US Politics Thread |OT| SAD TRUMP

[TakingBackSunday]

Jesus fucking christ

[zepblackstar]

I get the feeling Trump knows a lot of these leaders off the record doing "business"

[Let's Cyber]

Also, kind of as an aside, but I got rid of my avatar I'd been using for years here (from PSP Star Driver game with goofy hearts coming out of people) because the weird alt-right connection to anime avatars has soured them, probably for life, from me.  Also don't want anyone to ever mistake me for alt-right.  I think my gaf avatar is probably ok, since it's from a game and a trio of lynx even if it is based off an anime (Overman King Gainer)

...but what if your avatar is from a manga?  That's ok, right?!?!?

 

[agrajag]

I wonder if Trump offered the Japanese PM a bag of oranges.

[bluemax]

Opulence, Trump has it.

Also Benji, I remember some candidate in California for some office or another started airing ads in the final month that were all about his opponents connections to Trump and how horrible Trump was. I forget who it was though.

[Great Rumbler]

(Image removed from quote.)

Ivanka confined to the kiddie corner.

[zepblackstar]

love how butthurt the American media is protesting they couldn't get pics and the ones they got came from the Japanese government.

[benjipwns]

We have 100 days to stop Donald Trump from systemically corrupting our institutions
The transition period is our last best chance to save the republic

Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.
Liberals liked executive authority as long as Obama wielded it. Now they've set a precedent.

PUNDIT FITE

[benjipwns]

After five years, 130 episodes and one of the biggest hits in the history of cable, the Robertson family and A&E jointly decided that Duck Dynasty, the series, will come to an end after this season.

Trump's Intolerant America Begins

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Because he's appointing them to cabinet positions.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Or this:

2013, episodes were drawing more than 10 million viewers. However, ratings for recent episodes are just a fraction of the earlier numbers, with original episodes from August averaging under 1.5 million viewers.

[close]

[close]

[VomKriege]

Speaking of nepotism it is reported that Trump's son in law is exploring the legal possibility of being in the administration.
His kids are obviously part of his informal circle as a President, can he really claim legally he's insulated from his businesses if he just waives it to them ?

Also I'm not surprised but Israël foreign policy

[benjipwns]

There's actually no laws against the President regarding this kind of stuff, only lower government officials. Trump can theoretically still be head of the Trump Organization. But I imagine he sees it as a good opportunity to do what he already wanted to do in turning it over to his kids.

No President has ever really been in this kind of situation before. At least to this extent. Like Romney's wealth was mostly already out of his hands and into various trusts. Lots of cabinet officials were though. Andrew Mellon being arguably the most famous example considering he wrote his own tax break into the tax code.   Averell Harriman never left his railroad board positions. Wendall Wilkie's candidacy started from the TVA encrouching on his own business and his turning against the New Deal/FDR over it.

The funny thing is that the blind trust was first used by LBJ so he could continue to own his TV station under his wife's name: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2007/07/the_honest_graft_of_lady_bird_johnson.html

[Optimus]

It's hilarious watching people be surprised at Israel's stance. You guys do realize that Israel's far-right government makes Trump look like Jill Stein, right?

Yet another little tidbit corporate media failed to disclose about our ever so benevolent allies.

[VomKriege]

It's hilarious watching people be surprised at Israel's stance.

I'm not surprised

[Optimus]

It's hilarious watching people be surprised at Israel's stance.

I'm not surprised

Good for you, everywhere this news is posted there are people wondering how Israel can stoop so low or if they're aware of Trump's rhetoric. There's a general sense of surprise amongst many Americans as if Israel doesn't have one of the worst far-right governments in the world responsible for crimes against humanity.

[OnlyRegret]

why do republicans obsess over Israel so much anyway

[Syph]

I get the feeling Trump knows a lot of these leaders off the record doing "business"

interesting thought

[VomKriege]

why do republicans obsess over Israel so much anyway

Fulfilling bible prophecies for Christian fundamentalists.
Very effective lobbying.
One of the most stable democracies in the region. Solidarity between democracies a major boon to peace (or so the wisdom goes).
Very military proactive, lots of trade with their defence industry, amenable to US & Western interests in theory (in practice much less so, historically relations have been very ambivalent). Closer to the european cultural background, less foreign and other. It's symbolic, but for instance Israël is affiliated with the European football association for 20 years now.
Maybe less so in the USA but an underlying moral obligation and shame at the prospect of a second extermination.

