POTUS 2016

    Honestly can't call myself a supporter for all the reasons you mentioned & more. The man's a total wreck. If you ever wonder why he won, look no further than his opponent. A man like Bernie would have probably taken it in a landslide. I'll stay neutral on Trump, hope his presidency is good for the sake of the people, and hope for much better candidates in 2020, like Rand Paul, whom I liked very much since the beginning, just like his father.

    Quote from [HP]

    9 hours ago, [HP] said: Ok, I'm genuinely interested in this one, for any trump supporters around here, what do you have to say about this?

    • He said he wouldn’t bomb Syria. You bought it. Then he bombed Syria.
    • He said he’d build a wall along the border with Mexico. You bought it. Now his secretary of homeland security says “It’s unlikely that we will build a wall.”
    • He said he’d clean the Washington swamp. You bought it. Then he brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, to make laws that will enrich their businesses.
    • He said he’d repeal Obamacare and replace it with something “wonderful.” You bought it. Then he didn’t.
    • He said he’d use his business experience to whip the White House into shape. You bought it. Then he created the most chaotic, dysfunctional, back-stabbing White House in modern history, in which no one is in charge.
    • He said he’d release his tax returns, eventually. You bought it. He hasn’t, and says he never will.
    • He said he’d divest himself from his financial empire, to avoid any conflicts of interest. You bought it. He remains heavily involved in his businesses, makes money off of foreign dignitaries staying at his Washington hotel, gets China to give the Trump brand trademark and copyright rights, manipulates the stock market on a daily basis, and has more conflicts of interest than can even be counted.
    • He said Clinton was in the pockets of Goldman Sachs, and would do whatever they said. You bought it. Then he put half a dozen Goldman Sachs executives in positions of power in his administration.
    • He said he’d surround himself with all the best and smartest people. You bought it. Then he put Betsy DeVos, opponent of public education, in charge of education; Jeff Sessions, opponent of the Voting Rights Act, in charge of voting rights; Ben Carson, opponent of the Fair Housing Act, in charge of fair housing; Scott Pruitt, climate change denier, in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency; and Russian quisling Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.
    • He said he’d faithfully execute the law. You bought it. Then he said his predecessor, Barack Obama, spied on him, without any evidence of Obama ever doing so, in order to divert attention from the FBI’s investigation into collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives to win the election.
    • He said he knew more about strategy and terrorism than the generals did. You bought it. Then he green lighted a disastrous raid in Yemen- even though his generals said it would be a terrible idea. This raid resulted in the deaths of a Navy SEAL, an 8-year old American girl, and numerous civilians. The actual target of the raid escaped, and no useful intel was gained
    • He called Barack Obama “the vacationer-in-Chief” and accused him of playing more rounds of golf than Tiger Woods. He promised to never be the kind of president who took cushy vacations on the taxpayer’s dime, not when there was so much important work to be done. You bought it. He has by now spent more taxpayer money on vacations than Obama did in the first 3 years of his presidency. Not to mention all the money taxpayers are spending protecting his family, including his two sons who travel all over the world on Trump business.
    • He called CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times “fake news” and said they were his enemy. You bought it. Now he gets his information from Fox News, Breitbart, Gateway Pundit, and InfoWars.

    Probably something like 'but her emails'.

    Quote from Sprony

    10 hours ago, Sprony said: Probably something like 'but her emails'.

    To be fair with Trump, I think he genuinely thought he'd repeal Obama care, build a wall etc. (That's the sad part if you ask me).

    The president was as delusional as the people who voted for him thinking he would do that. (He still is probably )

    Trump just fired, for no reason, the director of the FBI. The same man responsible for investigating his ties with Russia. It's official America, you are truly no longer a democracy. Oh, for the disbelievers, here's a rant:

