Trump outrage of the day

[nereo]

Women in Trump's original (2017) cabinet:

Betsey DeVos
Elaine Chao
Linda McMahon

(added in 2018)
Gina Haspel

FWIW there are 15 cabinet level positions. The small business (McMahon, WHo has since left) has cabinet level status but is not a true cabinet level post confirmed by the senate. If we include cabinet level the number of positions grows to 21

[RetiredAt63]

Women in Trump's original (2017) cabinet:

Betsey DeVos
Elaine Chao
Linda McMahon

(added in 2018)
Gina Haspel

FWIW there are 15 cabinet level positions. The small business (McMahon, WHo has since left) has cabinet level status but is not a true cabinet level post confirmed by the senate. If we include cabinet level the number of positions grows to 21

The cabinets are not really comparable.  A US President's cabinet is by appointment and can be anyone. A Canadian PM's cabinet has to be made up of MPs, usually from the same party.  Under unusual circumstances a Senator might be included, but the expectation would be that it was either very short term or that the Senator would leave the Senate and run in a by election.

[nereo]

Women in Trump's original (2017) cabinet:

Betsey DeVos
Elaine Chao
Linda McMahon

(added in 2018)
Gina Haspel

FWIW there are 15 cabinet level positions. The small business (McMahon, WHo has since left) has cabinet level status but is not a true cabinet level post confirmed by the senate. If we include cabinet level the number of positions grows to 21

The cabinets are not really comparable.  A US President's cabinet is by appointment and can be anyone. A Canadian PM's cabinet has to be made up of MPs, usually from the same party.  Under unusual circumstances a Senator might be included, but the expectation would be that it was either very short term or that the Senator would leave the Senate and run in a by election.

One different that has always stood out to me is that members of the PMs cabinet retain their status as an MP, where as one must give up their position in the legislature (is that is where s/he is coming from) to join the President’s cabinet. In that regard they are almost opposites.

[GuitarStv]

Can you post the video you are referring to?

Pretty sure @talltexan is referring to this one - https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/05/11/collins-jiang-reporter-questions-briefing-blitzer-sot-tsr-vpx.cnn

I wish Trump would have logically addressed her follow-up question as to why he suddenly asked her (of Asian descent) out of the blue to 'ask China'.  The fact that he avoided the question and finally called it a 'nasty question' was telling.  He could've simply spun a conspiracy theory or explained why asking China would have provided a better response than he could have, but instead he stormed out of the interview fuming like a spoiled baby.

Remember in his first year in office, when Donald Trump asked who the "pretty asian" lady in a meeting was, and then asked why she wasn't in charge of his response to North Korea?  Or when he asked a black journalist to set up a meeting with her friends, the black caucus?

Trump sees race as being a fundamental part of who you are as a human being.  If you look black, you're a thug or from a shithole country.  Mexican, you're a rapist.  Middle Eastern - terrorist.  Asian, you're probably a ninja who knows Kung Fu with deep knowledge of North Korea and incredible math skills.  And you cannot be trusted if you're not white . . . because you'll always band together with people who look like you.

[talltexan]

Then what am I to make of all these photos of Trump speaking at Black churches? Interacting with Jesse Jackson? Having a Jewish Son-in-law?

[nereo]

Then what am I to make of all these photos of Trump speaking at Black churches? Interacting with Jesse Jackson? Having a Jewish Son-in-law?

Politics?  He can’t get hammered by those demographics again and expect to be re-elected. He needs at least marginal improvement.

[GuitarStv]

Then what am I to make of all these photos of Trump speaking at Black churches? Interacting with Jesse Jackson? Having a Jewish Son-in-law?

Jews?  Trump likes Jews:

"I've got black accountants at Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes.... Those are the only kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else... Besides that, I tell you something else. I think that's guy's lazy. And it's probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks."

Trump's smart enough to know that he can't always be overt in his racism.  He has to throw in a few token gestures that he can point to when he does or says something extremely racist.  They're his version of having a black friend.  So he'll meet with Jesse Jackson, or speak at a Black church.  He does this in the hopes that people forget the many lawsuits his properties settled out of court with the DOJ for not renting to black people under his order, or the persecution of the central park five - innocent black men after they were cleared of all charges of sexual assault, or being one of the biggest proponents of the theory that the first black president was not an American (continuing to assert this as late as 2017).

[Glenstache]

Then what am I to make of all these photos of Trump speaking at Black churches? Interacting with Jesse Jackson? Having a Jewish Son-in-law?

What are we to do with the photos of Bill and Hillary Clinton at Trump's wedding laughing it up like friends?
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/magazine/when-hillary-and-donald-were-friends.html

The flip side is his chants of lock her up for Clinton and lock em up for the Central Park 5 even after clearly exonerated. If Trump keeps showing us who he is, who are we to disagree?