[Trent Dole]

Also, kind of as an aside, but I got rid of my avatar I'd been using for years here (from PSP Star Driver game with goofy hearts coming out of people) because the weird alt-right connection to anime avatars has soured them, probably for life, from me.  Also don't want anyone to ever mistake me for alt-right.  I think my gaf avatar is probably ok, since it's from a game and a trio of lynx even if it is based off an anime (Overman King Gainer)

As long as it doesn't have that stupid fucking hat shopped on to it you're cool. Should I change mine now that Puty has been outed as having heavily manipulated our election or does that just make it strangely more relevant?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

We seriously need the : emoji from Discord up in here. Just sayin'.

[close]

[benjipwns]

Jeff Sessions (Senator-Alabama) for Attorney General apparently. He was Alabama Attorney General for a term, and Attorney for the Southern District for 12 years. Been on the Committee on the Judiciary for a long time. Not great, but probably better here than some of the other rumored slots. Also, better than having Rudy or Cruz or Christie here.

Mike Pompeo (Rep-Kansas) for CIA Director. He was in the army. He supports Gitmo and NSA spying. And thinks Snowden should get the death sentence, something he reiterated just a week or so ago. Worst pick easily so far. Good god.

[benjipwns]

Also David Axelrod defended Trump's team on Twitter:

David Axelrod ✔ @davidaxelrod
Lots of reasons to be concerned about @realDonaldTrump transition but the pace of announcements isn't one of them. That's not a fair shot.

David Axelrod ✔ @davidaxelrod
We hadn't made any major appointments at this point in 2008.  I don't remember being criticized for it.

lowkell @lowkell
@davidaxelrod @realDonaldTrump You've completely jumped the shark. Can you imagine if this were Obama, what the GOP would be saying???

From an ABC News story:

Clinton’s transition into power did not go smoothly.

Shortly after capturing the Democratic nomination, he asked his campaign chairman, Mickey Kantor, to head his transition team. Kantor had conflicts with top campaign advisers, who pushed him out after Election Day, John P. Burke wrote in his book “Presidential Transitions: From Politics to Practice.”

“It’s a bloody, ugly mess,” said one staff member, according to The New York Times.

After the election, Clinton appointed two chairmen for his transition team: Vernon Jordan and Warren Christopher. Clinton announced his 48-person transition team on Nov. 12, nine days after the election.

With one month to go until his inauguration, Clinton announced his first Cabinet appointee — Sen. Lloyd Bentsen as secretary of the treasury — on Dec. 10.

This (and the Bush transition) is why there's now an official transition program in place and the Romney/Obama teams worked together on improving it even more four years ago.

EDIT: Here's The Atlantic piece from earlier in the year on the bipartisan efforts: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/improving-the-presidential-transition-2016/477528/

[Great Rumbler]

why do republicans obsess over Israel so much anyway

Fulfilling bible prophecies for Christian fundamentalists.
Very effective lobbying.
One of the most stable democracies in the region. Solidarity between democracies a major boon to peace (or so the wisdom goes).
Very military proactive, lots of trade with their defence industry, amenable to US & Western interests in theory (in practice much less so, historically relations have been very ambivalent). Closer to the european cultural background, less foreign and other. It's symbolic, but for instance Israël is affiliated with the European football association for 20 years now.
Maybe less so in the USA but an underlying moral obligation and shame at the prospect of a second extermination.

Nah, it's definitely shared hatred of Muslims.

[james]

If Sessions goes after Marijuana I will get so erect all of you will go blind.


Not because I personally give a shit, but because it seems like everyone under 25 who voted for Trump cares deeply. It makes sense, you have to be high to vote Trump.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Yeah...I don't get narrative that the transition stuff is off the rails. Obama practically didn't appoint anyone until almost december.

[VomKriege]

Yeah...I don't get narrative that the transition stuff is off the rails. Obama practically didn't appoint anyone until almost december.

There's some details that are unusual, like the mandatory paperwork being left without a signature after Christie was dumped for a couple of days, the fact that (AFAIK) the Trump team has not yet contacted the Pentagon or the State Department.

David Duke @DrDavidDuke

Bannon, Flynn, Sessions -- Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites!

[james]

California's nonpartisan legislative analyst said Wednesday he's forecasting a $2.8 billion budget surplus next year and says California should be able to weather a mild recession without major budget cuts or tax increases over the next four years.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/11/17/66216/california-analyst-projects-2-8-billion-budget-sur/

Two dozen Kansas road projects are being put on the back burner.

An official with the Kansas Department of Transportation said Tuesday that a resurfacing project in Johnson County was among the $32 million in work put on ice this week in the wake of the state’s budget shortfall.

