Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

Yup the 600 dollar extra unemployment.

Hey @Zan15 what do you think losing $600 extra is going to do when unemployed people have to choose between food, shelter, and health care?

And how do you feel about morbidly obese questions?

[Zan15]

Hey @Zan15 what do you think losing $600 extra is going to do when unemployed people have to choose between food, shelter, and health care?

And how do you feel about morbidly obese questions?

Exactly what it did in 2008-2009 when there was no extra 600 dollar payment. Its going to be a blood bath of epic proportion.

On top of all that the secondary problem of upper income employed people moving out of the cities will drive up the cost of housing across the country.

Health care will be covered when as of Aug 1st they can't afford their COBRA payments and move directly to Medicaid and full subsidized ACA plans.

So while everyone thinks they govt will save 600-2400, in the end they might be lucky to break even with 30 million people flooding social welfare programs after losing 2400 a month income. Medicaid, ACA, food stamps, Section 8, Cash payments, CHIP, etc etc....

[Breccia]

Jeez, Philly is not fucking around.

They just canceled all public events until Feb 28. Yes, that means no fans at Eagles games. That's how serious they are.

[kaelleria]

Dry up where? huh?

This is the last week of Unemployment Insurance in Florida and North Carolina. Next week is the last week of the $600 federal benefit. Alabama's UI runs out the week after.

[draynay]

It's a good thing that Trump is such a loser, and losing again on this student visa issue. It is a relief to see so many of his imbecilic policies die the deaths they deserve, though I'm still terrified of what we're going to find once the concentration camps get opened up.

[Breccia]

Look, I'll admit that, with something as big and as rushed as PPP loans were, it wasn't going to be perfect. I get that. But each story we hear makes it worse, and my tolerance has limits.

Stine Seed was one of the recipients, getting millions of PPP loans for their corn and soybean seed company. So were five other buisnesses owned by Stine, totalling 3 to 6 million. Like Trump's fiscal disclosure forms, the exact amount is not shown.

As Reuters reports:

1) Stine is a billionaire.
2) Corn and soybean weren't really affected by the coronavirus. They were affected by the trade war with China.

Again, by itself, anywhere from "unfortunate mistake" to "another socialist handout". But with Trump's chances looking increasingly dire, this could also be viewed as an attempt to buy votes in Iowa. The more loans we see going to Trump's friends, allies, and wannabe-allies, the more weight each case has. The lists were only recently revealed -- the WH tried to keep them quiet for some time. Maybe now we're seeing why.

[Flarelaine]

Cease personal bickering or take it to PMs.

[Breccia]

Graham warns Trump about attacks on Fauci while his wife is *cough* occupied.

We don't have a Dr. Fauci problem. We need to be focusing on doing things that get us to where we need to go. So I have all the respect in the world for Dr. Fauci.

I think any effort to undermine him is not going to be productive, quite frankly.

It was a doomed project from the start. Trump has been following the advice he claims Fauci was wrong about -- most importantly the mask issue. It's literally the "vote Sideshow Bob" ad.

[Zan15]

This is the last week of Unemployment Insurance in Florida and North Carolina. Next week is the last week of the $600 federal benefit. Alabama's UI runs out the week after.

Alabama has approved an additional five weeks of state unemployment for those enrolled in a state-approved training program. They also have an automatic sliding extension based on the unemployment # in the state, currently based on that number you can file for up to 26 weeks.


In North Carolina you can after 13 weeks apply under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is an extension to state unemployment insurance benefits, for benefit weeks ending Saturdays, April 4 through Dec. 26, 2020. PEUC is made available through the federal CARES Act.

PEUC is for people who are eligible for regular state unemployment insurance but have exhausted their 12 weeks of regular benefits. The reason you are unemployed does not need to be COVID-19 in order to receive PEUC benefits.


Florida, well Florida is being florida

Florida law provides one extra week of benefits for every 0.5% the state’s unemployment rate grows above 5%, with a max benefit payout of 23 weeks. However, the unemployment rate would have to hold above 5% and extended benefits would not go into effect until the third fiscal quarter in October 2020.

But even in Florida ....13 weeks of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance (PEUC) are available in all states before extended benefits become available



So people in those states will not see an end to unemployment anytime soon. Just filing nightmares.

On top of that expect unemployment extensions to eventually max out at 2008-2012 levels of 40-55 weeks as each deadline approaches.

[Breccia]

So Trump had a CBS News interview and...it was exactly what you think.

When asked about African-Americans being killed by the police, he said "so are white people" and attacked the reporter for asking the question. He didn't answer the question.

When asked about the Confederate flag, he said it was freedom of speech. Then, he was asked if he felt comfortable with the flag at his rallies. He refused to answer.

Trump 2020: He Refused To Answer

[cubby]

But let's move to Virginia.

