Better Presser Questions

Lawrence O’Donnell keeps griping that the alleged newshawks who cover the trump pressers never (actually, rarely) ask tough questions. He is particularly aggrieved that the matter of putin’s bounty on US troops in Afghanistan remains ignored.

I have a question that I believe would unsettle trump both in front of the cameras and off.

“Mr President, what will happen to YOU if or when an enemy of Mr putin’s overthrows him, taking over Russia ?”

Follow up : “In such a circumstance, Mr President, how would you see YOUR future ?”

Have the Trail Hands any thoughts to share on these questions ?

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74 thoughts on “Better Presser Questions”

  1. X-R,  how ’bout

    “mr. president, do you still cheat on your wife?”

    “mr. president, has the vice president agreed to pardon you when you step down?”

     

  4. Setting aside for a moment the upcoming election, is there anything you give a shit about?

  5. jonathan swan asks some good questions answers to which  are getting a lot of attention this a.m.

  6. sports fans, gov cuomo comes to your rescue according to NJ.com :

    Now, all 30 MLB clubs can love New York, if they take the offer made Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Here was his pitch, according to the New York Post:
    “Major League Baseball is struggling with the challenges of playing ball in the COVID crisis. I have said from day one I thought that it was a very good idea to get sports back without fans. But, it would be televised, etc. I think it would be good for the economy, I think it would be good for the psyche, I think it would be good for the nation’s soul. Here’s my suggestion: I understand the challenge they’re facing. New York state could host any Major League Baseball game that any teams want to play and they could play those games in our stadiums. New York state has one of the lowest infection rates in the United States. New York state has a full department of health protocol system in place. We have a testing system in place. I offer to Major League Baseball: if you’re having problems playing in other states come play here.”
    New York once was the epicenter for the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. But the Empire State has flattened the curve while cases spike in Florida, Texas, California and Arizona, allowing Cuomo to make the offer.
    “We will set up a health protocol. They could fly their team in on a private aircraft. They could go from the airport to a hotel, where they would be in quarantine. We would test everyone,” Cuomo continued. “We would get the test results back and then they could play ball in our stadium and they could get on a plane and fly home. We have the ability to do it. We have the testing resources to do it.”

  8. Pandemic Nation: Hillary was right about the deplorables The press crucified her
    Eric Boelert

    Trump’s deplorables are keeping America sick.
    The country could effectively put the crippling Covid-19 pandemic behind us, but Trump supporters, including Republican officials, are making that impossible by waging a cultural war against common-sense pandemic solutions, such as wearing masks to curb the virus’ spread. As most countries now enjoy post-coronavirus recoveries, Trump’s America careens deeper into the crisis. If only somebody had warned us about how dangerous his fanatic followers are.
    Hillary Clinton, of course did just that, and the press crucified her for it. In September 2016, she suggested half of Trump supporters fit into a “basket of deplorables.” The baskets included, ” “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic.”
    At the time, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found 44 percent of Trump supporters viewed blacks as ruder than whites, 46 percent viewed them as more criminal and almost 50 percent viewed them as more violent. A Public Policy poll found 61 percent of Trump supporters thought Obama was born in a foreign country, and 66 percent believed he was is a Muslim— Clinton’s comment was an accurate one.

  9. pogo, was your 7:30 question “is there anything you give a shit about” for the Rump or for trail mixers?

    am sure his answer is “ME”
    ours i bet would be too numerous to list

  12. GOP Fiscal Hawks Rediscover Their Voice in New Stimulus Fight By Steven T. Dennis

    Republican fiscal conservatives are reasserting themselves in the debate over another stimulus bill, attempting to put the brakes on new spending after their party presided over tax cuts and spending that have swelled the federal deficit.

     

    The renewed concern about deficits and debt comes a few months after the House and Senate approved with overwhelming bipartisan votes the biggest economic stimulus package in history, and as Congress wrangles a follow-on measure with the economy staggered by another surge of coronavirus cases and deaths.

