Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Wilian]

Democrats put in place the assault rifle ban... Trump literally ended Obama’s mental illness regulations the day before the shooting. You are being disingenuous.

Hardly. But keep going, this sort of blind-by-the-mirror is exactly why Democrats lost election that was handed to them on a golden platter.

[Felya]

Hardly. But keep going, this sort of blind-by-the-mirror is exactly why Democrats lost election that was handed to them on a golden platter.

Me linking examples of what democrats did, handed republicans the election? That’s great... funny enough, th guy blaming democrats, is telling me that it’s my fault that democrats lost. I personally don’t care if democrats lost or won... if you choose to vote republican, because I linked Clinton passing a national assault rifle ban, than so be it... my integrity > your party politics.

[Dontrike]

If describing how they approach and treat the matter is 'fully blaming' them to you, well, I don't think the issue is on saying how they treat it.

Besides, fully blaming them would be saying they did nothing like Republicans. At least they typically try, regardless how pathetic their attempts are.

How exactly do Reps "typically try" with gun control or anything related to it? Because last I checked they almost always vote near 100% against any gun regulations, and in fact try and cause panic by saying that a president is trying to come and get them.

[Wilian]

How exactly do Reps "typically try" with gun control or anything related to it? Because last I checked they almost always vote near 100% against any gun regulations, and in fact try and cause panic by saying that a president is trying to come and get them.

I just said they do nothing. "-..did nothing, like Republicans"

[Dontrike]

I just said they do nothing. "-..did nothing, like Republicans"

Then I misunderstood and apologize for being a fuckface (note I didn't say you did). It's not a banable offense for calling yourself that.

[Wilian]

Then I misunderstood and apologize for being a fuckface (note I didn't say you did). It's not a banable offense for calling yourself that.

When it comes to apology acceptance, I am a great fan of Darth Vader.

[Breccia]

Yep, that's Rex Tillerson telling the American people that the State Department isn't being dismantled.

By the way, you might wonder how he could say that with 40 embassies without ambassadors. You could ask the top-ranking diplomats, but you'd have to hurry, because sixty percent of them have already left. Also, there are layoffs and hiring freezes.

The tactic isn't working. Trump still tries to rule "diplomacy" from the top, by threatening countries and trade deals via tweet, and dropping the Paris Accord and its non-binding abilities for literally no reason at all. Plus the Jerusalem thing. The world opinion of the USA has dropped to a point lower than any point in the Obama years, with the biggest one-year drop in Gallup's history as well. The dollar is dropping, fueling a rising trade imbalance Trump has repeatedly threatened (it hasn't worked), and the Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than anyone here remembers.

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Trump has another plan to fund about 10% of his infrastructure plan: sell rights to drill for oil on public land.

Now you might be thinking "well, yep, that's a Republican right there" that's not the only problem.

The plan, part of the budget the White House proposed this week, would forgo traditional funding and instead opt to finance up to $18 billion in “backlogged” infrastructure projects solely through the sale of mineral and fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters.

But the proposal heralded by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke faces several key hurdles, leaving even Republican members of Congress questioning its feasibility and raising a number of concerns, including whether the drilling money is already spoken for by other agencies.

“Keep in mind that if we are funding this through oil revenues from offshore, what else is it being spent for?” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on the Interior.

“You have a lot of uses or sources, a lot of calls on that same money. So how many times has it been spent over? We have to find that out," she added.

The annual budget already takes into consideration the billions of dollars in revenue generated from oil and gas extraction on public lands when it makes its appropriations to each department. Zinke’s plan suggests creating a Public Lands Infrastructure Fund to pool new lease sale revenues for use exclusively by the Department of Interior.

The fund concept is novel, said a former Interior senior official, but the idea of trying to make a claim on a source of funding solely for one department is not.

Hayes noted that royalties from oil and gas are "one of the largest revenue producers in the entire federal government."

Interior announced in November that the U.S. made $7 billion in revenue from energy disbursements under Trump in 2017. Last year, oil and gas sales from extraction on land under Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) increased by 86 percent, generating nearly $360 million in revenue.

So the problems include:
1) The money for such drilling is already being sought by other sources.
2) States are already fighting back against expanded offshore drilling.
3) A lot of the land has already been sold.

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Here's one I didn't see coming.

Remember when Ivanka was going to push for family leave time? In theory, that's still happening. But it has an unusual opponent: Kelly.