Last week, Rep. Morgan Griffith was at a meeting with his fellow Tea Party...I mean, Freedom Cockup...I mean, Freedom Caucus meeting, during which he said:

What happens when you don't go back to school? You have food insecurity. You have emotional problems that are not being addressed. There may be child abuse going on. Nobody's seeing it, nobody's paying attention. Parents are under a lot of stress. Kids may be left at home. Mom and Dad may have to go to work

Hmm. Kids have to go to school because, if they stay home, there might be child abuse. I'm not a psychologist, tho "Last Night Gus" is my favorite, but..if the parents were going to abuse the children when they were staying home, would sending them to school really have stopped them? And if so, why hasn't Griffith moved to ban summer break? Or weekends? Or, is he suggesting that there isn't abuse now, but if they stay home there would be? Because I haven't seen reports that say that. Has anyone seen reports saying child abuse went up due to stay-at-home orders? I'll give you a hint: No.

But maybe there is evidence not currently known to us. I'm sure Rep. Griffith will find it and display it soon. After all, he has plenty of time, he's self-isolating because he tested positive.

This is my wife's area of expertise, so no one tell her I'm chiming in. However, as much as I more than likely disagree with all of Rep Griffith's politics, his points on school issues are valid. A great deal of the United States' population isn't aware, but a significant portion of children attending school get their best meal of the day there. Moreover, emotional and sometimes physical abuse can crop up because of the stress of parenting during a pandemic. Apparently it is NOT, however. And your points on Griffith's lack of movement the other direction, to fix the problems he claims arise from delaying school are valid (i.e. canceling summer school, etc).

I just wanted to chime in on the food security issue - it's a major one, and most/all cities tried to keep school lunch programs going even after school was close this past spring. That and kids possibly getting left at home unsafely.

- - - Updated - - -

Would you like to present what your logic actually is then? Because you haven't provided any sort of evidence, details, or logical process for any of your claims. 100% of your posts are vaguely worded emotional appeals, so of course it looks silly when I try to form a logical framework around a purely emotional posting history.

It's all Trumpkins have at this point. They been told what to think for so long, and much of it is entirely inaccurate and separate from reality, that when they are faced with their Dear Leader's abject failure in every conceivable category, all they can do is lash out.

Rioters and peaceful protesters are two entire different groups. Lil Doc'y and people like him can't fathom their separation because they haven't been told anything else to believe. So when we accurately point out that peaceful protesters are doing the good work of a protesting nation looking for change, the Trumpkins have no where to turn - because their beliefs have nothing to do with the reality around them.

[Paranoid Android]

#BREAKING: Trump administration rescinds policy to strip visas from foreign students whose courses move online amid pandemic https://t.co/sK3KJrXrKm https://t.co/ka4MuqbK6e

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1...710872065?s=19

@Edge already posted, so due credit.

Trump is so incompetent. Without looking back this is at least a a handful of times Trump has stupidly made a policy and then eat it.

[Breccia]

a significant portion of children attending school get their best meal of the day there.

And that's an entirely separate box of issues to open. And I'm going to flat-out disagree with that being a valid reason.

One: I'm willing to bet that a state government can find a way to use the resources for school lunches into another form of meal low-income students can get

Two: If the best meal the kids in your state gets is from school, it's time to look at the problems leading up to that even before the outbreak started, such as Virginia's minimum wage.

Sorry, but to me, that's Griffith taking school lunches hostage in an attempt to get people back in the packed classrooms, and back to unsafe work conditions. I have moral and ethical issues with that approach. If Griffith thinks schools can figure out how to handle a lethal outbreak in classrooms in two months, I retort that he can find a way to make empty schools' kitchens into student food banks in two months, and it'll risk far fewer people.

Griffith is like the guy in the joke who kills both his parents, then pleads the judge for mercy on the grounds that he's an orphan. Except without the humor, and he's instead trying to kill more students, teachers, and parents. I reject that argument. Don't like that kids are losing access to a healthy meal they don't normally get? Good. Neither do I. Forcing them back in the classroom to get it isn't a good enough solution for me.

- - - Updated - - -

Head of the CDC says he wishes Trump would wear a mask.

He added that masking "is not a political issue — it's a public health issue." He said although the president and vice president can"easily justify" not wearing masks because they have access to frequent testing and know they are not infected, "we need them to set the example."

His recommendation that Trump wear a mask in public ranks among the most direct comments from a federal health official on the topic. Trump was seen wearing a mask for the first time over the weekend, months after the CDC first endorsed the practice and after Trump had mocked or downplayed their use.

How long before Redfield is sidelined, too? In fact, how long before we get reports that Trump pushes the CDC aside so he can control the numbers?

[DocSavageFan]

Rioters and peaceful protesters are two entire different groups. Lil Doc'y and people like him can't fathom their separation because they haven't been told anything else to believe. So when we accurately point out that peaceful protesters are doing the good work of a protesting nation looking for change, the Trumpkins have no where to turn - because their beliefs have nothing to do with the reality around them.