    Oh, Republican’s will really rediscover their voices on debt once Democrats are in power. Rinse/Repeat.

  13. Hate for Hillary
    Carman Rios

    In March 1992, columnist William Safire declared, in the midst of accusations of bad behavior facing presidential contender Bill Clinton, that his campaign really just had a “Hillary Problem.” Early on in her husband’s presidency, Clinton was subjected to more of the same kind of treatment when columnist David Brock claimed that a member of her staff had said “the devil’s in that woman.”

    By 2016, followers of Donald Trump were chanting “lock her up” at political rallies, and merchandise mocking Clinton saturated digital marketplaces.
    “The meaner they are,” admitted one woman selling buttons making blow job jokes at Clinton’s expense, “the more people buy them.”

    Pulitzer Prize-winning political biographer Michael D’Antonio recounts dozens of moments like these in The Hunting of Hillary. His compelling examination of the “vast, right-wing conspiracy” to take down the esteemed former first lady and secretary of state is immaculately compiled, exposing how her political opponents used sexist attacks to paint Clinton as a “ball-busting feminist” and frigid wife; a power-hungry “Lady Macbeth” and even a manipulative murderer. Along the way, he writes, they eroded political institutions, not only to damage Clinton’s political prospects, but to consolidate their own power.

  14. POLITICS Most swing state voters support extending $600 weekly unemployment benefit, CNBC/Change Research poll finds

    A majority, or 62%, of voters in those states support extending the $600 per week enhanced federal unemployment insurance, the poll found. Only 36% oppose continuing the benefit, which states stopped paying out last week. 
    The survey found widespread support in the swing states for other stimulus spending measures, as well. Four-in-five respondents said they back another direct payment of up to $1,200 for people making less than $99,000. Only 18% oppose another round of checks. 

  15. Why Trump’s Protest Crackdown Keeps Blowing Up in His Face By Jonathan Chait

    An administration official recently told the Washington Post the White House “had long wanted to amplify strife in cities,” and that “it was about getting viral online content.” A confession that the president is provoking violent confrontations on American soil in order to seed campaign propaganda would tear apart a normal president, but has already been half-forgotten against the backdrop of a presidency in which scandals of this scale occur several times a week.
    And yet Trump’s ploy has not worked at all. Indeed, he and his supporters have been reduced to complaining that the biased news media is showing images of nonviolent protesters rather than the troops-versus-anarchist battles Trump longs to put on display.

  16. EXCLUSIVE: How Brett Kavanaugh tried to sidestep abortion and Trump financial docs cases
    Throughout the recent court session, as Kavanaugh revealed a desire to avoid certain thorny dilemmas, the newest justice also demonstrated a pattern of trying to publicly appeal to both sides. His style of accommodation was on display in recent disputes over gay and transgender workers and, separately, undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.

    The details, revealed as part of CNN’s series on the justices’ private deliberations, show how Kavanaugh is approaching his role on the bench. Behind closed doors, he looks to please dueling factions of the court as he seeks to move beyond the angry and defiant image he projected in 2018.

  20. BBB & patd – that was meant to be a question to pose to SFB in a presser, but BB, great answer.

  22. Talked to a coworker in another state who was furloughed, too.  Brought back to the company for much less.  Angry.  Mind you, this person probably still makes three times what I make.   A lot of my normal contacts at other companies are gone.  Not furloughed. Gone.

  24. xrep….  that’s a great question.  I’m not sure how to answer it… but I would LOVE to see the look on trumpty dumpty’s face when he found out that Putin was no longer in power.

  26. Bink

    Keep it going

    What didn’t you know, when didn’t you know it, and which previous President will you blame it on?”

  28. Hey, just a quick heads-up, i realize i’m supposed to be on hiatus, but time is running out to get a 500% match on your contribution to Brad Parscale’s Ferrari and Mansion fund- donate to the Trump campaign, today!
     
    THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING

  29. Well, when I see someone with out a mask or his (and it always seems to be a him) nose hanging out, I assume they have other sloppy habits and are not safe to be around.  At the store I even avoid the isles they are in. And out in the country where no one wears a mask I just don’t shop. The other day I forgot to bring water for my pup. So I went in to the quicktrip grabbed the water, stayin way the Fk from everybody
    jack 

  30. the hill:

    Attorney General William Barr will be tested for coronavirus one day after he came into close contact with a GOP lawmaker who since tested positive for the virus, a Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed.
    Barr, who testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee, came within close range of Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) shortly before he entered an auditorium in the Capitol where the hearing took place.
    While Barr had arrived wearing a mask, he walked into the hearing room without one, during which time he came into contact with Gohmert, who also was not wearing a mask. The two exchanged a comment or two before Gohmert and Barr parted ways.
    […]
    “The Attorney General will be tested today,” Kupec said in a statement.
    Still, health experts advise waiting a few days after exposure to get tested, to help avoid the risk of getting a false negative.
    According to Harvard Medical School, those who take a test one day after exposure are 100 percent likely to get a false negative test result because there “are so few viral particles in your nose or saliva so soon after infection that the test cannot detect them.”

  31. patd – it would be a shame if a bad person is tested for COVID-19 too early resulting in a negative for the virus and that bad person goes away completely ignorant of the future result.

  32. Ms Renee,
     
    I’d ask the question just to see the look on trump’s face. I presume that for once he’d be look like frightened deer in the headlights. trump has an enormous emotional investment in doing lucrative business with putin, and putin has been a fixture in world politics for so long that the question should force trump to think the unthinkable. 

  33. putin isn’t permanent. he could go down in a coup, he could have an aneurysm burst. Georgian nationalists could shoot down his plane, or his mistress could shoot him to death. 
     
    All that being so, what is America’s diplomatic future, when our diplomacy is based solely upon personal relationships or whims of the heads of state, and not at all on national interests, institutions, principles, or law ? This, perhaps, is the topic I should have offered.

  37. Recommended.

     
    On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Paperback – February 28, 2017

    by Timothy Snyder

    “Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. From across the fearful twentieth century, here are twenty lessons about what it takes to oppose tyranny, adapted to the circumstances of today.
    1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
    2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.
    3. Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.
    4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
    5. Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.
    6. Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.
    7. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.
    8. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
    9. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.
    10. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
    11. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.
    12. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
    13. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
    14. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting.  Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.
    15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.
    16. Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend.  And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
    17. Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
    18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.
    19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
    20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.”
     
    https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Twenty-Lessons-Twentieth-Century/dp/0804190119

  41. No ads in Michigan? Is tRUMP gonna take the soccer ball Poo-tin gave him and go home?

  43. How are they even going to get kids to school?  So many buses run through this neighborhood.  

  44. Whitestman Pence seems to be trying to sound more forceful these days.   

  45. pence is very forceful with mommy behind him.
     
    Speaking of sex with demons . . . .  How is melanoma feeling lately ? Any ‘female trouble’ ?

  47. How about a guess?  There is something very wrong with SFB, beyond the obvious mental stuff.  Perhaps a stroke hit him and that is why he did the run to Bethesda?  He shows some very serious physical problems.  I can see bobble-head doing a 25 to 45.

  48.  barr and pompey won’t allow a 25 w/o a promise of continued protection from the Law. They will soon be up for crimes against humanity, RICO, perjury, obstruction, etc.

