Having chosen Wall Street lap dog Chuck Schumer as their Senate Leader Democrats can only hope that Donald Trump was running a con job on Main Street, only pretending to care about working people and small business. Otherwise, if he actually delivers on that promise the Democratic Party is so totally screwed.
The danger for Democrats is that, thanks to his personal wealth and unorthodox path to the presidency, Trump owes nothing to nobody, as Shirley Chisholm said of herself, “Unbought & Unbossed.”
The same cannot be said about Democrats, who have sold their party’s soul to wealthy interests, no better exemplified than the rise of Schumer, the senator who has made an industry of funneling Wall Street cash to his party in exchange for all kinds of favors that leave Main Street to fend for itself.
And what a sad ending for Obama’s presidency, traveling abroad explaining, defending, justifying and even apologizing for his failure of continuity.
boss, comment on 2 of your recent statements:
“The seemingly hyperbolic predictions I am reading here about Trump’s presidency might be very well founded but I would really prefer to witness actions, not conjecture, before drawing such conclusions.”
witness this action: both during the campaign continuing to the present, drumpf curtailed and threatened the press. press pool? not even a puddle.
” thanks to his personal wealth and unorthodox path to the presidency, Trump owes nothing to nobody”
tell that to his major creditors. who knows who and what countries (friends or enemies)he’s in debt to. where’re the decades of tax returns we usually get to pick over for such conflicts? btw, another one of those actions (blatant inaction in this case) to witness.
and lest we forget one more action to witness:
the appointment of Steve Bannon of the far-right Breitbart News as chief strategist, [Bernie according to the guardian] saying: “The president of the United States should not have a racist at his side. Unacceptable.”
craig- thats rich. don’t lecture me on giving trump a chance, after you didn’t give women a chance after 240 years. you helped bring him to us and now are participating in the normalization of trump. i now have some understanding of how hitler cam to power. best of luck to you.
granny, i see you live in ma too, i would love to meet you sometime, please contact me at enchanted chocolates.
that guardian cite also about Hillary’s first public outing
Patd / OSH / Granny et al
I’ve decided the “New Normal” definitely doesn’t fit. You know where to find me at Jamie’s Place
Trump, in anticipation of his swearing his oath of office, will owe the American people four years of unstinting performance in adhering to, and advancing the Constitution of our country. Intimating that his sworn obligation is lessened because he will decline his salary is hollow. His sworn acceptance does not require monetary consideration as a condition requisite to his performance of his duties.
I fully expect him to move to the White House on January 20th. In the interest of minimizing the drain on the public purses of New York City and the United States, he should choose some less demanding rest stop than the Trump Tower.
I expect nothing less than blood, toil, tears and sweat from our next president. Certainly if Churchill could offer that menu to the British people in 1940, you, Trump, should be able to handle it as well. After all, you promise to Make America Great Again.
“Join us now … Add your thoughts.”
Most of my email is quickly deleted but the one notification I love getting is about a new Trail Mix topic. What will people discuss today? Any new twists or points of view? How is everyone? Do we have news to celebrate or news to share our sorrow?
I’ve been a participant here on & off for the past five years. This forum remains an example of intelligent, passionate thought + heart + humanity. What a rare gem. To all who choose to leave for whatever reason, remember, you were a big part of why this forum is a cut above. Leaving will mean your beliefs lose: not because you were kicked off but because you chose to silence them. To you I offer one word: Opposition. Think back through history, pick up the torch, never give up. (The last phrase is in honor of the lovely speech Secretary Clinton gave yesterday & especially in honor of Dorothy Rodham. I salute both ladies.)
Mr Crawford is correct. Unless something drastic happens, Donald J. Trump will be our lawfully elected President. Hey, don’t blame me, I did my best to help the right side of history. But this election is a fact. Running away because I don’t like it means only the Trump side gets heard. And btw, Ping, you called this election correctly. May not agree with you, but you deserve the shoutout.
The only way we progress is to learn from our mistakes. Don’t retreat, don’t hide, defend that which is worthy of being defended. History is cyclical. Whose voices will be heard?
