Shutdowns, military pullouts, and resignations: it’s Christmas and Trump thread 89

[TheClaws]

It’s chaos in Trump’s world, more so than usual, with #TrumpResign trending in Twitter after a number of key debacles: the pull-out of US troops from Syria, the resignation of General Jim Mattis, and the shutdown of the government over Christmas due to bipartisan disagreement over wall funding. (Those are just 3 issues.) The next few weeks will be rocky.

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3442038-But-When-the-president-does-it-that-means-it-is-not-illegal-Trump-thread-LXXXVIII

Defying pundits, GOP share of Latino vote steady under Trump
apnews.com/d7b5b923883141d99a5c0da768a5e59a

Pedro Gonzalez has faith in Donald Trump and his party.

The 55-year-old Colombian immigrant is a pastor at an evangelical church in suburban Denver. Initially repelled by Trump in 2016, he’s been heartened by the president’s steps to protect religious groups and appoint judges who oppose abortion rights. More important, Gonzalez sees Trump’s presidency as part of a divine plan.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Gonzalez said of the president. “He was put there.”

The stability of Republicans’ share of the Latino vote frustrates Democrats, who say actions like Trump’s family separation policy and his demonization of an immigrant caravan should drive Latinos out of the GOP.

“The question is not are Democrats winning the Hispanic vote — it’s why aren’t Democrats winning the Hispanic vote 80-20 or 90-10 the way black voters are?” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster. He argues Democrats must invest more in winning Latino voters.

www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/donald-trump-s-presidency-shows-constitution-alone-can-t-save-ncna952296?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Gonzalez said of the president. “He was put there.”

So was Obama

www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-hits-trump-for-turning-troop-visit-into-campaign-rally?via=twitter_page

www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/01/17/how-to-write-about-the-right-an-exchange/

2018 not done with us yet.

Brad Heath (USA Today)
‏
Verified account

@bradheath

'Lawyers for the Russian company - who are seeking permission to share "sensitive" gov't info with the Russians wonder: "Could the manner in which [Mueller] collected a nude selfie really threaten the national security of the United States?"'

www.documentcloud.org/documents/5668542-Memorandum-in-Opposition.html

www.newsweek.com/nra-going-bankrupt-group-claim-it-will-soon-be-unable-exist-due-financial-1057187

How Mark Burnett created the myth of Trump.

With “The Apprentice,” the TV producer mythologized Trump ~then a floundering D-lister~ as the ultimate titan, paving his way to the Presidency.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/07/how-mark-burnett-resurrected-donald-trump-as-an-icon-of-american-success

The Apprentice” portrayed Trump not as a skeezy hustler who huddles with local mobsters but as a plutocrat with impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth—a titan who always seemed to be climbing out of helicopters or into limousines. “Most of us knew he was a fake,” Braun told me. “He had just gone through I don’t know how many bankruptcies. But we made him out to be the most important person in the world. It was like making the court jester the king.” Bill Pruitt, another producer, recalled, “We walked through the offices and saw chipped furniture. We saw a crumbling empire at every turn. Our job was to make it seem otherwise.”

An interesting thing about that Memorandum in Opposition by Concord, to me anyway, is that it's written in Russian hyper-colloquial English.

It's a style I've noticed in propaganda which is openly from Russian official sources – and also from trolls pretending not to be Russian.

It's overly colloquial. Either in a desperate attempt to look like a native English speaker, or because the writer has been given a vocab list and hasn't a clue how out of tune they sound in real life.

I find it has a weird effect on me as the reader. Like I'm so entranced watching a 3-yr-old try out their new long words that I want to go, "Aw, so cute!"

It's disarming, when it ought to be alarming – because it's actually a tell for hostile Russian state messages.

'Squinch' has raised a lot of comments ...

It certainly grabbed the attention.

Although I had actually twigged the prose-style before I even got to that bit...

OFGS. Well, seems he's caused bipartisan unity in Iraq...