[talltexan]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

[Glenstache]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

[Luke Warm]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

funny, my dog acts he same way.

[Glenstache]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

funny, my dog acts he same way.

Except that your dog actually loves you and is genuinely happy to see you when you get home.

[GuitarStv]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

funny, my dog acts he same way.

Except that your dog actually loves you and is genuinely happy to see you when you get home.

I don't know your dog . . . but suspect that he has yet to have bungled his response to a pandemic.  So might be a couple points up on Trump.

[LennStar]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

Trump. Didn't someone posted a quote from him saying that just a few days ago? Something about using someone.

[talltexan]

"Like a dog..." is a very common epithet within Trump's tweets.

It's totally fair to levy this at him.

[RetiredAt63]

From what I have read about narcissists, for them other people don't really exist as separate people with their own needs and wants, they are just means to an end. Or supporting cast in the great person's play.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

It seems like you're saying Trump can be friendly with you, but then call for your incarceration a few years later?

I know. It's shocking, right? Who would have thought that Trump's relationships with people were largely transactional based on what he needed/wanted at the moment?

funny, my dog acts he same way.

Except that your dog actually loves you and is genuinely happy to see you when you get home.

I don't know your dog . . . but suspect that he has yet to have bungled his response to a pandemic.  So might be a couple points up on Trump.

lol

[DoubleDown]

On a day when US deaths due to coronavirus surpassed 80,000 and Dr. Anthony Fauci was testifying to Congress that the virus is anything but under control, Trump used the opportunity to go on a wild tweetstorm attacking his perceived enemies and calling for talk show hosts, the Obamas, James Comey, and many others to be locked up for their alleged crimes (which Trump didn't bother to explain or clarify what these "crimes" were).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

"Trump offered his fans counter-programming on Tuesday morning, retweeting misinformation by Fox News opinion hosts that seized on his remarks about "Obamagate" on Monday to claim the last administration mounted an illegal bid to destroy the Trump administration before it started. He also used his wild tweetstorm to cover up for his attack on a CBS News journalist during a news conference Monday by claiming Asian Americans were angry at China over the pandemic.

His conduct was a fresh sign that neither Trump nor his conservative media machine backers want to focus on his erratic handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years with the death toll now at an unfathomable 80,000 in a pandemic Trump long ignored and is now threatening his reelection hopes."

[OtherJen]

On a day when US deaths due to coronavirus surpassed 80,000 and Dr. Anthony Fauci was testifying to Congress that the virus is anything but under control, Trump used the opportunity to go on a wild tweetstorm attacking his perceived enemies and calling for talk show hosts, the Obamas, James Comey, and many others to be locked up for their alleged crimes (which Trump didn't bother to explain or clarify what these "crimes" were).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

"Trump offered his fans counter-programming on Tuesday morning, retweeting misinformation by Fox News opinion hosts that seized on his remarks about "Obamagate" on Monday to claim the last administration mounted an illegal bid to destroy the Trump administration before it started. He also used his wild tweetstorm to cover up for his attack on a CBS News journalist during a news conference Monday by claiming Asian Americans were angry at China over the pandemic.

His conduct was a fresh sign that neither Trump nor his conservative media machine backers want to focus on his erratic handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years with the death toll now at an unfathomable 80,000 in a pandemic Trump long ignored and is now threatening his reelection hopes."

Yep, that's a Very Stable Genius (TM) in action. Public meltdown number...what, at least 500 since taking office? I'm so glad we have the toddler-in-chief in charge of the country.

(I apologize if this comparison is unfair to toddlers.)

[talltexan]

On a day when US deaths due to coronavirus surpassed 80,000 and Dr. Anthony Fauci was testifying to Congress that the virus is anything but under control, Trump used the opportunity to go on a wild tweetstorm attacking his perceived enemies and calling for talk show hosts, the Obamas, James Comey, and many others to be locked up for their alleged crimes (which Trump didn't bother to explain or clarify what these "crimes" were).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

"Trump offered his fans counter-programming on Tuesday morning, retweeting misinformation by Fox News opinion hosts that seized on his remarks about "Obamagate" on Monday to claim the last administration mounted an illegal bid to destroy the Trump administration before it started. He also used his wild tweetstorm to cover up for his attack on a CBS News journalist during a news conference Monday by claiming Asian Americans were angry at China over the pandemic.

His conduct was a fresh sign that neither Trump nor his conservative media machine backers want to focus on his erratic handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years with the death toll now at an unfathomable 80,000 in a pandemic Trump long ignored and is now threatening his reelection hopes."

This account fails to mention the Supreme Court hearing Oral arguments regarding the subpoena by Congress of Trump's financial documents from accounting firms and Banks that have lent Trump money.