There’s no timetable for when those projects may be put out to bid. An additional 10 projects, at an estimated cost of $8 million, are still set to move forward.

The move came after state officials said last week that Kansas is facing a nearly $350 million shortfall this fiscal year. The shortfall for the next fiscal year is $582 million. Originally, 34 projects were set to be put out for bid in December.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article114919063.html

Remember how the Democrats ran a highly successful ad campaign contrasting successful Democrat governors with conservative failed states?

President Hillary remembers

[Dennis]

Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.
Liberals liked executive authority as long as Obama wielded it. Now they've set a precedent.

PoliGAF needs to read, and understand, this.

[Phoenix Dark]

It's hilarious watching people be surprised at Israel's stance. You guys do realize that Israel's far-right government makes Trump look like Jill Stein, right?

Yet another little tidbit corporate media failed to disclose about our ever so benevolent allies.

Hopefully Bannon can put them in their place.

[Great Rumbler]

Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.
Liberals liked executive authority as long as Obama wielded it. Now they've set a precedent.

PoliGAF needs to read, and understand, this.

If Obama wielded executive authority that was beyond what he predecessors did, which I wouldn't necessarily agree with [or, at the very least, it's all incrementalism], it was almost exclusively due to six years of Congressional intransigence on virtually every meaningful issue.

[Trurl]

Yeah...I don't get narrative that the transition stuff is off the rails. Obama practically didn't appoint anyone until almost december.

I'm expecting this presidency to be a disaster and I have a great personal distaste for the man, but liberals need to not froth at the mouth for every little thing.  Many Republicans have the"Sun never shines during a Democratic president" mood and it's off-putting and dull as hell.

[VomKriege]

Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.
Liberals liked executive authority as long as Obama wielded it. Now they've set a precedent.

PoliGAF needs to read, and understand, this.

If Obama wielded executive authority that was beyond what he predecessors did, which I wouldn't necessarily agree with [or, at the very least, it's all incrementalism], it was almost exclusively due to six years of Congressional intransigence on virtually every meaningful issue.

Maybe so but didn't he nonetheless "normalize" (to use a popular notion) constant drone strikes and Guantanamo ?

[benjipwns]

Proof that the Russians stole the elections as why polling didn't match the "results" reported: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/fair-election-serious-hard-explain-questions-arise-about-trump-vote-totals-3-key

These recount-justifying anomalies go beyond the discrepancies in media exit polls predicting a Hillary Clinton victory on November 8 and subsequent vote counts where Trump won states that have not backed Republican presidents for decades. Recounts could clarify or verify whether several different forms of electronic hacking could have padded state voter rolls and altered resulting counts.

The count anomalies and possible explanations cited by the team of voting rights attorneys and electronic voting machine experts, whose experience in these issues dates back to the 2000 and 2004 elections, combined a mix of old and new threats. In some cases, known electronic voting machine vulnerabilities may have been tapped to inflate county-level vote tabulations, they said, suggesting those machines should be impounded and examined. Where Russia may have been involved, their theory goes beyond anything imagined in past elections. They posited that last summer’s Russia hacks of voter registration databases could have yielded sufficient information to create large numbers of phantom absentee ballot voters, inflating the Trump vote in certain swing states that helped win the Electoral College.

Recounts and related litigation could explore if either happened, they said. Obtaining and comparing pre- and post-election logic and accuracy reports of voting machinery might begin to trace the “older school” vote-count tampering, where countywide totals are calculated. (American elections are run by county officials.) Similarly, comparing voter lists from states hacked by Russians, such as Illinois where more than 200,000 voter files were taken, to states with very high numbers of absentee ballots, could reveal if phantom voters were put into those state’s databases, they said.

“The theory here rests not on the claim that the hackers used data from Illinois to apply for registration status and absentee ballots,” one attorney explained. “Rather, the theory is that the hackers used the data from Illinois to place fake voters into voter registration databases which they also hacked… A leading computer scientist agreed this is how it could be done.”   

Michigan

Election night’s unofficial returns found Trump ahead by 11,000 votes. But 87,000 ballots did not show a presidential vote, the election integrity team said, which broke a 49,000 empty-vote record from previous presidential elections. A recount could clarify if all those ballots were improperly read by the state’s optical scan voting systems, in which computers process ink-marked paper ballots. In addition, about 25 percent of Michigan voted by mail, which they said said also could have been padded with phantom voters via the Russian hack.