Kelly is reportedly dismissive of Ivanka's "pet project" and doesn't believe it fits into the rest of Trump's agenda. (Trump must agree: he's said nearly nothing on the topic)

This feels odd to me. Ivanka's move for family leave time was one of the more bipartisanly applauded moves so far. And Kelly's already facing some problems. This just makes it worse.

[Mormolyce]

Hardly. But keep going, this sort of blind-by-the-mirror is exactly why Democrats lost election that was handed to them on a golden platter.

Everyone is so convinced they know exactly why the Democrats lost the election. Conveniently, it always seems to line up with whatever axe they have to grind.

Reminds me of the pissing contests we used to have over WoW subs.

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So the problems include:
1) The money for such drilling is already being sought by other sources.
2) States are already fighting back against expanded offshore drilling.
3) A lot of the land has already been sold.

This is after all the administration that double counted $2 trillion in their first proposed budget.

Here's one I didn't see coming.

Remember when Ivanka was going to push for family leave time? In theory, that's still happening. But it has an unusual opponent: Kelly.

Kelly is reportedly dismissive of Ivanka's "pet project" and doesn't believe it fits into the rest of Trump's agenda. (Trump must agree: he's said nearly nothing on the topic)

This feels odd to me. Ivanka's move for family leave time was one of the more bipartisanly applauded moves so far. And Kelly's already facing some problems. This just makes it worse.

Seems to me that Kelly is just another factional backstabbing prick like the rest of them, and all this pretense of being a moderating influence is a sham.

[szechuan]

Seems to me that Kelly is just another factional backstabbing prick like the rest of them, and all this pretense of being a moderating influence is a sham.

I assume that at one time Kelly was originally there for that reason and that was his goal. He just probably gave up when he found out how this administration works.

[Mormolyce]

I assume that at one time Kelly was originally there for that reason and that was his goal. He just probably gave up when he found out how this administration works.

Honestly I'm not inclined to give him that much credit.

He's probably a piece of shit through and through.

[NYC17]

Honestly I'm not inclined to give him that much credit.

He's probably a piece of shit through and through.

His casual dismissal of Trump's callousness in his "condolence" call to the Gold Star widow pretty much proved that beyond a doubt.

[Breccia]

CNN reminds everyone that Trump wants a parade, but nobody else does.

There is growing concern within the US military about the costs of President Donald Trump's proposed military parade and the disruption it could cause.

If Trump insists on a military parade through Washington involving thousands of troops, armored vehicles, missiles and other heavy weapons the event could disrupt crucial military training schedules, according to a defense official directly familiar with the initial planning efforts.

There are also concerns over the cost of the event, and a second defense official tells CNN that the Pentagon is considering seeking out private donations to offset some of the non-military costs of the event. The donations could not cover military salaries or the cost of moving equipment but they could be used to pay for other aspects of the parade.

There are no firm cost estimates until President Trump orders the military to stage a specific event, but very preliminary estimates suggest the cost could run between $3 million and $50 million, the first official said, emphasizing that nothing is certain at this point. There is no money currently allocated for a parade in the defense budget. Budget director Mick Mulvaney said Wednesday that he has seen estimates that a military parade could cost $10 million to $30 million.

On wider concerns about a large scale parade, "we don't have troops and units sitting around waiting to do a parade," the first defense official said. A large parade could require weeks of preparation, including the early shipment of equipment such as tanks, and personnel would need to arrive days ahead to be ready to man the gear during a parade.

One solution being considered to alleviate that concern is a so-called multimedia option, which could include a concert and large video screens on the National Mall displaying images of military gear rather than bringing large amounts of hardware to Washington, the official said.

Gotta love that last one: let's have the parade, on TV, and everyone can come watch the TVs and say "wow, a bunch of images on fixed TVs, that's a parade, yurp yurp".

And the red text: privatizing the parade is a seriously consider option. "And now, people of the world, fear the might of the American Army. Brought to you by Coca-Cola!"

[Poopymonster]

I mean when your business focus is money laundering through land assets, you are probably so used to selling the same asset multiple times in a fiscal year, it just feels natural to you.

Dolan: What, I do that all the time.
Lawyers: You can't admit to that.
Dolan: Why not, I'm the president.
One soon to be fired lawyer snaps:



Really, I'd pay good money to have John Goodman in the courtroom to say that line to him, on behalf of Dolan's lawyers.