Jamie, illegitimi non carborundum
hang in there, girl.
If Trump delivers… pretty big qualifier there, boss.
I don’t agree that Trump is unbought – of course how would we know who he is beholdin’ to? Neither a borrower nor a lender be – who said that, Franklin? I bet he’s up to his eyeballs as the former, but how would we know? I don’t think he built the Trump PO Towers on PA Ave with his own money – but how would we know? He got a pass. Setting up a Billion (or was it Trillion?) dollar infrastructure bank sounds good, but don’t we have experience with money for infrastructure projects in the recent past – I think it was called the Economic Recovery Act or something – that was teh one part of the Obama administration post Bush collapse that didn’t appear to have a big impact on bringing the economy from near death to sluggish but still improving.
(BTW, don’t let anyone know, but if Obama wants to give Trump a big wet kiss on the way out, he’ll name Garland to SCOTUS in a recess appointment – screw trump up fo r a year).
Flatus – declining the salary isn’t just hollow – it represents that he doesn’t owe the American People a days work for the money they pay him. IMHO it is like saying – I don’t need your stinking money, I know how to make myself wealthy without you paying me.
Keith Olbermann has a new series with GQ called The Resistance.
Never allow anyone to be silenced …. especially yourself.
1. No recess = no recess appointments. The Senate has been ‘on the job’ since scalia died, and will be until Jan 20th. If Obama wasn’t tough enough to keep them in DC through the election, he won’t be tough enough to steal their Christmas. Ergo, anticipate roy moore rising to the bench.
2. Polonius, the foolish king’s councilor in Hamlet advised his son, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”, before the latter went off to school in Germany.
Don’t let the bastards grid you down.
noli nothis permittere te terere. – Wiktionery
Agree that Trump has a lot to prove, or disprove. As my Dad said after Election Day, “We’ll just have to see how it works.”
One thing on yesterdays topic.
HRC and the DNC didn’t have to fix anything when itr came to Webb. He joyfully committed suicide.
It is right there in the quote Craig used. Jim Webb used white nationalist language to describe the problems of rural America. Between that and his heartfelt defense of the flying of the confederate battle flag………
lol, really? Did you think he had a snow balls chance in hell?
As to Trump delivering for the working class?
He has not got the power.
First off, he has to get it through the house, It’s not on Ryan’s agenda, It’s not on the Koch Bros. agenda therefor the freedom caucus isn’t going to help. It’s not on the Chamber of Commerce’s agenda, so the rest of the Republicans are out.
Then if by some miracle it gets through the house there are 100 senators and each one has the power to stop stop anything they don’t like.
So that makes the bluedog Democrats in red states very valuble and they should charge all it is worth for their support, Time to deliver some serious money to their favorite state projects.
Jack
Jack
Condolences to our friend Corey, his mom died, per his facebook
Sorry for your loss, Corey.
Corey is a kind and loving son. His mom was truly blessed.
Condolences to Corey and his family.
Jim Webb was a hero, and is a fine man with a moral compass. He is lucky to have steadfast friend like Craig.
Potential voters always have their antennae out to discover what’s in it for them. 52% of the population is female and Mr Webb didn’t have anything to offer them. Iowegians are more interested in hearing what pols have to say about the prices of corn, soybeans, swine, and beef than the topics Mr Webb talked about. On the industrial East and West Coasts of Iowa, import and export policies determine whether the folks at Vermeer, John Deere, Pengo, & Eagle Iron will have jobs. Mr Webb could have hit those topics hard and made a mark.
Regarding Jack’s comment, Iowa is just across the river from Galena, Illinois, U.S. Grant’s hometown. I really doubt that folks in Iowa care much about the Civil War, but those who do probably sympathize with the guys who shot at the confederate battle flag.
Thanks Craig, I don’t hang out on face book much anymore so I hadn’t checked it in several days.
I agree with Xrep, Cory is something special, He and his sister have been going through a rough time the last year.