[Glenstache]

On a day when US deaths due to coronavirus surpassed 80,000 and Dr. Anthony Fauci was testifying to Congress that the virus is anything but under control, Trump used the opportunity to go on a wild tweetstorm attacking his perceived enemies and calling for talk show hosts, the Obamas, James Comey, and many others to be locked up for their alleged crimes (which Trump didn't bother to explain or clarify what these "crimes" were).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

"Trump offered his fans counter-programming on Tuesday morning, retweeting misinformation by Fox News opinion hosts that seized on his remarks about "Obamagate" on Monday to claim the last administration mounted an illegal bid to destroy the Trump administration before it started. He also used his wild tweetstorm to cover up for his attack on a CBS News journalist during a news conference Monday by claiming Asian Americans were angry at China over the pandemic.

His conduct was a fresh sign that neither Trump nor his conservative media machine backers want to focus on his erratic handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years with the death toll now at an unfathomable 80,000 in a pandemic Trump long ignored and is now threatening his reelection hopes."

This account fails to mention the Supreme Court hearing Oral arguments regarding the subpoena by Congress of Trump's financial documents from accounting firms and Banks that have lent Trump money.

... and the outrageous part was Jay Sekulow and the rest of Team Trump arguing to SCOTUS that Trump was for all intents and purposes above the law and immune from any subpoenas, etc while in office.
https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/05/argument-analysis-a-marathon-debate-and-no-clear-winners-in-debate-over-trump-tax-returns/

[talltexan]

You mean like Dershowitz, Turley, and Barr argue? It's outrageous, but not surprising.

[sixwings]

On a day when US deaths due to coronavirus surpassed 80,000 and Dr. Anthony Fauci was testifying to Congress that the virus is anything but under control, Trump used the opportunity to go on a wild tweetstorm attacking his perceived enemies and calling for talk show hosts, the Obamas, James Comey, and many others to be locked up for their alleged crimes (which Trump didn't bother to explain or clarify what these "crimes" were).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

"Trump offered his fans counter-programming on Tuesday morning, retweeting misinformation by Fox News opinion hosts that seized on his remarks about "Obamagate" on Monday to claim the last administration mounted an illegal bid to destroy the Trump administration before it started. He also used his wild tweetstorm to cover up for his attack on a CBS News journalist during a news conference Monday by claiming Asian Americans were angry at China over the pandemic.

His conduct was a fresh sign that neither Trump nor his conservative media machine backers want to focus on his erratic handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years with the death toll now at an unfathomable 80,000 in a pandemic Trump long ignored and is now threatening his reelection hopes."

This account fails to mention the Supreme Court hearing Oral arguments regarding the subpoena by Congress of Trump's financial documents from accounting firms and Banks that have lent Trump money.

... and the outrageous part was Jay Sekulow and the rest of Team Trump arguing to SCOTUS that Trump was for all intents and purposes above the law and immune from any subpoenas, etc while in office.
https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/05/argument-analysis-a-marathon-debate-and-no-clear-winners-in-debate-over-trump-tax-returns/

Meanwhile Trump is whining about how Obama broke the law while in office (although of course not specific about what laws).

[nereo]

Meanwhile Trump is whining about how Obama broke the law while in office (although of course not specific about what laws).

It seems a bit more than whining:  He's calling for Obama to testify before Congress and is 'suggesting' that his officials be "jailed for 50 years". 
All for going through the official channels and procedures to unmask a US individual that turned out to be Michael Flynn.  Who pled guilty for lying to the FBI. 

Trump ran in 2016 with the chant "Lock her up".  'Her' meaning Hillary Clinton.  The charge then was using a private server for emails.  Ironically Trump's own DOJ recently ended its investigation into the matter by concluding that it was inappropriate but not criminal.   Now he seems to be returning to the them of "Lock them up" but with Biden.  This time the reason is even less rational:  Biden was among a list who learned Flynn's identity via legal means.  Put another way, Biden's transgression is to have learned of Flynn's transgressions - he's the witness, not the criminal.

The '50 year; comment is just absurd.  Felony murder gets fewer years.

[talltexan]

As far as I can tell, #obamagate is about using the powers of the Presidency to suborn your intelligence community into investigating political rivals.

Suborning your diplomatic community and foreign policy into these kinds of investigations is--of course--still permitted to Republican Presidents. Obama must have forgotten he was a Democrat when he ordered these investigations (because of course he ordered them).

[nereo]

As far as I can tell, #obamagate is about using the powers of the Presidency to suborn your intelligence community into investigating political rivals.

Suborning your diplomatic community and foreign policy into these kinds of investigations is--of course--still permitted to Republican Presidents. Obama must have forgotten he was a Democrat when he ordered these investigations (because of course he ordered them).