  50. Xrep. 
    Not just deaths either, a lot of people in recovery 
    I talked to a neighbor, I hadn’t seen him in a while and he goes back and forth from here to California. Was in California last March and came down with Covid-19. Said  while he did go to the hospital it was severe, unable to breathe and low oxy levels. There were some nights when he wondered if he was going to wake up in the morning. 4 months later and all he could do was watch as others did the work.
    Also,  I just read about a Kansas woman, 20 years old active healthy came down with covid-19 and now she has lost a lung and is still in recovery. 
    It is not a hoax or a  joke for anybody any age.
    Not that you said that.
    Jack

  51. Portland must not be polling well in the suburbs, DHS is is doing a strategic withdrawal. With a “WE won, we’re going home”
    Portland basically “don’t let the door hit you in the ass”
    Jack

  54. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/edmontons-new-parking-minimums-policy/
    Texas definitely has a “car culture.”  Everything is spread out.  All of our wide, open space has contributed to poor, city planning; lack of necessity to plan very well, really.  It’s all strip malls and drive-thru lanes in DFW.  

    I’ve tried taking DART, but it can take two hours on the bus instead of a 20-minute drive in my car.  (I also get motion sick, so it made for a long day.)

    We do have more designated bike lanes in some places, but they don’t really lead to businesses or grocery stores.  Hoards (or gaggles…or flocks) of cyclists are on the roads on the weekends.  With many still working from home, some are out for a morning ride at 6:30, as I drive to the office.

    Even in DFW, better city planning (affordable housing and grocery stores near business parks) would reduce traffic, fuel emissions, and, all of those concrete parking lots just soaking up the summer sun and holding the heat.
     

  55. Ha! I just discovered “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.”   It’s magical!  I think I’ve only heard two or three Kinks songs in my life.  I’m on my third run of this album today.   “…in the land of idiot boys…”
     

  58. Bink – Yep, I’ve been listening to the entire album over and over, today.  I think “Lola” and “Come Dancing” are the only, two Kinks songs I had ever heard before.   

  60. When we were kids playing where we could, we felt called upon to play those two kink songs, you know the ones; but other than those two songs and “Lola” they were largely invisible thru the years.  Nice to hear them with other stuff.
     
    *”You really got Me” and The all day and all of the night song.

  61. Well, I think probably the best explanation to my reaction to the Kinks is that I’m more of a stones fan than a Beatles fan. It was one of those things we never talked about with in our marriage as Mrs Jack was a Beatles fan. 
    You know the Beatles had one or 2 decent songs but the Stones just kept cranking them out. There is something about that whole mid 60.s English rock that  mostly bored me.
    I admit it is my own personal problem.
    Jack

  62. Jack – Haven’t heard that song in awhile.
    Sturg – Forgot about “You Really Got Me.”
    This album is from 1968; before or after that song or “Lola,” IDK.
    Queen is my Beatles/RS. 

  64. I liked the Kinks when I was a sprout. 1965 was their year – 8th grade, garage band, the Kinks and the Beatles. Ahhh, life was good. 

  65. Not to ruin the mood, but can you imagine SFB listening to music?  I can’t.  I suppose he seems soulless (and tone deaf to all things that matter), so I just doubt that he cares about music unless a song contains a good slogan for him to exploit.

  67. BiD as I said it is my own personal problem.
    Here is Linda doing Warren Zevon song back in 77  back when even I looked good.

  68. I kinda put Lola in the same world as Lou Reed, Tom Paxton and others in that in the summer of 1971 I left the sheltered country life and lived in my sister basement.  I met a number of young people in the neighborhood that if my sister  had know she would have sent me home. As a result I experienced all kinds of new stuff.  If not for that summer and the introduction to new ideas I may have stayed down in the hills and been a Trump voting Republican.
    So blame it all on Lou Reed

  69. Then of course there was my salvation when I went back to the country. KAAY, Little Rock, every night starting at midnight. Beaker Street. I still remember  when I turned on the radio and got religious programing. Something went out of the world. 

  71. Glad I didn’t choose between the Stones and Beatles. Loved both. Stones for their more roots rock that led to Let it Bleed.  Beatles for their compositions and collection of influences, which culminated in Sgt. Pepper. I wore those out in 8 track. Then came Clapton, the Allman’s, Led Zeppelin and (drumroll please) Jimi. It was all over after that. Still listen to them regularly. 

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