    Quote

    Quote It's hard for me to see any U.S. ties to Russia…except for the Flynn thing and the Manafort thing and the Tillerson thing and the Sessions thing and the Kushner thing and the Carter Page thing and the Roger Stone thing and the Felix Sater thing and the Boris Ephsteyn thing and the Rosneft thing and the Gazprom thing and the Sergey Gorkov banker thing and the Azerbajain thing and the “I love Putin” thing and the Donald Trump, Jr. thing and the Sergey Kislyak thing and the Russian Affiliated Interests thing and the Russian Business Interests thing and the Emoluments Clause thing and the Alex Schnaider thing and the hack of the DNC thing and the Guccifer 2.0 thing and the Mike Pence “I don’t know anything” thing and the Russians mysteriously dying thing and Trump’s public request to Russia to hack Hillary’s email thing and the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing and the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump rally campaign thing and the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing and the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing and the Cyprus bank thing and Trump not releasing his tax returns thing and the Republican Party’s rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show his taxes thing and the election hacking thing and the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing and the Steele Dossier thing and the Leninist Bannon thing and the Sally Yates can’t testify thing and the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing and the Trump reassurance that the Russian connection is all “fake news” thing and the Spicer’s Russian Dressing “nothing’s wrong” thing and the Chaffetz not willing to start an investigation thing and the Chaffetz suddenly deciding to go back to private life in the middle of an investigation thing and the The Lead DOJ Investigator Mary McCord SUDDENLY in the middle of the investigation decides to resign thing and the appointment of Pam Bondi who was bribed by trump in the trump university scandal appointed to head the investigation thing and the The White House going into full-on cover-up mode, refusing to turn over the documents related to the hiring and subsequent firing of Flynn thing and the Chaffetz and White House blaming the poor vetting of Flynn on Obama thing and the Poland and British intelligence gave information regarding the hacking back in 2015 to Paul Ryan and he didn't do anything thing and the Agent M16 following the money thing And now the trump team KNEW about Flynn's involvement but hired him anyway thing and The Corey Lewendowski thing and the Preet Bharara firing thing but before he left he transferred evidence against trump to a state level Schneiderman thing And the Betsy Devos' Brother thing And the Sebastian Gorka thing And the Greg Gianforte from Montana thing And the pence actually was warned about Flynn before he was hired thing and the Pence and Manafort connection thing And the 7 Allies coming forward with audio where trump was picked up in incidental wire tapping thing and the carter Page defying the Senate's order to hand over his Russian contact list AND NOW the trump wants to VETO Sally Yates' testimony thing!!! SO yeah there’s probably nothing there!

    Quote from FrieChamp

    12 minutes ago, FrieChamp said: From what I've been hearing, most journalists and academics agree that impeachment is unlikely - especially by a Republican congress.

    Guess they're just willing to tank their own reputation and future election hopes for four years of tax cuts.

    Quote from Bastion

    5 hours ago, Bastion said: Guess they're just willing to tank their own reputation and future election hopes for four years of tax cuts.

    You underestimate the unwillingness of many hard Republicans (*note I did not say Conservative) to vote for a non-Republican.

    What the fuck is wrong with Americans? Seriously.....

    https://www.vox.com/first-person/2…erotaxy-twitter

    In short, mother posts a hospital bill (which is insanely high, but that's another story) and get's flooded with threats and comments that her son is better off dead, that natural selection should run it's course and she was even offered a bullet to 'take care' of things. As someone who grew up with universal healthcare, in a country were we actually value people's lives, this kind of outrage is simply unfathomable and goes far beyond politics. We're talking about being a decent human being here. I'm not saying all Americans are like this of course, but your healthcare system and apparently a large part of your fellow country men and women are completely fucked up.

    Quote

    Quote There was even a percentage of the comments dedicated to the belief that I was a foreigner or, worse, a terrorist, which is when I started asking news outlets to use my full name: Alison, not Ali, since people seemed unable to believe that I was, in fact, a white chick from New Jersey.

    I know right now in the world it's the "bash America show"... but do keep in mind that the USA is the premier world superpower (regardless of our feckless president). The economy is still moving, Americans are still consuming, the population is adopting renewables at increasing rates (regardless of politics). If there is one thing I have figure out over this past year, its that Americans "care" about politics, but at the end of the day don't give 2 s***s and will carry on with their lives. This is basically the 1980's all over again (war on drugs, welfare queens, illegal immigration, voter fraud, oil/gas glut (post crises)). So long as the world treats the USA like North Korea (oh look, its crazy uncle Kim/Trump), then in 3.5 years (or less depending on congressional midterms - although I have little hope for the Democratic party as an organization) you should see a resurgence of American leadership in the world again. In fact, this is what the world leaders appear to be banking on anyway (with exception to Russia and China of course). Also, the rule of the internet is that the internet trolls.