Jack
Agree. Always enjoy Corey’s unique wit when he comes around.
So maybe the polls weren’t so wrong, just quit too early. Must be a lot of late deciders with hangovers out there — WAPO: “People who decided late broke strongly for Donald Trump in the states that mattered, according to exit polls. And without this apparent late surge, Hillary Clinton would be our president-elect — not Trump.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us
The last two party leaders to occupy the White House, George W Bush and George HW Bush, remained in isolation and denial on Thursday after issuing statements suggesting they would not even acknowledge its next nominee for president, let alone lend him their support.
ADVERTISING
“President George W Bush does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign,” read a blunt statement from his office that appears to go far beyond mere pique at Trump’s treatment of brother Jeb.
Nebraska GOP senator Ben Sasse, meanwhile, moved on to the next stage, voicing the anger felt by many grassroots conservatives outside Washington and calling for a third candidate to emerge as an alternative to Trump and Hillary Clinton.
“Why are we confined to these two terrible choices? This is America. If both choices stink, we reject them and go bigger. That’s what we do,” wrote Sasse in an impassioned open letter that went viral on Twitter and Facebook.
Millionaire who predicted Trump victory makes next shocking prediction…
“Yes, he says a lot of stupid things… but all of these people say incredibly stupid things. I’m putting my money on Trump for winning the election. Not my ideal choice, but by far the best choice that we have.”
Seven months ago, Doug Casey, a libertarian philosopher and multi-millionaire speculator, predicted Donald Trump’s victory.
In fact, he was so confident of the outcome, he even placed two separate personal bets on the election.
But now Casey is issuing an ever more shocking prediction about Trump’s presidency…
In short, it involves the U.S. dollar and a controversial new law the Federal Reserve may be forced to enact.
If you have ANY of your money stored in U.S. dollars or U.S. dollar-denominated accounts, this is an urgent situation you must prepare for.
As Casey states, “It’s going to be a massive storm with unpredictable consequences.”
This isn’t the first time Doug Casey has issued a controversial forecast.
In the 1979, he predicted the Savings & Loan collapse. In February 1989, he predicted the fall of the Soviet Union. He’s also predicted the Dot Com crash, 9/11 (two months before it happened), the housing crash as well as Brexit.
But the interview he just granted may contain his most shocking prediction of all.
If he’s right, the savings of millions will be drastically devalued thanks to an oppressive new financial law.
Will this come to light?
To watch the interview and make up your own mind, click here.
here is the link….
http://moneywise411.com/
I’ve always respected the right of people to vote for whom they choose. I’ve always respected the process. Like it or not… Trump is the President Elect. But… I do not respect Trump the individual. I do not respect someone who courts the KKK… makes racist remarks. I do not respect a man who does not respect women. I do not respect anyone who mocks the disabled. I do not respect anyone who incites violence. Trump can make America the showcase of the world… bring back all those jobs… and make one hell of a president. I still will not respect him as a person.
Corey… my deepest condolences to you and your family. It’s hard to lose your mother.
Jim would have had a better fit in a Republican congregation, methinks. When he didn’t gain any traction in the Democratic primaries, he took to trying to gain support among the people he felt most comfortable–former military in the VFW halls and in the O-clubs. Both places are mostly frequented by Republicans. I don’t say that he was wrong in doing that, just that it was not a strategy with any possibility of being successful.
Anybody who has the courage to make a committed run at that level is special; my hat is off to Jim Webb.
Corey,
Truly sorry for your loss……
RR, I like your approach. I can sign on to that.
corey, big hug to you and your sister. sorry that we blather on here about political losses while you experience a far worse one.
renee, amen.
even though a flawed man sits there and even though he did all he could to discredit and disrespect that office, the executive branch as a whole including the military, the judicial and the legislative braches, I respect the office of president. so much so that I hope the legislative branch comes to its senses and prevents him from harming it.
interesting bit of info in an extract from bbc’s story Reality Check: Is US system a ‘disaster for democracy’?