Wisconsin

Election night’s unofficial returns found Trump ahead of Clinton by 27,000 votes. But Clinton won only counties using all-paper ballots, the computer voting experts said. In the counties using a mix of electronic and paper-based voting systems that President Obama won in 2012, Clinton lost by 1-2 percent. In the Obama counties using all paperless machines, she lost by 10 to 15 percent. (Five percent of the state’s 4.6 million voters, or 230,000 people, cast their ballots on paperless machines, state officials said Wednesday.)

Wisconsin also saw a record numbers of absentee ballots, with 831,000 ballots cast, which was about 30 percent of this fall’s vote. In past years, it was about 20 percent. Of that overall amount, about 134,000 were from people who mailed them in, instead of turning them in at polling places, state officials said.

The questions raised by the election integrity team are twofold. First, did old-school hacking pad Trump’s margin in counties with all-electronic voting systems? Under that scenario, paperless voting systems would be breached and totals changed. Second, was there a sizable effort to pad the absentee ballot voting with phantom voters, created from last summer’s Russian hacks into voter registration databases in other states?

Barbara Tors • 3 hours ago
Call me a numbers or statistical nerd but there is a very, very slim chance that all the exit polls in swing states compared to vote totals would be so highly skewed to Trump. Variance for these states was totallly abnormal - there was NOT a normal variance in the margin of error. In other words, it's statistically improbable that this election was won by Trump in these swing states. Appreciate any rational comments to prove otherwise. The "red shift" IS real!

rick armstrong • 2 hours ago
My first thoughts, after it became obvious that Trump was going to win, were that the voting had been rigged. How could that many pre-election polls have been so abysmally wrong? But even if it were proven beyond a doubt that Republicans had managed to sabotage the voting, nothing would come of it. The Republicans control all of those states where the voting was most suspect. And besides, the Democratic Party is comprised of nothing but neoliberal wimps who don't have the balls to stand up to Republican BS. And the media would do everything it could to keep us and the world from knowing that our election system is so flawed and intentionally undemocratic.

Yes. I. Have-one • 2 hours ago
To me the proof was in the pudding. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein did waaayyyy better than they did in 2012-there is most of your voters who did not like either main candidate. Gary Johnson's totals were significantly higher than Stein, reflecting how much of a shit storm Trump was. The country as a whole polls left on policy questions. Some states passed initiatives like medical marijuana, usually not a Republican issue, or has other state wide offices won by Democrats. Those numbers do not add up. It was obvious there was something up from the numbers alone. You mix all those Russian DNC hacks and other hacks of voting rolls and the voting machine companies, I mean, just how much does one have to spell it out, that Trump not only lost the popular vote, he actually did not even win the goddamn electoral vote.

Presidential elections from recent history where Republicans cheated, acted shady, etc.

1968-Nixon makes secret deal with Norh Vietnam to reject Johnson's peace deal. Oh yeah, RFK was killed too, throw that in.

1972-Nixon again, CREEP, Watergate, southern strategy, drug war, encouraging Wallace to run as a third party to split the Democrats.

1980-Reagan and Bush cut a secret deal with Iran to keep the hostages until after the election. The hostages are subsequently released, literally while St. Ronnie's punk demon ass was being sworn in.

1988-the Willie Horton ad, and the burning at the stake of Gary Hart.

2000-Florida, recounts, and then a right wing supreme court crowns W president, even though he actually lost. We all know how that turned out. 16 years of war and counting, a depression, etc.

2004-Vote count in Ohio is rigged with the same voting machines it was rigged on in 2016.

The last legit, ELECTED Rethug president we had was Dwight D. Eishenhower. Trump is no different.

Oh yeah, Republicans have one overriding principle. Power. All the lip service to god, defense, family values, all that is second to the pursuit of power.

The Republicans are at war with the Unted States and the American people. They have been since about this time of year, in 1963.

If this won't convince the Electoral College to do their jobs, nothing will.

[Bebpo]

Sessions accepted Attorney General.  This administration really is going to be a group of wannabe confederates running the government, finally getting that "south will rise again" moment.  I wonder if they'll get to rename the civil war in all the history books as the war of southern independence.   

[benjipwns]

Why would they do that when it's properly called the War of Northern Aggression.

[Samson Manhug]

Trump will have vast powers. He can thank Democrats for them.
Liberals liked executive authority as long as Obama wielded it. Now they've set a precedent.

PoliGAF needs to read, and understand, this.

If Obama wielded executive authority that was beyond what he predecessors did, which I wouldn't necessarily agree with [or, at the very least, it's all incrementalism], it was almost exclusively due to six years of Congressional intransigence on virtually every meaningful issue.

And now they (theoretically) have a president that has all those expanded executive powers and a Congress to back him up. Genius?

