The Trump Presidency: Part 18

[a_unique_person]

Originally Posted by acbytesla

I don't know.



But I did find interesting Rachel Maddow going over the texts back and forth to Sondland where it clearly shows he lied during the inquiry when they deposed him and actually lied when he revised his statement. Sondland was still couching the facts pretending he didn't know who or why military aid was suspended.



The texts show he definitely did know who and why the aid was suspended because he himself told Ukrainian leaders that military aid was suspended until they publicly announced an investigation into Burisma and Joe/Hunter Biden.



https://youtu.be/qPL-HBdnBy0

Did he actually use the term "Quid Pro Quo"? If you don't then it's not a crime.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Aridas

Republicans so concerned about access to impeachment hearings, that they're not bothering to come

Shock! Such shock!

Also, looks like the Blue Wave hasn't really diminished even in these off-year elections. Looks like we're up to 9 state legislatures flipped since 2016, all to Democrats, and serious losses just about across the board for Republicans in numbers that help make Trump's removal more feasible politically.

Of course they aren't showing up, it's hard to gaslight an empty room (no audience) and it doesn't look as good on paper.

Wait until the public hearings next week, they will claim every minute of their time to rant about the kangaroo court.

[a_unique_person]

Originally Posted by acbytesla

I don't know.



But I did find interesting Rachel Maddow going over the texts back and forth to Sondland where it clearly shows he lied during the inquiry when they deposed him and actually lied when he revised his statement. Sondland was still couching the facts pretending he didn't know who or why military aid was suspended.



The texts show he definitely did know who and why the aid was suspended because he himself told Ukrainian leaders that military aid was suspended until they publicly announced an investigation into Burisma and Joe/Hunter Biden.



https://youtu.be/qPL-HBdnBy0

That was Maddow actually being informative for a change.

[acbytesla]

Originally Posted by a_unique_person

That was Maddow actually being informative for a change.

I think, she's always informative. Also repetitive and often drags her teases out where they can become unbearable for some of us. But informative always.

[Skeptic Ginger]

She's very informative and brilliant. She just thinks everything needs this waaay too long and often boring buildup to get to the point.

[dudalb]

Also think Maddow is a bit too narrow in her interests;she ignores foreign affairs, for instance, until she thinks she can use them as a club to beat Trump with.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Originally Posted by Paul2

I love Rachel, she does stuff no one else comes close to, but she can circle a topic and say the same thing again and again and it drives me crazy. I get why she does that technique (people don't hear much the first time), but she does it a bit too much.

I agree here. I like reading transcripts of her show, but when I watch I'm always thinking, Just get to the point!

[quadraginta]

Originally Posted by The Great Zaganza

I thought it was understood that Trump is a plant to identify seditious elements in the population by selling them Red Hats - the next Democrat President can have them all rounded up and send to FEMA re-education camps.

At this stage I doubt the FEMA camps would want them.

They'd bring down the neighborhood standards.

[Delphic Oracle]

Originally Posted by Paul2

Either she's the type of person who, when writing fiction, would spend a lot of time in description and atmosphere, as opposed to moving the plot along, or she's padding her time.

I'd put it more as a fiction writer who doesn't start chapter 1 in the thick of the 3rd act. A major part of a narrative that grabs a lot of people is giving them a bite of a side dish and letting their curiosity about the main dish do the rest. I get why her style* rubs people on this forum the wrong way, by and large we don't need clever devices to keep us interested (in fact probably more the opposite).

*I get why she needed the Bechtel tease. As she hinted at, it is a frequent pariah of liberal quackery (I say from the outer fringes of Progressive land, myself) and even the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to softly ease into that (a quaint bit of American lore that is at least vaguely familiar to a wide-ish audience as most don't know what "a Bechtel" is) for the reasons I elaborated on. So for informed Liberals and general audience both, she's tapped into the "ooh, what's this now?" impulse.

I think the bridge too far (pardon the pun) was having to spend 45 seconds explaining where Tacoma, Washington is. That sounds a lot more like a decision made by an EP pointing out (somewhat rightly) that "nobody knows where Tacoma is or cares."

[Trebuchet]

You know what is Trump's biggest problem? He's spent his whole life lying and cheating, to the point where now it's his automatic response to any and every situation. Even when he doesn't need to.

[quadraginta]

Originally Posted by Trebuchet

You know what is Trump's biggest problem? He's spent his whole life lying and cheating, to the point where now it's his automatic response to any and every situation. Even when he doesn't need to.

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

[Trebuchet]

Originally Posted by quadraginta

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

He enjoys life. And lying and cheating has been his whole life.

[quadraginta]

Originally Posted by Trebuchet

He enjoys life. And lying and cheating has been his whole life.

I wonder if he cheats at solitaire.

Actually, no, I don't.

Of course he cheats at solitaire.

[Cain]

Originally Posted by quadraginta

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

The only people who complain about cheating are losers.

Exception: When someone after you plays by the rules, accuse them of being "very unfair" (e.g., Shifty Schiff's conduct during impeachment).

[Trebuchet]

Originally Posted by Cain

The only people who complain about cheating are losers.