    I believe what is being seen is a reaction to a demagogue, not to a country itself. Then again... I am biased.

    Quote from Sigma

    1 hour ago, Sigma said: I know right now in the world it's the "bash America show"... but do keep in mind that the USA is the premier world superpower (regardless of our feckless president). The economy is still moving, Americans are still consuming, the population is adopting renewables at increasing rates (regardless of politics). If there is one thing I have figure out over this past year, its that Americans "care" about politics, but at the end of the day don't give 2 s***s and will carry on with their lives. This is basically the 1980's all over again (war on drugs, welfare queens, illegal immigration, voter fraud, oil/gas glut (post crises)). So long as the world treats the USA like North Korea (oh look, its crazy uncle Kim/Trump), then in 3.5 years (or less depending on congressional midterms - although I have little hope for the Democratic party as an organization) you should see a resurgence of American leadership in the world again. In fact, this is what the world leaders appear to be banking on anyway (with exception to Russia and China of course). Also, the rule of the internet is that the internet trolls.

    I believe what is being seen is a reaction to a demagogue, not to a country itself. Then again... I am biased.

    I could not agree more!

    Quote from Sigma

    On 7/11/2017 at 4:59 PM, Sigma said: I know right now in the world it's the "bash America show"... but do keep in mind that the USA is the premier world superpower (regardless of our feckless president). The economy is still moving, Americans are still consuming, the population is adopting renewables at increasing rates (regardless of politics). If there is one thing I have figure out over this past year, its that Americans "care" about politics, but at the end of the day don't give 2 s***s and will carry on with their lives. This is basically the 1980's all over again (war on drugs, welfare queens, illegal immigration, voter fraud, oil/gas glut (post crises)). So long as the world treats the USA like North Korea (oh look, its crazy uncle Kim/Trump), then in 3.5 years (or less depending on congressional midterms - although I have little hope for the Democratic party as an organization) you should see a resurgence of American leadership in the world again. In fact, this is what the world leaders appear to be banking on anyway (with exception to Russia and China of course). Also, the rule of the internet is that the internet trolls.

    I believe what is being seen is a reaction to a demagogue, not to a country itself. Then again... I am biased.

    I agree about the resurgence but I don't believe the world wants to be bashing on America. Most of us rely on your country for either aide, economic stability or military support. It's just that Trump is jeopardizing all of that and we have a hard time understanding that's what's happening in America right now, is actually possible. If our Prime Minister only did a fraction of what Trump pulled so far, he would be in jail. That's another thing. All this craziness has exposed America in way that we outsiders have never seen before. Not on this scale anyway. We're are seeing the deep-seated rot of how your wealthy fuck over the poor, how your systems like healthcare are deliberately inadequate and how the voices of the people can be suppressed as in a dictatorship. But most of all, it has shown us that you have a lot of scary people living in your country. As an American, I would be more worried about these brainwashed right wing religious zealots than terrorists.

    Quote from Sprony

    On 7/15/2017 at 0:28 AM, Sprony said: I agree about the resurgence but I don't believe the world wants to be bashing on America. Most of us rely on your country for either aide, economic stability or military support. It's just that Trump is jeopardizing all of that and we have a hard time understanding that's what's happening in America right now, is actually possible. If our Prime Minister only did a fraction of what Trump pulled so far, he would be in jail. That's another thing. All this craziness has exposed America in way that we outsiders have never seen before. Not on this scale anyway. We're are seeing the deep-seated rot of how your wealthy fuck over the poor, how your systems like healthcare are deliberately inadequate and how the voices of the people can be suppressed as in a dictatorship. But most of all, it has shown us that you have a lot of scary people living in your country. As an American, I would be more worried about these brainwashed right wing religious zealots than terrorists.