...but if you don’t know who the person is until s/he is unmasked, how can Trump claim that Obama targeted Flynn?
Perhaps more to the point, what difference does it make whether someone was ‘targeted’ if s/he was breaking the law?  An investigation can have a political motive and still be valid.

[Glenstache]

As far as I can tell, #obamagate is about using the powers of the Presidency to suborn your intelligence community into investigating political rivals.

Suborning your diplomatic community and foreign policy into these kinds of investigations is--of course--still permitted to Republican Presidents. Obama must have forgotten he was a Democrat when he ordered these investigations (because of course he ordered them).

...but if you don’t know who the person is until s/he is unmasked, how can Trump claim that Obama targeted Flynn?
Perhaps more to the point, what difference does it make whether someone was ‘targeted’ if s/he was breaking the law?  An investigation can have a political motive and still be valid.

Logical consistency is not requisite. It is chaff for the media to devote attention to instead of all of the other things that are going on and under reported. It is also red meat for his base and has a diluting effect on his own corruption. Even if completely unrelated, lots of discussion of corruption has a normalizing effect. There are so many people out there repeating the mantra that "all politicians are corrupt." that the idea of corruption and political dealmaking having a sense of degree and magnitude is being lost.

Disinformation is used to sway public mindset because it works.

[MasterStache]

Obamagate is just another diversion tactic and more red meat for his base. When you boondoggle something as badly as this administration has with their response to the pandemic, you really start grasping for straws. Trump had no intention of locking up Hillary. He has no intention of locking up Obama or Biden either.   

[DoubleDown]

And the Trump administration has conducted thousands more "unmaskings" than in any prior year under the Obama administration, because it's always been a routine occurence. But so what, facts don't matter, because #Obamagate.

[talltexan]

It's not the un-masking, it's who's being unmasked.

[DoubleDown]

And in one of several outrages just today, we have U.S. taxpayers spending at least $970,000 for Trump and his family to stay at their own hotels.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-company-has-received-at-least-970000-from-us-taxpayers-for-room-rentals/2020/05/14/26d27862-916d-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html

It is a grotesque and previously unimaginable outrage of a U.S. President directing taxpayer money to his own business, at rates he decides and the government pays, without question. Note that the nearly $1 million figure is just what could be obtained from public records, as Trump (of course) and the U.S. Secret Service refuse to release information about what has actually been spent.

"The U.S. government has paid at least $970,000 to President Trump’s company since Trump took office — including payments for more than 1,600 nightly room rentals at Trump’s hotels and clubs, according to federal records obtained by The Washington Post.

Since March, The Post has catalogued an additional $340,000 in such payments. They were almost all related to trips taken by Trump, his family and his top officials. The government is not known to have paid for the rooms for Trump and his family members at his properties but it has paid for staffers and Secret Service agents to accompany the president."

[Dr. Pepper]

Maybe not an attack, but perhaps China or Russia decided one day that it was in their national interest to impose a tax all the output coming out of your country. Say that what were previously international waters and air space became the domain of China  after a massive naval build up and required paying money to transit. Say all fishing rights around NZ were annexed by China, etc. etc. It may be the very reason you are on respectful terms with the other superpowers, is that there is another countervailing superpower willing and able to step in if needed.

I genuinely laughed at this comment.  I don't think that it's China or Russia that the rest of us are concerned will unilaterally impose a tax tariff on their trading partners/allies...

THIS!

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/farmers-hopes-dashed-australia-souring-210000714.html

Looks like Bloomberg and other sources are reporting China is thinking about imposing an 80% tariff on Australia produce exports now, in response to criticism of it's corona-virus response. Maybe the person genuinely laughing at the comment would care to comment if they are now concerned at all with a unilateral imposition of a tariff on a trading partner/ally?

[Gremlin]

Maybe not an attack, but perhaps China or Russia decided one day that it was in their national interest to impose a tax all the output coming out of your country. Say that what were previously international waters and air space became the domain of China  after a massive naval build up and required paying money to transit. Say all fishing rights around NZ were annexed by China, etc. etc. It may be the very reason you are on respectful terms with the other superpowers, is that there is another countervailing superpower willing and able to step in if needed.

I genuinely laughed at this comment.  I don't think that it's China or Russia that the rest of us are concerned will unilaterally impose a tax tariff on their trading partners/allies...

THIS!

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/farmers-hopes-dashed-australia-souring-210000714.html

Looks like Bloomberg and other sources are reporting China is thinking about imposing an 80% tariff on Australia produce exports now, in response to criticism of it's corona-virus response. Maybe the person genuinely laughing at the comment would care to comment if they are now concerned at all with a unilateral imposition of a tariff on a trading partner/ally?