Could you win a UK general election without winning the popular vote? Absolutely – it happened in 1951 and 1974.
As in the US, our first-past-the-post system means any votes you win in a seat where you don’t have a majority effectively don’t count – it doesn’t matter whether you gain 40% or 4% of the votes.
There has been a long-running campaign in the UK to reform our electoral system. Campaigners have called for a system of proportional representation as far back as 1884.
Under the UK’s multi-party system, in the most extreme case you could comfortably win the popular vote but get no seats in the House of Commons by coming second in every constituency.
What is more common is to see is a party winning a majority in Parliament with as little as 35% or 36% of the popular vote, as Labour did in 2005 and the Conservatives in 2015. In the 1950s and 1960s, winning parties averaged about 47%.
And we can see the same kind of thing happening with the vote share of smaller parties. In 2005, the Liberal Democrats received 22% of the votes but only won 62 seats, which was less than 10% of the seats in the House of Commons.
In the 2015 election, UKIP won 3.9 million votes out of a total of around 30 million votes cast nationally, but only ended up with one Member of Parliament.
Corey, so sorry to hear about your mom.
OK, here’s the latest on drumpf’s potential cabinet picks. some scary names amongst ’em.
And Stephen Hawking sez we’ve got 1000 years to get the hell to another planet or risk mass extinction – if we survive further development of artificial intelligence. He sez we shouldn’t develop it further because it will self-develop faster than we can keep up and we’ll become obsolete. If he’s right (and he’s is kind of a genius of the highest order) will we be smart enough to listen and act? HELL NO – we are far too stupid to do that.
I keep reading about how “what if Trump delivers”? I keep reading about how the campaign was a strategic victory. I read how maybe Trump will deliver to the middle class, or how he is filling the swamp instead of draining it.
As I see it, any kind of intelligent analysis of where Trump is planning on taking America is faulty. Not because he is so crafty and ‘wizard-like”, but moreover due to his basic personality disorders.
Trump, and you can find numerous analysis from educated, licensed professionals; suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. This diagnosis indicates that he is so ‘self-absorbed’ with himself, he lacks the ability to operate in an open and honest manner. He often bullies conversations and issues to turn the discussion back towards him. He lacks the basic empathy needed to be a leader of people, and instead will operate towards creating the scenario where he can be ‘adored’ by people. When this adoration fails to take place, he will lash out at those who are critical of him – thus re-directing the attention back to him.
I do not believe it possible to predict how he will react and what he will do. His reactions and actions will be based not on sound thought, data and insight – but rather on how to best re-direct the attention he needs to badly. The only way to accurately predict a Trump presidency will be from the armchair – analyzing what has already taken place.
Corey, very sorry for your loss.
Two More Myths About Clinton’s Defeat in Election 2016 Debunked
By Lambert Strether, Naked Capitalism, November 16, 2016
Talking Point: The Clinton Campaign Was Well-Managed
Talking Point: The Clinton Defeat Had Nothing To Do With Economics
Another Two Myths About Clinton’s Defeat in Election 2016 Debunked
By Lambert Strether, Naked Capitalism, November 17, 2016
Talking Point: Democrats Are the Party of Smart People
Talking Point: Republicans Stole Election 2016 from the Democrats
Craig: re comment from last night “Unless the Electors choose another Trump is it We can accept that or disrespect the process.” I choose door #2! Sorry, but I can’t respect a process that elects a racist, sexist pig by ignoring the popular (will of the people) vote! That process to me, right now, is the EC which is a bad system/process. There have been plenty of Presidents I didn’t vote for or like and I still respected them & their title, but this is entirely different. Also, trump doesn’t give a flying @#$% for the working class!