Exception: When someone after you plays by the rules, accuse them of being "very unfair" (e.g., Shifty Schiff's conduct during impeachment).

Or the whole Mueller ingestgation.

[SezMe]

Originally Posted by phiwum

I disagree. They have to make a clear case for obstruction and that requires gathering facts including public statements but also private discussions of withholding evidence. Obstruction is ongoing and Mueller's report has already been dismissed by ther GOP, so new arguments are essential.

Of course it has, but that means nothing. IIRC, that report documented around 10 cases of obstruction. So no new incidents are needed; the ones already documented just need to be put front and center by the Dems in the upcoming hearings.

[SezMe]

Originally Posted by Horatius

So, are we taking odds on the dam never being built, vs. being built incredibly shoddily because Trump encourages them all to shaft their contractors?

According to the wiki article, construction started in 2011 and was 60% complete in 2017. Assuming the same rate of construction, that means it will take another 8 years to finish, meaning 2025.

[SezMe]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

Does he know what the results are? It's a blue sweep.

Not in Kentucky. The GOP won all races except for governor.

[SezMe]

Originally Posted by Paul2

I love Rachel, she does stuff no one else comes close to, but she can circle a topic and say the same thing again and again and it drives me crazy. I get why she does that technique (people don't hear much the first time), but she does it a bit too much.

She usually has a 5 minute story and 42 minutes to tell it.

[Armitage72]

Originally Posted by SezMe

Not in Kentucky. The GOP won all races except for governor.

Which means that once it's confirmed that the Democrat has become Governor, the legislature will probably start changing the rules to limit his power, like what happened in another state.

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump Retweeted

AL.com
@aldotcom
The Alabama SGA warns groups: Protest Trump during the LSU game and risk losing your reserved seating. https://trib.al/Teburyo

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump Tweets

Years ago, when Media was legitimate, people known as “Fact Checkers” would always call to check and see if a story was accurate. Nowadays they don’t use “Fact Checkers” anymore, they just write whatever they want!

The story in the Amazon Washington Post, of course picked up by Fake News CNN, saying “President Trump asked for AG Barr to host a news conference clearing him on Ukraine,” is totally untrue and just another FAKE NEWS story with anonymous sources that don’t exist....

...The LameStream Media, which is The Enemy of the People, is working overtime with made up stories in order to drive dissension and distrust!

[The Don]

Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop

Trump Retweeted

AL.com
@aldotcom
The Alabama SGA warns groups: Protest Trump during the LSU game and risk losing your reserved seating. https://trib.al/Teburyo

Poor ickle snowflake.....

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump tweets

Just returned to the @WhiteHouse after a great evening in Monroe, Louisiana with a massive turnout of Great American Patriots. With early voting underway until Sat, find your polling location below & go vote for your next #LAgov, @EddieRispone! #GeauxVote https://vote.donaldjtrump.com

LOUISIANA! Early voting is underway until Saturday, it’s time to get out and VOTE to REPLACE Radical Liberal Democrat John Bel Edwards with a great new REPUBLICAN Governor, @EddieRispone! #GeauxVote

[smartcooky]

Originally Posted by Paul2

I love Rachel, she does stuff no one else comes close to, but she can circle a topic and say the same thing again and again and it drives me crazy. I get why she does that technique (people don't hear much the first time), but she does it a bit too much.

I love her technique.. its called building a story, an art that has mostly been lost in the current, short attention span age of sound bytes, instant gratification and fast food. Its the difference between a documentary and a news clip; a symphony and a three-minute rock song; a novel and a short story. If you gave me the choices, I'd take the documentary, the symphony and the novel every time.

Rachel Maddow is, as Chris Hayes calls her, "The Master Explainer" - she is detailed, and thorough and leaves nothing out in her effort to show how we got to the place where we are in at the time of whatever it is she is reporting about. Her descriptions of event timelines, and her ability to tie together seemingly unrelated facts is unparalleled IMO, and makes otherwise complex subjects easy to understand.

I have just finished reading her latest book - "Blowout". Its quite simply outstanding.

[Aridas]

Originally Posted by Armitage72

Which means that once it's confirmed that the Democrat has become Governor, the legislature will probably start changing the rules to limit his power, like what happened in another state.

Several states, actually, within the last couple years alone.

[Belz...]

Originally Posted by Aridas

Republicans so concerned about access to impeachment hearings, that they're not bothering to come

Shock! Such shock!

The GOP's not even pretending anymore. Their lies are transparent because they know their base doesn't care anymore, either.

[Belz...]

Originally Posted by dudalb

Also think Maddow is a bit too narrow in her interests;she ignores foreign affairs, for instance, until she thinks she can use them as a club to beat Trump with.

Yeah, a lot of newspeople do that these days, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, Trump isn't making it easy for them. It's not like he's keeping a low profile.

[TofuFighter]

Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop

Trump Retweeted
AL.com@aldotcom
The Alabama SGA warns groups: Protest Trump during the LSU game and risk losing your reserved seating. https://trib.al/Teburyo

Originally Posted by The Don

Poor ickle snowflake.....

