trump to issue executive orders on whether to apply existing federal laws.

“If the court really believes what it just did, then it just handed President Trump a great deal of power, too,” Yoo, a professor at Berkeley Law, said.

“The supreme court has said President Obama could not enforce immigration laws for about 2 million cases. And why can’t the Trump administration do something similar with immigration – create its own … program, but it could do it in areas beyond that, like healthcare, tax policy, criminal justice, inner city policy. I talked to them a fair amount about cities, because of the disorder.”

In a Fox News Sunday interview, Trump declared he would try to use that interpretation to try to force through decrees on healthcare, immigration and “various other plans” over the coming month. The White House consultations with Yoo were first reported by the Axios news website.

Constitutional scholars and human rights activists have also pointed to the deployment of paramilitary federal forces against protesters in Portland as a sign that Trump is ready to use this broad interpretation of presidential powers as a means to suppress basic constitutional rights.

“This is how it begins,” Laurence Tribe, a Harvard constitutional law professor, wrote on Twitter. “The dictatorial hunger for power is insatiable. If ever there was a time for peaceful civil disobedience, that time is upon us.”

...more

 

[TheAuthority]

11 hours ago, villakram said:

Worth chewing on... mostly 3rd level education but the last few mins are on the broader economy.

As someone who has just joined academia this is not what I wanted to see 

Last few minutes are good - he knows his onions.

[villakram]

9 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

As someone who has just joined academia this is not what I wanted to see 

Last few minutes are good - he knows his onions.

Congrats... hope your overhead rate is not too high!

[villa4europe]

What do you think about ghislaine maxwell and if she will turn in a lot of powerful men? 

I wish her well

Add it to the list of madness, anyone else and it would be incredible news, trump its just another day in office 

[HanoiVillan]

Mad that he's got all these people out there believing the wildest conspiracy theory imaginable about paedophilia, where they're turning up armed to random buildings expecting to find a Hilary Clinton sex dungeon inside, yet he himself palled around with this bloke and is just out there chatting about how often he hung out with them and that he wishes them well.

Somehow millions and millions of Americans don't see anything weird with that picture.

[TheAuthority]

4 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Somehow millions and millions of Americans are **** stupid and should be sterilized.

 

[LondonLax]

5 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Mad that he's got all these people out there believing the wildest conspiracy theory imaginable about paedophilia, where they're turning up armed to random buildings expecting to find a Hilary Clinton sex dungeon inside, yet he himself palled around with this bloke and is just out there chatting about how often he hung out with them and that he wishes them well.

Somehow millions and millions of Americans don't see anything weird with that picture.

It goes back to the projection thing we were discussing on here earlier. All of his main criticisms of his opponents are about things that could justifiably be levelled at him. I had no idea how effective this tactic could be, logically you would expect it to make someone look like a hypocrite but instead it seems to serve to distract. His supporters can always say ‘well the other guy is much worse!’.

Edited July 22, 2020 by LondonLax

[LondonLax]

Now that Trump has decided he has to pay attention to the virus again he seems to mostly be sticking to medical advice, recommending masks etc. 

Obviously that’s helpful from a health perspective but from a reelection perspective this pivot disillusions his core supporters but is unlikely to win back moderate voters.  

[Genie]

Link

Quote

Mr Trump was also asked by a reporter about the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was charged this month by US authorities with sex-trafficking children for her ex-boyfriend, the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The president said: "I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach [Florida], and I guess they lived in Palm Beach."

You are charged with sex trafficking children for a convicted sex offender and the president wishes you well

[Straggler]

5 hours ago, LondonLax said:

Now that Trump has decided he has to pay attention to the virus again he seems to mostly be sticking to medical advice, recommending masks etc. 

Obviously that’s helpful from a health perspective but from a reelection perspective this pivot disillusions his core supporters but is unlikely to win back moderate voters.  

I don't think Trump can dissolution his core base.  They are already capable of simultaneously believing multiple contradictory statements and are very used to assimilating his lies into their own belief systems.  Also the chances of him sticking to this position is 0%.  He was reading from prepared comments, which almost always means that he does not actually believe the words he is reading.  Stick him in-front of a crowd of his base and he will Indecisive Dave his way into hating masks again.

From a re-election point of view this has already got him some headlines about him being presidential and serious now, which I'm sure is the desired effect.  I don't know why reporters keep doing that sort of article because it is often just hours and always within days that he mucks it all up.  The thing is, at the same time Trump is getting serious about covid his own White House is blocking a Republican led corona virus relief bill that includes billions of dollars for testing and tracing.  Trump hates testing because it makes him look bad.  Trump hates masks for the same reason (although the person who said to him it makes him look like the lone ranger did a very strong bit of toddler style parenting there).

So before November things you can guarantee he will do are:

Fail to wear a mask when he should

Run events with no social distancing.

Imply or outright state that wearing a mask is not necessary / for wimps.

Talk about testing as part of the problem not the solution.

Play golf. Lots and lots of golf.

It is always worth remembering that Trump is an idiot and that prepared remarks for him to read are drops of rain in an ocean of his ignorance. they will make a tiny ripple then disappear like they were never there.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Straggler
spelling

[Straggler]

Whilst on the subject of Trump being an idiot, if any of you fancy having a go at the test Trump 'aced' and that the Drs who watched him were so amazed about feel free to have a go.  I didn't post it before because it was only an educated guess that this was the test he was talking about, but his interview on Fox recently confirmed that this is the type if not the exact same one (sometimes the animals you have to identify are different etc).  Please note Trump said the last 5 questions are very hard.  The very last question for a full 20% of the available points is where are you and what day is it.

 

Edited July 22, 2020 by Straggler
spelling

[Seat68]

Aced it.