OSH: Love Martha’s Vineyard but haven’t been there
since I was young(er)in many years 🙂 I’m in Holyoke, home of the Volleyball HoF near Springfield, home of the Basketball HoF and also should be the real home of the Baseball HoF…but I digress. The link for Enchanted Chocolates provided on the right of this page only goes to a couple of products on Amazon but I did a search and found you!!! I’ll be perusing your store the rest of the day. From what I can see I’ll become a customer soon. PS: craig should change your link to this one http://newmoonmagick.net/Welcome.htmlsjwny & Pat: Saw it yesterday…I will resist…oo I feel so French 🙂
Solar: That Casey thing is frightening! This may be a good time to be happy I’m poor :/
Pogo: With funding for NASA cut and surely to be cut more under trump and anti-science folks in charge now, it doesn’t look good for progress in that area! We’ll have to hope Elon Musk and others who are doing work in the private sector in space exploration will succeed and save us!
dv: Amen! Let’s hope the fool feels loved or we’ll all end up in hell!
Condolences to Corey, may his mom RIP.
I personally think that both of the Bush presidents have been great ex-presidents. For me their lack of involvement in the political realm is perhaps their greatest accomplishments.
I wish that all of the ex’prezs would fade away like they did.
Kristof 12-step plan for handling this: https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAkoq68?m=en-us
‘….will operate towards creating the scenario where he can be ‘adored’ by people. When this adoration fails to take place, he will lash out at those who are critical of him – thus re-directing the attention back to him.’
dvitale, yeah that’s our boy. those head shrinkers done nailed it.
so what do we do now? how far down are we suppose to bow? must we hustle to perform odes, poems and songs to sing his praise? will only beautiful women in slithery dresses be allowed in his company and the rest of womanhood banished to the sweatshops? we await the word from on high.
Pogo,
I live 4 miles from Johnson Space Center. Many of my friends are Nasa employees or contractors. I’m not sure why but they all seem bullish on funding from both gov’t and commercial sources.
My son is graduating from TX a&m this coming May with an Aerospace engineering degree. He’s been experiencing strong job options from both gov’t and commercial as well.
clapper resigned and I wonder if it was to get out of (or not take the blame for) intelligence briefings to you-know-who being passed on to dt’s friends in not so friendly places.
altho it fits, my reference to “dt s” is not meant as delirium tremens
Pogo,
It does not compute…..
The greatest x president in history……Carter…..ive forgiven him for all of the Republican like actions that he initiated while in office……..out of office……he is the best…..t can still see him measuring twice before cutting that 2×4………lots of measuring and 2×4 cutting in habitat homes……
.Pogo……1000 yrs huh? gonna take jusssst about that long to save up for the tickets to our next home……im betting that with the new JW telescope……we will find our new home in a very short time……….
Hey, Solar,
Jehovah’s Witnesses have a telescope ?
Best x president ? John Adams. 2d Best ? John Quincy Adams.
Who the devil is Jehovah………and what did they witnesses? do they have a telescope…..can they see hells fires….thats were they will be going shortly………..THERE is not going to be any religion in our new home away from home…………they can all (religions) stay here and fight to the death for the Holy Land……….some real-estate agent sure pulled a fast one …later
Eight days of President-elect and it sounds like a bunch of lost campers in the forest. I am still waiting to see where Bolton lands. If it is in a real department which can affect the nation and the world, then I am ready to scream. If he ends up in a closet with a phone that only he can talk in (no other end of the string) then I am sure some adult took over and is trying to govern.
I do not expect much to happen. With the floater continuing his “put Christie the suck up in charge of something, then rip the chair from under him” it is easy to assume he is low intelligence. No. Christie is the low intelligence, the floater has the IQ of what the gas mileage is of his limo. From all the reports the floater is as smart as – no, my brick is smarter.
It is funny that the bloater is holed up in his hole in Manhattan rather than the most powerful city on Earth. From the reports it might be he does not intend to run the U.S. By hiding in his gold commode, the floater he is, he acknowledges such.
Blue, it all reminds me of the utter chaos of Bill Clinton’s ’92 transition. The media reporting on this is about as idiotic, poorly sourced and hypothetical as the 2016 campaign itself.