To be perfectly honest, not overly.  I think there would be a counterproductive element to it so I suspect it's predominantly posturing - they are talking about categories that represent somewhere between 1% and 2% of trade in normal times.  Also, bear in mind that fresh produce exports to China (and elsewhere) have plummeted as air travel has ground to a halt, so this is not normal times.  No fresh Australian beef sitting in the cargo bays of A350s to Guangzhou when there's no A350s to Guangzhou.  So an 80% tariff on the virtually zero trade happening in that category right now is designed to get headlines round the world, rather than actually have a meaningful impact on our ability to trade our goods.

EDITED TO ADD:  Anne-Marie Brady, a NZ Sinologist, stated "The party is redirecting public anger at [the President] away from him and outwards to the outside world. They are deflecting blame internationally to protect the government domestically."

Fascinating.  She was referring to Xi.  But the similarities are uncanny...

[Pizzabrewer]

And in one of several outrages just today, we have U.S. taxpayers spending at least $970,000 for Trump and his family to stay at their own hotels.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-company-has-received-at-least-970000-from-us-taxpayers-for-room-rentals/2020/05/14/26d27862-916d-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html

It is a grotesque and previously unimaginable outrage of a U.S. President directing taxpayer money to his own business, at rates he decides and the government pays, without question. Note that the nearly $1 million figure is just what could be obtained from public records, as Trump (of course) and the U.S. Secret Service refuse to release information about what has actually been spent.

"The U.S. government has paid at least $970,000 to President Trump’s company since Trump took office — including payments for more than 1,600 nightly room rentals at Trump’s hotels and clubs, according to federal records obtained by The Washington Post.

Since March, The Post has catalogued an additional $340,000 in such payments. They were almost all related to trips taken by Trump, his family and his top officials. The government is not known to have paid for the rooms for Trump and his family members at his properties but it has paid for staffers and Secret Service agents to accompany the president."

It is sad that the outrages have reached such a level that this seems minor in comparison.

[LennStar]

As far as I can tell, #obamagate is about using the powers of the Presidency to suborn your intelligence community into investigating political rivals.

Suborning your diplomatic community and foreign policy into these kinds of investigations is--of course--still permitted to Republican Presidents. Obama must have forgotten he was a Democrat when he ordered these investigations (because of course he ordered them).

...but if you don’t know who the person is until s/he is unmasked, how can Trump claim that Obama targeted Flynn?
Perhaps more to the point, what difference does it make whether someone was ‘targeted’ if s/he was breaking the law?  An investigation can have a political motive and still be valid.

Speaking on strictly generical terms:
If the person is convicted and there is reason to suspect this person may cause harm to the president, then yes. If the person is not convicted but there is substantial reason to believe there may be something (or it was revealed but not important for the crime that was judged), then yes.
If there is no trial going on but there is reasonable evidence already, then yes.
If it is just a hunch or political reasons, then not.

Disinformation is used to sway public mindset because it works.

As everyone in the ad industry knows.

Looks like Bloomberg and other sources are reporting China is thinking about imposing an 80% tariff on Australia produce exports now, in response to criticism of it's corona-virus response.

And this is exactly what I meant when I wrote that China does not use military but political pressure. They have also done this with the caricatures and other stuff. It is generally a well thought-out demand. So outragious that it won't be fullfilled but still in the realm of possible. China then trades it against something else, all the while the propaganda can use it as a "we against them" fight.
It is a bit like Trump, but refined through 4000 years dealing with barbarians.

Fascinating.  She was referring to Xi.  But the similarities are uncanny...

All autocratic leaders love to do this - it's cheap and effective. Democratic leaders have problem with this because there will always be a sizeable amonut of their voters who are either unhappy about such type of muscle play or are unhappy if the threat is not realized. Since the cost is a lot higher such threats are seldom used.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

State Department inspector general becomes the latest watchdog fired by Trump

So this supposed 'Deep State' happens to be independent government oversight.  Very convenient that Trump has convinced his base that oversight needs to be rooted out at all costs!  How can Republicans be OK with this?  If Trump were a Democrat, I'd be flipping out even more than I am now!!

[RetiredAt63]

State Department inspector general becomes the latest watchdog fired by Trump

So this supposed 'Deep State' happens to be independent government oversight.  Very convenient that Trump has convinced his base that oversight needs to be rooted out at all costs!  How can Republicans be OK with this?  If Trump were a Democrat, I'd be flipping out even more than I am now!!

Why would you be flipping out even more?  The whole point of independent oversight is that it is independent, it shouldn't matter which political party is involved.

Canada's Auditor General, for example, is supposed to do financial oversight no matter which government is doing the spending.  If you don't want her to embarrass you with her report, then don't do stupid spending.