[benjipwns]

Thankfully, the only people who will get harmed are those who should have had better parents in the first place.

[VomKriege]

The Guardian feed

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/nov/18/donald-trump-cabinet-picks-live?page=with:block-582f3562e4b0da4920d6a1db#block-582f3562e4b0da4920d6a1db

TMZ has gotten exclusive access to film a one-hour special about president-elect Donald Trump’s home and life. The president-elect is very excited about it.

Donald J. Trump ✔
@realDonaldTrump

Tonight at 10 PM ET, 7 PM PT, on @FoxNews, a one hour special on me and my life by @HarveyLevinTMZ. Enjoy!
6:07 PM - 18 Nov 2016

MTV Cribs : White House edition !

[ToxicAdam]

>Election night’s unofficial returns found Trump ahead by 11,000 votes. But 87,000 ballots did not show a presidential vote, the election integrity team said, which broke a 49,000 empty-vote record from previous presidential elections. A recount could clarify if all those ballots were improperly read by the state’s optical scan voting systems, in which computers process ink-marked paper ballots. In addition, about 25 percent of Michigan voted by mail, which they said said also could have been padded with phantom voters via the Russian hack.


Lawl. I love they have this as proof and not the fact that we had two of the most reviled candidates in American history.

[Phoenix Dark]

https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/799676930966491136

my favorite republican

[james]

California still has 3m votes to count

http://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2016-general/unprocessed-ballots-report.pdf

What about the other states?

[Bebpo]

I have zero faith congress will stop any of trump's nominations, but if they do stop sessions or bannon it will be the first step.

[VomKriege]

They don't get a word for the "chief strategist" Bannon, do they ? Only the secretaries / "portfolio" positions.

[james]

I have zero faith congress will stop any of trump's nominations, but if they do stop sessions or bannon it will be the first step.

Democrats, being spineless and bending over backwards to compromise?

I cant imagine that at all.

[Samson Manhug]

The fact that this sort of thing can't be dismissed outright shows what kind of world we live in now:

https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/799452143925264386

Any way we can get a Twitter embed plugin like this installed?

[curly]

why do republicans obsess over Israel so much anyway

whites in a sea of browns

[Phoenix Dark]

The fact that this sort of thing can't be dismissed outright shows what kind of world we live in now:

https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/799452143925264386

Any way we can get a Twitter embed plugin like this installed?

Finally a nom that I can't imagine getting through the senate.

[demi]

The fact that this sort of thing can't be dismissed outright shows what kind of world we live in now:

https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/799452143925264386

Any way we can get a Twitter embed plugin like this installed?

Hi, just installed a plugin. I dont know if it breaks anything, so let me know please.

[Brehvolution]

Demi

[Samson Manhug]

Out of nowhere, Santa Demi appears bringing cheer

[Phoenix Dark]

Make The Bore Great Again

[Himu]

The fact that this sort of thing can't be dismissed outright shows what kind of world we live in now:

https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/799452143925264386

Any way we can get a Twitter embed plugin like this installed?

Hi, just installed a plugin. I dont know if it breaks anything, so let me know please.

not working on mobile

[demi]

My biggest concern is NSFW tweets, if it gets out of hand I will disable the plugin. Sorry.

[demi]

not working on mobile

I see the embedded tweet on my iPad. Maybe refresh due to cache issue?

[CatsCatsCats]

Working on my iPhone

[Madrun Badrun]

O and here I was going to abuse it with cocks.  But now I've been warned. 

[VomKriege]

Works fine on W10 mobile.

[TakingBackSunday]

just testing the twitter thing

https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt/status/799685285965463552

[TakingBackSunday]

thats pretty neat

[TakingBackSunday]

The fact that this sort of thing can't be dismissed outright shows what kind of world we live in now:

https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/799452143925264386

Any way we can get a Twitter embed plugin like this installed?

Working on iOS.  Might be an Android thingy
Hi, just installed a plugin. I dont know if it breaks anything, so let me know please.

not working on mobile

[Sausage]

Sitting at the airport and looking at all the news...

 Realizing how much of a fucking absurdist fever dream we're living in.

 We literally having a White Nationalist gloating that he likes being compared to Darth Vader and Satan that's going to be in our cabinet.

He's gotta be taking the piss with that quote. I mean, you've gotta be a shit person to even joke about something like that given the position he's in but it's the only hope I've got .

[VomKriege]

Bannon being an edgelord is pretty likely. The dude must have a nonstop erection since election.
At least the future kapos will have dank memes to lighten the mood.