    This is a little out of order as a response, could be worded more clearly and better, etc etc. . . so please bare with me. I havn't had enough coffee yet.

    I understand that it's scary to look at from the outside-in, particularly when many nations are highly dependent on the influence/exports of the USA (ranging from medical/food aide, to economic aid, to military support, to research). While Trump is still in position, I would argue that he is not in power. Power implies the ability to execute the threatened action (I use this phrase because Trump is more combative than compromising). Trump does not have the power to execute many actions he has threatened. In order to execute any reduction of funds, manpower, aid, or alter the law Trump must go through the US Congress. As we have seen, while right-wing politicians may control Congress, they are severely fractured. Any action Congress takes is subject to the review of SCOTUS (Supreme Court). Thus SCOTUS is the last remaining true vestige of American governance at the highest executive levels (ignoring the Joint Chiefs of Staff, state governments, local governments, and media). Furthermore, this is not the first time a demagogue has been POTUS. Throughout my nation's history, we have had many Presidents that acted more like petulant children than "Presidential." In fact, I would argue that part of the reason Trump is so disconcerting to many people is that he comes immediately after the exception to this rule (Pres. Obama), rather than the standard. It is simply more easy to highlight these attitudes in modern times due to the expansion of media access and internet access throughout the world than before.

    It is important to point out that the United States does not solely operate on a Federal (national) government level. The vast majority of government and economic actions are taken at the state and local levels due to the structure of government in the US. Case in point, I am sitting in my office working on local government matters at this moment that impact more than 23,000 people on a daily basis (on break so no jokes).

    Are you correct in identifying religious zealots as the primary threat (physically) to the United States as a whole? To an extent, yes. Do I think religious zealots have the capacity to execute mass murder in the name of God, yes. However, it is insufficient to refer to these person as simply "religious zealots". They are terrorists. Terrorism is defined as the use of violence or the threat of violence to achieve a political goal. These persons clearly fit this role. What is more scary, is that for the last 40 years there has been a generation of religious zealots raised by parents who told them their goals were to gain entry into the local and state levels of government (the largest sectors). Because of this, currently, the right-wing zealots have access to a larger share of the American political machine than at any other time in history. However, and this is crucial, MANY of the people at these levels of government are smart enough to know how to control these citizens reasonably while moving forwards with governing in a responsible fashion. Thus, I am less concerned about these persons influence, as throughout our nation's history, we have always had factions rise and fall due to the rise and fall of counter-factions. Furthermore, the USA is still very much dealing with ramifications and attitude changes that other countries are only beginning to deal with (Muslim immigration to non-Muslim countries that are predominantly racially Caucasian, some form of Christianity as the major religion, and has a national language as the official language). Similarly, the USA is only beginning to put to bed many issues that other countries have taken care of a long time ago (national health care systems, racial tensions are still being felt with the magnitude of the 1960's Civil Rights era; case in point there are public schools that did not desegregate until the late 1980's, and economic stresses).

    Second to last point, another important one, is that there has been (and remains) a very concerted effort by federal law enforcement agencies to remain completely politically neutral. The appointment of Special Counsel Robert Muller comes with it the inherent task of searching out criminal activity. The title of Special Counsel legally assumes that there has been criminal conduct. That is huge! However, in order to conduct an appropriate investigation that is verifiable and does not suffer from evidentiary insufficiency or mistakes will take TIME.

    The last thing I would point out, is that despite all of the issues the USA has (there are many), and while it may look insane to non-Americans, by the very geography (seriously, we are huge - there is a reason train travel, access to internet, access to water, and public transportation are insufficient in this country) we have huge swaths of population requiring extraneous efforts to meet their needs. No other country has ever, or will ever (short of ancient Rome at its height - which is still not an appropriate comparison but its the closest there is; unless there is a sudden geopolitical landscape shift) take-on and accomplish the same relative levels of pure activity in the areas of infrastructure, healthcare, food generation and distribution, or education than the US.

    TLDR: In short, its the local people are the key to the USA - not its national politics. Local people will always talk with other locals, thereby ensuring the "thought bubbles" are broken. Just takes time, so please bare with us as we sort this situation out. It will get better.

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