[DoubleDown]

While every day is a new day of outrages with Trump, I found yesterday's news particularly depressing just for sheer volume. As I read the morning paper, this is just a SAMPLING of what was reported in just the first 5-6 pages in ONE DAY. Any one of these things is disgusting, I don't even know what to make of it in totality, I'm so numb to it all now:

- Trump goes on "Obamagate" rant, and when asked what he's referring to says, "Everyone knows what it is, information is coming out, but we caught them, we caught them, they should go to prison for 50 years, etc."

- Rick Bright, the fired former director of BARDA and now-whistleblower testifies to Congress that Trump pushed hydroxychloroquine against established safety procedures, that the country missed vital opportunities to act sooner and procure equipment, etc. When Bright pushed back, he was fired.

- A large medical mask manufacturer also testified that he called the Trump administration in early March and offered to start up four production lines, pumping out millions of masks each day, but was turned down and told "there's no need for that."

- Former CDC and FDA officials predict much higher deaths from Covid-19 than Trump is allowing, and state that his predicted vaccination readiness by the end of this year is almost certainly unrealistic.

- Meanwhile, while turning down the offer to manufacture masks from a reliable producer, the contract with "Panthera" was cancelled to deliver millions of N-95 masks after the company failed to deliver. The contract would have paid $10/mask, whereas 3M sells them for $0.63/mask. The company was formed by a Trump-connected political donor, and has zero prior experience manufacturing or procuring healthcare equipment or FDA regulations (i.e., it's a shell company), and received the "no-bid" contract (for somewhere around $10 million IIRC) at the outrageously inflated price without going through any normal procurement channels. But, they couldn't dig up any masks through whatever bullshit foreign channels they had hoped, so they lost their bogus contract.

- U.S. taxpayers have paid Trump's company/hotels at least $970,000 to accommodate staff when he travels to his own properties. No discounts are given, they pay the "rack" rate, even though Trump's sons have falsely claimed they are charged only "at cost" (i.e., just for cleaning and supplies).

- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated percholates (cancer-causing chemicals) in drinking water. Now you can dump as much percholates as you want in the water, yay!

- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!

- Richard Grenell, hardcore Trump advocate and now his "acting" Director of National Intelligence (after firing of previous Directors) hand-delivered the "unmasking" list to AG Barr in a TV-ready moment filmed by Fox News, who had been tipped off on the "momentous" moment. "Look everyone, here's history in the making as Grenell hand-delivers the list to the Attorney General, revealing the worst crime in the history of humanity, ever. It proves Obamagate!"

- More that I can't even recall due to sheer volume, even though any one of these things committed by Obama would have resulted in instant BENGAZI!!!-level congressional inquiries

[MoseyingAlong]

...
- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!
...

This is not an outrage, the prior rule was ridiculously rigid and out-of-touch with real life.
And your summary is not even in the ballpark of accurate. Which bluntly makes anything else you've posted very questionable.

[LennStar]

...
- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!
...

This is not an outrage, the prior rule was ridiculously rigid and out-of-touch with real life.
And your summary is not even in the ballpark of accurate. Which bluntly makes anything else you've posted very questionable.

Can you explain? I have ideas of the US law. I do know that even with relativly strict German laws there are still many accidents with sleeping or sleepy drivers, so I'd like to compare.


Newspapers should just stop being "neutral" and start reporting the truth. They should open all those articles with lines like
"In another attempt to sidetrack from his abysmal dealing with the Coronavirus epidemic, presidential imposter Trump..."

[DoubleDown]

...
- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!
...

This is not an outrage, the prior rule was ridiculously rigid and out-of-touch with real life.
And your summary is not even in the ballpark of accurate. Which bluntly makes anything else you've posted very questionable.

Everything I wrote is accurate, as reported in mainstream news for the day (in this case, I drew everything from my daily newspaper, The Washington Post). I clearly editorialized in a few instances with obviously facetious statements such as "yay for poison in the water," but it does not make anything I said untrue or questionable. I won't go through a point-by-point defense; rather, I'd invite you or anyone else who doubts the veracity of these atrocities committed by Trump and reported in the news to investigate for themselves. The more people know what's going on (as depressing as it is), and do something or vote to put a stop to it, the better.

[MoseyingAlong]

...
- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!
...

This is not an outrage, the prior rule was ridiculously rigid and out-of-touch with real life.
And your summary is not even in the ballpark of accurate. Which bluntly makes anything else you've posted very questionable.

Everything I wrote is accurate, as reported in mainstream news for the day (in this case, I drew everything from my daily newspaper, The Washington Post). I clearly editorialized in a few instances with obviously facetious statements such as "yay for poison in the water," but it does not make anything I said untrue or questionable. I won't go through a point-by-point defense; rather, I'd invite you or anyone else who doubts the veracity of these atrocities committed by Trump and reported in the news to investigate for themselves. The more people know what's going on (as depressing as it is), and do something or vote to put a stop to it, the better.