Iraqi lawmakers demand US withdraw troops after surprise Trump visit
www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/27/iraq-trump-visit-us-troops-lawmakers-demand-leave

Iraqi lawmakers have demanded US forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by Donald Trump, which politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided parliament called for a vote to expel US troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate the matter.

thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/422994-judge-denies-doj-request-to-pause-deadlines-in-suit-challenging

www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-equals-all-time-low-americans-blame-him-1273112?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter

Well spotted, that flight-spotter, Frankiestein402.

Brad Heath
@bradheath
Lawyers for a Russian company charged over election complain that "the Special Counsel has made up a crime that has never been prosecuted before in the history of the United States, and now seeks to make up secret procedures for communicating ex parte to the court."

Lawyers for the Russian company - who are seeking permission to share "sensitive" gov't info with the Russians wonder: "Could the manner in which [Mueller] collected a nude selfie really threaten the national security of the United States?"

Also, apparently, among the millions of pages of records Mueller's has collected on Russian election interference is a "nude selfie."

Here's the whole filing. Spoiler: It doesn't give away whose nude selfie Mueller now possesses, or how he obtained it. ->

www.documentcloud.org/documents/5668542-Memorandum-in-Opposition.html

Gump, you know what, that has to be the single most depressing article about the rise of Trump I've ever read. How to con an entire nation (well, the more gullible section, anyway). I always thought he was a nasty, sleazy piece of work, myself, and the once I saw him on "The Apprentice" didn't do anything to change my opinion.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/28/mueller-trump-russia-investigation-2019-what-will-happen-next

Mick Mulvaney says on Fox that Trump is staying in Washington over New Year's. Schumer appeared to be "really interested in doing a deal," he says, but claims Pelosi is not interested
twitter.com/feliciasonmez/status/1078638618380505088?s=21

Ivanka and Jared Are Spending Their Government Shutdown at Mar-a-Lago
Someone has to keep the beach warm.
www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/12/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-shutdown-vacation

What better time for a sunny vacay than when the government is shut down? Such is the logic of senior adviser/president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who was photographed out and about at her father’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Trump went full-Florida winter while out with her husband, fellow White House employee Jared Kushner, and their three children, wearing a strappy green dress and straw hat. ’Tis the season!

While the rest of the cabinet members as well as Donald Trump remained in Washington, D.C., during the shutdown, which started over the Christmas holiday, Ivanka and Jared appear to be doing . . . something in Florida. According to the White House, Kushner was a critical part in negotiating the shutdown, working with Vice President Mike Pence and Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney in the hopes of avoiding the shutdown, which is currently in its fifth day.

Ivanka did take time to wish all her Twitter followers a “Merry Christmas! xx,” so it’s safe to say she’s keeping busy during her downtime. While she may not be hitting the office with the rest of her Washington cohorts, she’s at the very least not taking phone calls from children and asking them if they still believe in Santa.

I know we try to keep our speech temperate here, but really, this man is an unutterably narcissistic idiotic cockwomble: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/28/trump-mexico-border-wall-democrats-fund-shutdown?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true

And there's this. theweek.com/articles/814599/comical-incompetence-president-trump Except I don't think his incompetence is at all funny, I think it's hugely destructive.

Let him shut the border, then. There will be many unhappy americans and american companies. Will he stand the disapproval?

Just saying...

"In fact, sometimes a psychopath will enjoy feeling superior while they cause chaos for other people."

"Reward-based treatment, such as giving them their favourite food or video games if they behave, is considered the best course to manage psychopaths who are incarcerated. But even by keeping them calm, this is a means of control, not a cure."

www.businessinsider.com/psychopaths-cannot-be-cured-heres-why-2018-2

www.democraticleader.gov/newsroom/122818-3/

'San Francisco — Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced today that she will appoint Douglas N. Letter to be the new General Counsel of the House of Representatives.

Until February 2018, Letter served as the Director of the Civil Division Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, retiring this year after 40 years of distinguished service at the agency. He is now a Senior Litigator at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he is also a Visiting Professor of Law. He is a recipient of many prestigious honors, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award.'