I'd like to know the rationale behind trump's retweeting this.

Is it really just the president of the United States saying "reminder: you're not allowed to protest against me"? Not that everything he tweets isn't a bit bizarre, but this is really the kind of notice that officials in China or North Korea would issue.

The University clarified its position in that link that it was not a warning about protesting trump, but rather a warning against 'disruptive behaviour' under which, presumably, the Student Affairs body may lump any trump protest.

Someone should probably remind trump that he signed an executive order in March about free speech on college campus - Link.

[SuburbanTurkey]

In less significant, but still hilarious news: Trump was scamming his gullible base again.

The Trump campaign ran 15 "have a meal with Trump" schemes in order to raise donations. There is is mounting evidence that none of these schemes were ever honored, the campaign just took the money and never selected a winner.

The Daily Caller has trotted out two people as supposed evidence that this is "fake news". Neither of these two people ever had a meal with Trump, at best they got a quick photo op with the President.

https://popular.info/p/update-trump-campaign-contest-to

[newyorkguy]

There has been some response but only after several news organization reported this story and it became clear that the Trump campaign was probably breaking campaign law.

Quote:

The Daily Caller article has the blessing of the Trump campaign, which is promoting it widely. It's likely that the Trump campaign provided the two individuals interviewed to the The Daily Caller. The fact that a woman who did not share a meal with Trump was the best example of a contest winner the Trump campaign could produce raises serious questions about the other 14 contests. There is still no evidence any of those meals occurred. Link

I predict this story won't faze Donnie's supporters. They'll just think, 'Okay he was too busy to have breakfast with someone. So what?' Anyway, if you can support someone like Donald Trump this is probably what you expect of him anyway. Most of his supporters strike me as Big Man Followers. Trump's a Big Man. You don't question him! Where is Lewis Carroll when we really need him?

MAGA!!!

[Belz...]

Originally Posted by newyorkguy

Most of his supporters strike me as Big Man Followers.

What's that?

[varwoche]

I find it bleakly hilarious the extent to which the US government is focused on helping poor Donnie with his self-esteem issues. From Taylor's testimony to the House, we learn that the NSC was actually focused on Greenland!

[Fast Eddie B]

Re: Big Man Follower...

Originally Posted by Belz...

What's that?

That’s new to me as well.

Eric Hoffer wrote a book called “The True Believer”.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Believer

Maybe related?

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump Tweets

Bill Barr did not decline my request to talk about Ukraine. The story was a Fake Washington Post con job with an “anonymous” source that doesn’t exist. Just read the Transcript. The Justice Department already ruled that the call was good. We don’t have freedom of the press!

The degenerate Washington Post MADE UP the story about me asking Bill Barr to hold a news conference. Never happened, and there were no sources!

Read the Transcript!

Based on the information released last night about the Fake Whistleblowers attorney, the Impeachment Hoax should be ended IMMEDIATELY! There is no case, except against the other side!

[Armitage72]

Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop

Trump Tweets

He's getting closer and closer to ranting about strawberries and duplicate keys, isn't he?

[timhau]

Originally Posted by varwoche

I find it bleakly hilarious the extent to which the US government is focused on helping poor Donnie with his self-esteem issues.

Just the other day, I for some reason thought about The Apprentice. I watched the first three seasons, and to my recollection it was never brought up that Trump is Old Money. So, given that he even then exhibited all of the New Money insecurities to a cartoonish degree, I assumed he was self-made.

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump Tweets

“What did Hunter Biden do for the money?” @SenJohnKennedy
A very good question. He and Sleepy Joe must testify!

[Captain_Swoop]

Trump Tweets

It was just explained to me that for next weeks Fake Hearing (trial) in the House, as they interview Never Trumpers and others, I get NO LAWYER & NO DUE PROCESS. It is a Pelosi, Schiff, Scam against the Republican Party and me. This Witch Hunt should not be allowed to proceed!

[Paul2]

Originally Posted by smartcooky

I love her technique.. its called building a story, an art that has mostly been lost in the current, short attention span age of sound bytes, instant gratification and fast food. Its the difference between a documentary and a news clip; a symphony and a three-minute rock song; a novel and a short story. If you gave me the choices, I'd take the documentary, the symphony and the novel every time.

Rachel Maddow is, as Chris Hayes calls her, "The Master Explainer" - she is detailed, and thorough and leaves nothing out in her effort to show how we got to the place where we are in at the time of whatever it is she is reporting about. Her descriptions of event timelines, and her ability to tie together seemingly unrelated facts is unparalleled IMO, and makes otherwise complex subjects easy to understand.

I have just finished reading her latest book - "Blowout". Its quite simply outstanding.

In for a penny to de-rail this thread over to Rachel, in for a pound:

There are two different things with Rachel: one is short-term repetition, where she is apparently trying to make sure the listener has heard the subject, her point, or whatever; two is her mid-level narrative structure in which she circles the topic, or starts at A and moves to B, which is the main topic. The first drives me a little crazy, and I tolerate the second, although the second is great when she gives the historical context to her main topic, something no one else does.