@DoubleDown
The bullet I quoted is not accurate, not even close. And if that was a quote from the Washington Post (which I subscribe to), was it from an oped or letter to the editor? Because generally the WaPo is not that far off the truth.
I'm particularly interested in this change because I have a CDL (commercial driver license) and some experience driving OTR (over the road). To start with an easy one, a full truck without special permits can weigh 40 tons, not 20. There are no special rules for 20 ton vehicles. And the change in the Hours of Service does not decrease the total number of hours off driving, just how they can be broken up.
That's why I quoted that one part. It is totally inaccurate and cast major doubts on everything else you post. You doubling down on that particular point doesn't increase your credibility.

[DoubleDown]

That was an editorialized comment by me. I thought I made that clear above, but that should not detract from the underlying truth of the changes in regulations. I don't know how muck commercial trucks weigh. The Washington Post did not say, "Yay, you can drive a 20-ton truck with no sleep and just caffeine pills", and I did not directly quote the Post. Nothing I wrote was directly quoted, I was paraphrasing everything (with reasonable accuracy, I believe). I apologize if I'm leading you or anyone else to believe I am trying to mislead you, that is not my intention. But I am also not an avowed, apolitical, independent arbiter or reporter of the news. I am reciting things as I generally read them, and these things as they relate to Donald Trump and his administration are an abomination to me.

[JLee]

...
- The Trump administration undid Obama-era rules that regulated how much sleep long-haul truck drivers were required to get. Now you can drive a 20-ton truck across the country with little or no sleep and just some caffeine pills, yay!
...

This is not an outrage, the prior rule was ridiculously rigid and out-of-touch with real life.
And your summary is not even in the ballpark of accurate. Which bluntly makes anything else you've posted very questionable.

Everything I wrote is accurate, as reported in mainstream news for the day (in this case, I drew everything from my daily newspaper, The Washington Post). I clearly editorialized in a few instances with obviously facetious statements such as "yay for poison in the water," but it does not make anything I said untrue or questionable. I won't go through a point-by-point defense; rather, I'd invite you or anyone else who doubts the veracity of these atrocities committed by Trump and reported in the news to investigate for themselves. The more people know what's going on (as depressing as it is), and do something or vote to put a stop to it, the better.

@DoubleDown
The bullet I quoted is not accurate, not even close. And if that was a quote from the Washington Post (which I subscribe to), was it from an oped or letter to the editor? Because generally the WaPo is not that far off the truth.
I'm particularly interested in this change because I have a CDL (commercial driver license) and some experience driving OTR (over the road). To start with an easy one, a full truck without special permits can weigh 40 tons, not 20. There are no special rules for 20 ton vehicles. And the change in the Hours of Service does not decrease the total number of hours off driving, just how they can be broken up.
That's why I quoted that one part. It is totally inaccurate and cast major doubts on everything else you post. You doubling down on that particular point doesn't increase your credibility.

How is that relevant? 20 tons wasn't specified as a threshold - it's an arbitrary number. No one was suggesting that was the maximum (or minimum, or anything specific) weight of a vehicle.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/17/eric-trump-democrats-milking-coronavirus-political-gain/5209815002/

Eric Trump says lockdowns about hurting his dad, coronavirus fears will disappear after election

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said Saturday that Democrats are "trying to milk" the coronavirus outbreak for political advantage, adding that concern about the outbreak will disappear after the election.

Speaking with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, Eric Trump said Democrats "are trying to milk this for everything they can and it's sad."

He said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, "loves" the pandemic because it allows him to avoid the campaign trail.

"Biden can't go on stage without making some horrible blunder. I mean even from his basement he's making awful gaffes every single day. So, his campaign is thrilled that he's not going out there," said Eric Trump.

And he said Biden and his Democratic allies were happy to use the virus as a reason to his father from conducting campaign rallies.

"They think they are taking away Donald Trump's greatest tool, which is being able to go into an arena and fill it with 50,000 people every single time," Eric Trump said. "Joe Biden can't get 10 people in a room. My father is getting 50,000 in a room. And they want to do everything they can to stop it."
...
Eric Trump was so certain that concern about the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 90,000 Americans, was politically driven that predicted it would no longer be an issue after the election. 

"You watch, they'll milk it every single day between now and Nov. 3. And guess what, after Nov. 3, coronavirus will magically all of a sudden go away and disappear and everybody will be able to reopen," he said.

The president was sharply criticized for a similar comment he made at a Feb. 28 rally in South Carolina where he referred to Democrats' criticism of his coronavirus response as "their new hoax." Many said the president was downplaying the threat posed by the outbreak, though Trump denied he was calling the virus itself a hoax.