Cheney as ex-president has more than made up for Bush 2 as ex-president.
oooo
Its confusing out here sometimes…..so we kinda have to go with the flow…..have a cpl of beers with a little patrons to get the taste of it totally circulated in the whole system……………other wise……it sticks to the throat …
Its confusing out here sometimes…….Tony how u doing?….went to business meeting a while back…..i introduced my bu
Click to EditDelete
solarcrete says:
November 17, 2016 at 8:00 pm
Its confusing out here sometimes…..so we kinda have to go with the flow…..have a cpl of beers with a little patrons to get the taste of it totally circulated in the whole system……………other wise……it sticks to the throat …
Its confusing out here sometimes…….Tony how u doing?….went to business meeting a while back…..i introduced my business partner (on a project) to new client….said something like….this is my partner Rich………..he said….oh i didnt know….congratulations…..rich said….no, no, we are not that kind of partners……business partners….i said, but you are kinda cute……laughs, laughs….we got the job……
Its confusing out here sometimes………….Hired a white boy once……..his name was kareem…..
its confusing out here sometimes……..at least thats how i left my doctor at the va……once told me that i needed an operation on my spine……she showed my some pics that showed my spine with a pinched nerve…..and other things……..asked her if i had a pinched nerve…..why am i still able to walk……would paralyze me almost instantly no?……
Im not confused about this past election………..be mused…..a little maybe…..oh well im gonna leave it at that…….no muse is good news…..
Ps…..same goes for when drs tell you that you threw out your back…slipped a disk……impossible…it is too intelligently designed …..i dont argue about it…..just show them how i can do things that some one with those injuries should not be able to do…..
pps…..one last sip…….but need one more confusing…………………im sure that Adam (of the bible myths) is confused on mothers day……….hahahaaaa……..that one cleared my mind……………….cept i cant find that bottle……..confused about where i left it……………..much later….
ppps….about this election…..not con fused about it……..but do feel conned…..
If Webb had gotten that message out early on, he might’ve gotten some traction.
The DNC & the media were all in for Hillary & she still didn’t win. Did she do anything more than pay lip service to voters in the flyover zone? Did she motivate anyone to vote for her by trying to shame them into not voting for Trump? She has Bill & their foundation money to keep them warm.
Obama’s first election took away a lot of the feeling of barriers being broken. It just won’t be as big of a deal when a woman is finally elected prez.
The most interesting thing about Trump’s administration stew is that so many potential ingedients are recognizable; folks have an opinion of Guiliani, etc.
Solar – I think that financial storm is the one Ron Paul has been warning us about for several years.
Trump did a good job in staffing (including firing) folks on his campaign. Kellyann Conway was a smart move. He out-maneuvered more than a dozen other candidates. He did it without any experience in running a campaign.
Hillary is pro-Wall Street. How dare Elizabeth Warren make such a statement when she backed Hillary. I lost respect for both her and Bernie. Bernie should have teamed up with Jill Stein.
Jax, I’m glad to hear aerospace aeronautical engineer types have employment options. My 1st cousin, Auburn grad, married an A&M grad who ended up in the 3rd seat on a C5A until he retired to math teaching. We have our moments in the SEC west drama. Best of luck to your son. Interesting field to be in.
Solar, if I find a good deal on tickets should I pick one up for you?
What staffing decisions would those be? The only good staffing decisions trumpf’s made are kicking Christie to the curb, seeing rudy’s star wane and if reports about Romney being considered for SOS turn out to be right, that. Otherwise I don’t see any good decisions based on the chaotic reporting we’ve seen so far.
Nancy P is being challenged by Tim Ryan. I think he’s kind of cool. His Dad was very left in the late 60’s and a very nice guy ran for Congress big family
I think there is another brother in Congress as well
Michael Flynn to NSC. He and Bannon now in a hot contest for class clown. It’s getting freaky.
Is Tim Ryan related to the late Leo Ryan?
Flynn? here’s wapo’s latest on him Trump’s pick for national security adviser brings experience and controversy
sooo with Flynn (another putin puppet) ostensibly hating muslims and bannon hating jews (and maybe every body else for that matter) and mitt the lovable mormon, drumpf has some unfair but balanced going for him.