Since I was specifically called out...let me tell you a little something about reality. I fully understand that the rioters and peaceful protesters are two entirely different groups....in fact, please know that I fully support the peaceful protesters. I imagine that "people like you" can't fathom this reality as you haven't been told anything else to believe. Sadly, the projection is strong with you.

[Breccia]

Through and during today's developments, the leading FOX News headline is...the conservative OP ED writer at the NYTimes who claims they were pushed out due to a hostile work environment.

#2 is Trump's upcoming speech about how China started the virus and they ruined everything and it's not his fault. #3 is Epstein. #4 is Trump giving up on kicking out foreign students and #5 is about riots.

Trump had a press conference today and also --

White House tells hospitals to bypass CDC on COVID-19 data reporting

GOD DAMMIT I WAS KIDDING!

- - - Updated - - -

Trump's energy secretary was recently asked about the recent court blocks to the Keystone and Atlantic pipelines.

He said "National Security Lol".

Incidentally, he was told this by the Chair of the House Energy Committee, at which he was testfiying:

The number of missed legal deadlines for new standards has grown from three to 26 since President Trump took office. I don’t blame you because you haven’t been there that long, but I do blame the Trump administration in general.

Brouillette was confirmed December. To his credit, he did have a state role for four years beforehand, making him one of Trump's actually qualified nominees...but is expected to follow Trump's views of oversight (none) regulations (none) and love of the oil industry at every turn -- which is what we're seeing now. He used to lobby for Ford.

[Paranoid Android]

CBS: "What do you tell parents and teachers who feel that it's unsafe to go back?"

Trump: "... You should find yourself a new person whoever's in charge ... because children and parents are dying from that trauma, too. They're dying because they can't do what they're doing." https://t.co/hzCt5wrMTN

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/sta...072005632?s=19

First, word salad.

What he is saying if your parent or teacher says it's not safe ignore them as a child. I guess people are dying since they can't go to school??

[Santti]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/sta...072005632?s=19

First, word salad.

What he is saying if your parent or teacher says it's not safe ignore them as a child. I guess people are dying since they can't go to school??

Find a new person who's in charge? Great, let's get Biden.

Good advice, Trump.

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/EamonJavers/stat...28395216363525

Sebastian Gorka, the man who couldn't get a job in the Hungarian government due to an outstanding warrant in that country and a man so deeply stupid and unqualified that his own PhD advisor publicly said he wouldn't call him "an expert in terrorism", and who generally has little experience and few qualifications outside of being a blustering idiot, will be nominated by Trump to serve on the National Security Education Board for 4 years.

Because Trump continues to pack the government with deeply unqualified idiots.

- - - Updated - - -

White House tells hospitals to bypass CDC on COVID-19 data reporting

GOD DAMMIT I WAS KIDDING!

The Trump presidency has done more to convince me of the existence of a Christian heaven and hell in the afterlife than anything else has to-date.

Not because it's made me more religious, but because if there is no hell for these people then there will likely be no consequences for their actions and no justice for their victims, and that's something I'm not comfortable living with.

[Breccia]

First, word salad.

And it's loaded with nuts.

Okay Trump supporters, you've been active, so no fair ignoring this one. You have 24 hours to find evidence that staying at home is costing more lives than the coronavirus outbreak. And don't even bother with "well it's costing more lives than it did before" because Trump already delisted that argument with "white people are being killed by the cops too" so you can't use it.

Sorry. I don't make the rules. I just enforce them. Failure to find evidence in 24 hours is now your public acceptance that Trump is either overstating the risk or just outright lying. Failure to even look within 24 hours means I get to pick for you, and you're a craven coward for not looking.

- - - Updated - - -

Trump is throwing his massive physical but less impressive political weight behind the gun-totin' couple who had their home searched and their assault rifle confiscated.

They were going to be beat up badly, if they were lucky. OK? If they were lucky.

They were going to be beat up badly, and the house was going to be totally ransacked and probably burned down like they tried to burn down churches,

Trump's evidence is what the couple said on Hannity yesterday. Trump also said he'd heard (yawn) that locals were looking to prosecute them, which would be very easy to do, if they're holding an illegal assault rifle with not only the owner in full video holding it, but also his DNA and fingerprints all over it. Any other crime ("stand your ground lol") I'll have to see the evidence and how it relates to the charge. I admit that it's possible either they, or the protestors, started shouting first.

[Anegrohymn]

Oh jesus RBG is back in the hospital again.

https://apnews.com/817d3a81c6aa0f818df2c3b59bf68c36

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Tuesday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been admitted to the hospital for treatment of a possible infection and will stay in the hospital for a few days following a medical procedure.

The court said in a statement that the 87-year-old Ginsburg went to a hospital in Washington on Monday evening after experiencing fever and chills. She underwent a procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August.

The statement said the justice “is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”

I'mma need this ol bat to stay alive, please!