Really?  Have we hit rock bottom yet, as alcoholics say before getting themselves together...  We have got to pull ourselves together or else we are, as unreformed alcoholics would admit readily, continuing to hurt everyone around us - which, for the President, everyone around him is the USA.

[Glenstache]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/17/eric-trump-democrats-milking-coronavirus-political-gain/5209815002/

Eric Trump says lockdowns about hurting his dad, coronavirus fears will disappear after election

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said Saturday that Democrats are "trying to milk" the coronavirus outbreak for political advantage, adding that concern about the outbreak will disappear after the election.

Speaking with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, Eric Trump said Democrats "are trying to milk this for everything they can and it's sad."

He said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, "loves" the pandemic because it allows him to avoid the campaign trail.

"Biden can't go on stage without making some horrible blunder. I mean even from his basement he's making awful gaffes every single day. So, his campaign is thrilled that he's not going out there," said Eric Trump.

And he said Biden and his Democratic allies were happy to use the virus as a reason to his father from conducting campaign rallies.

"They think they are taking away Donald Trump's greatest tool, which is being able to go into an arena and fill it with 50,000 people every single time," Eric Trump said. "Joe Biden can't get 10 people in a room. My father is getting 50,000 in a room. And they want to do everything they can to stop it."
...
Eric Trump was so certain that concern about the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 90,000 Americans, was politically driven that predicted it would no longer be an issue after the election. 

"You watch, they'll milk it every single day between now and Nov. 3. And guess what, after Nov. 3, coronavirus will magically all of a sudden go away and disappear and everybody will be able to reopen," he said.

The president was sharply criticized for a similar comment he made at a Feb. 28 rally in South Carolina where he referred to Democrats' criticism of his coronavirus response as "their new hoax." Many said the president was downplaying the threat posed by the outbreak, though Trump denied he was calling the virus itself a hoax.

Really?  Have we hit rock bottom yet, as alcoholics say before getting themselves together...  We have got to pull ourselves together or else we are, as unreformed alcoholics would admit readily, continuing to hurt everyone around us - which, for the President, everyone around him is the USA.

It's amazing how much if the world is in on that hoax. FFS sake, it looks like 1984 was an optimistic book.

[LennStar]

Really?  Have we hit rock bottom yet, as alcoholics say before getting themselves together...  We have got to pull ourselves together or else we are, as unreformed alcoholics would admit readily, continuing to hurt everyone around us - which, for the President, everyone around him is the USA.

That US centrism again! It's not just about you! It's literally every fucking individual on this planet, and that includes plants and animals!

-----

How can anyone think the virus is just used as a scare?
Have you not seen the cooling trucks at NY hospitals?

Why, in God's sake, stupidity and loudness is a linked setting?? Old Man in the Sky, that is a serious design flaw!!

[MasterStache]

Really?  Have we hit rock bottom yet, as alcoholics say before getting themselves together...  We have got to pull ourselves together or else we are, as unreformed alcoholics would admit readily, continuing to hurt everyone around us - which, for the President, everyone around him is the USA.

That US centrism again! It's not just about you! It's literally every fucking individual on this planet, and that includes plants and animals!

-----

How can anyone think the virus is just used as a scare?
Have you not seen the cooling trucks at NY hospitals?

Why, in God's sake, stupidity and loudness is a linked setting?? Old Man in the Sky, that is a serious design flaw!!

Again, we have to keep in mind this is purely to rile up the Trump base. It simply wouldn't play to the base to talk about the 90K deaths, the ravaged economy and skyrocketing unemployment. Empathy has no place in the Trump playbook. He is once again calling for the imprisonment of political rivals simply because he doesn't like them. It's getting closer to election time and the desperation is sinking in. The economy was really the only thing Trump could brag about despite his best efforts to destroy it with corporate welfare and a trade war. There is no Mexico paid for wall, no wonderful cheap healthcare for all. Manufacturing, oil and coal jobs have not come roaring back. He has nothing to brag about. So what do you do? Blame it on Obama and the Dems.

[nereo]

Well some interesting insinuations are coming out about the latest sacking of yet another INspector General (IG).  According to at least one government official, Pompeo (SoS) asked Trump to fire the IG because he was investigating one of Pompeo’s aides. 

[Dancin'Dog]

When Trump's claiming China created C-19 in a lab I can't help but wonder if that's what he did.  Would it really be much of a stretch of the imagination to think he's capable of such a thing?  Tariffs didn't work & he couldn't go after them with the military.  Everyone in the world already considered him an idiot & the Dems impeached him, so why not?  He's been trying to destroy the US and the planet from day 1.  It worked in one of the movies he watched...