[Dontrike]

CNN reminds everyone that Trump wants a parade, but nobody else does.



Gotta love that last one: let's have the parade, on TV, and everyone can come watch the TVs and say "wow, a bunch of images on fixed TVs, that's a parade, yurp yurp".

And the red text: privatizing the parade is a seriously consider option. "And now, people of the world, fear the might of the American Army. Brought to you by Coca-Cola!"

Nothing like spending $50 million on a fucking parade where that money could go to almost anything else and be deemed a better use of it. In fact them putting it in a big pile and lighting it on fire or tossing it into a tornado would be better than a parade that's only there to stroke the ego of the "mighty orange one".

[some guy]

$50 million on a parade. I thought the republicans were supposed to be fiscally responsible? At least that's what I've heard my entire life.

[Kiri]

$50 million on a parade. I thought the republicans were supposed to be fiscally responsible? At least that's what I've heard my entire life.

"Fiscally Responsible" is just Republican for "Harp on Democrat spending and social security". It is not does not have the same meaning in normal English.

[Paranoid Android]

Umm, Happy Presidents Day?

I read again another tweet yesterday where he used the word, "Liddle" as in Liddle Adam Schiff. First, this moron and his obvious spelling of little and I guess he believes that spelling draws attention to the word. More to the point no matter what his purpose shows one more time how a 70 year old man acts more child than adult.

[Breccia]

I read again another tweet yesterday where he used the word, "Liddle"

When Trump talks to a crowd of upstanding Republicans, foreign leaders, or other fine people, he (often via teleprompter) refers to people by their name and office/title.

When Trump talks to his base via twitter or campaign speech, he often devolves into childish insults most often found in elementary school playgrounds.

Can't fault him for knowing his audience.

[Paranoid Android]

When Trump talks to a crowd of upstanding Republicans, foreign leaders, or other fine people, he (often via teleprompter) refers to people by their name and office/title.

When Trump talks to his base via twitter or campaign speech, he often devolves into childish insults most often found in elementary school playgrounds.

Can't fault him for knowing his audience.

Wow! So we are actually giving Trump credit for his cunning? You could be right and great take. Talk like a bully and brat child to your base, since that is what they understand.

[Breccia]

By the way, in case anyone was going to criticize me for saying "Trump stopped by the scene of the shooting on the way to vacation at Mar-a-Lago" here he is at the golf course that same weekend.

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The supplier of the majority of Michigan's electricity has taken a bold new step towards making coal clean.

They're going to stop burning it entirely.

Consumers Energy will phase out electricity production from coal by 2040 to slash emissions of heat-trapping gases that cause global warming, the Michigan utility’s president and CEO told The Associated Press.

The utility plans to generate 40 percent of its power from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy by then, Patti Poppe said in an interview ahead of a public announcement Monday. She said the utility will also will rely on natural gas, hydropower and improved efficiency to meet customer needs.

Consumers Energy and DTE Energy Co., which supply most of Michigan’s electricity, are among many U.S. providers moving away from coal even as President Donald Trump’s administration boosts fossil fuels and seeks to unravel former President Barack Obama’s policies that promoted cleaner power.

“We believe that climate change is real and we can do our part by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and we also believe it doesn’t have to cost more to do it,” Poppe said. “We believe we’re going to be on the right side of history on this issue.”

Coal is becoming less competitive as the cost of producing renewable energy steadily falls, she added.

Power companies are under increasing pressure to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, which are trapping heat in the atmosphere and promoting what scientists describe as a dangerously warming climate that will endanger human health and natural systems.

A 2016 state law set a renewables target for Michigan utilities of 15 percent by 2021. Environmentalists are circulating petitions for a statewide ballot initiative that would require 30 percent by 2030, which Consumers Energy and DTE have criticized as unnecessary.

Poppe told the AP that Consumers Energy will file a plan by June with the Michigan Public Service Commission with a detailed timetable for phasing out coal and supplying its customers with power from a mix of renewable and traditional sources. Commission approval will be needed before the utility can proceed.

The utility closed seven its 12 coal-fired plants in 2016, which the company said had lowered its carbon generation by 38 percent from 2008 levels. Its long-term strategy will yield an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions, Poppe said.

That's right, Michigan, fucking Detroit of all places, is cutting coal. Well, continuing to cut coal, they've already shut down most of it.

When you can't even sell coal to Detroit, you know it's over.

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There goes Mexico, still totally not paying for The Wall.