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carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#160551: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:37:15 AM

Trump's team setting sights on pillaging Native reservations.

Privatizing reservations (and therefore permanently destroying the concept of tribes as quasi-independant entities) to allow oil companies to rape the lands for profit. Spearheaded by a Cherokee who's regarded by many others as a greedy quisling note 

edited 5th Dec '16 8:45:03 AM by carbon-mantis

BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#160552: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:37:17 AM

I think this is one of those "things have to hit rock bottom for people to change their views" situations.

My brother has an Alex Jones app on his smartphone. Says a lot right there, that he got a fucking app. There are others like him out there.

Anyway, I'm noticing that there's like 4 different flavors of right-wing in the US: religious right, racist right, corporate right, and libertarians. All of them have representation to some degree or another in the Trump administration. And they look set to get a large chunk of what they want, each.

If they ruin things for the dumbasses who voted for them to the point where it's impossible to blame it on the left, would that wake many of those people up? It's kinda like how addicts deny they have a problem until the problem ruins their life. People in general are like that. Think long term, and be optimistic: these morons could end up bringing the center-left back in a big way in the same way that religious oppression in Western Europe led to the lack of religiosity seen in those countries today.

pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#160553: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:38:07 AM

[up][up][up]It's really not very difficult to be smarter and more realistic than that. I recently overheard a couple of Trump supporters saying things like: "Oh, he's like your best friend, he'll do anything for you." No stupid, that's just his con artist's persona working its charms on someone gullible enough to believe it.

Trump is the biggest clown ever to wear an orange wig. (But that metaphor would be doing a disservice to clowns — entertainers who actually make you feel good and don't try to swindle you.)

edited 5th Dec '16 8:38:31 AM by pwiegle

This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#160554: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:38:52 AM

[up]x4: I think the first hundred days of Trump are going to be a roller coaster ride of international scandals. Internationally, it'll probably setting into a stable mediocrity, with foreign government's adapting to the administration's brainlessness, but it will never be good. Domestically, though, America is totally boned.

edited 5th Dec '16 8:39:11 AM by CrimsonZephyr

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#160555: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:39:32 AM

[up][up] Sounds a lot like the people who refused to believe Madoff was pulling one over them despite the increasing evidence.

[up] Oh yeah, we are fucked. sad Times like these I'm glad I'm an upper class tax bracket person who resides in California.

edited 5th Dec '16 8:41:05 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#160556: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:49:20 AM

[up][up] i'm not looking forward to having to bribe public officials all the time. The Trump administration is going to be ridiculously corrupt, and that would very likely be spread down to lower levels of governance.

Geostomp In the name of the POWER, I will punish you! from Arkansas, USA Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
In the name of the POWER, I will punish you!
#160557: Dec 5th 2016 at 8:56:29 AM

@Bonsai Forest: That assumes that there is a point where even die-hards will admit fault. On top of the fact that Trump has given angry people full authorization to act on their worst impulses, the people who follow him and other terrible Republicans almost religiously. They have seen their fortunes die under Republican rule for so long and reject the idea of taking "handouts" from Democrats that they have created a highly effective system of twisted logic to keep from having to admit being fooled. They have low expectations of government, so Trump's corruption is waved off. They either agree with or simply don't feel personally offended by Trump's bigotry and sexism, so that's not going to get them. They have already taken in a sense of victimhood and distrust for anyone different or "liberal," so they ignore the many warnings they received and regard news of negative effects as just lies to manipulate them. Hell, if anything, they deeply enjoy that so many are afraid or being harmed by Trump or his supporters as revenge for their own self-inflicted perpetual fear.

Combine all that with a massive propaganda wing, deep authoritarianism/xenophobia in the culture of many states that rejects anyone straying from the traditional consensus, severely limited education, some very genuine problems with inequality/poverty, and a media so obsessed with making money that they will always equate brazen lies and right-wing extremism with truth to find a very powerful engine for self-destructive denial.

That's not even getting into the classic totalitarian tactics of demonizing education manufacturing new, scarier "Enemies" to fight as justification as we've seen so many times in Republican-ruled eras. This is a group of highly manipulable people that will always be preyed upon by parasites like Trump or other corporate hacks, so their outsized influence is just too valuable for those oligarchs to ever risk getting a clue. The lies are only going to grow more brazen from here on and they will be desperate to keep these people too angry to think.

[up] I'm not sure that Trump will be able to take us entirely to banana republic levels, but there is no way in Hell that the Republicans won't gleefully ignore and protect corruption at lower levels. Corporate corruption is only going to shoot through the roof as our government is sold off piece-by-piece.

edited 5th Dec '16 9:00:24 AM by Geostomp

"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" Futurama, Godfellas
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#160558: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:03:26 AM

[up] Well, if anyone could get even people this willfully ignorant to stop lying to themselves and turn against him, it would be Trump. The man is almost as good at failing bigly as he is at conning people (which is what usually sets up his failures later). The problem is, what sort of a failure would be big enough to piss off even his base? I have a disquieting feeling we're going to find out, and it's not going to be fun for anyone.

edited 5th Dec '16 9:06:06 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#160559: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:09:14 AM

"he's like your best friend, he'll do anything for you"

I think this is most honest impresion of Trump this guy have, which explain very well why he was able to played them as well: he is a sitcom chararter a this point therefore he have protagonist inmunity and a HUGE jerkass dissonance

" I think the first hundred days of Trump are going to be a roller coaster ride of international scandals. Internationally, it'll probably setting into a stable mediocrity"

Pretty much, is fandumb will get more defensive once they see the swamp king in all is glory.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#160560: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:13:08 AM

[up][up][up] Not Banana Republic levels of corrupt, but systemically corrupt in a way that's going to be extremely difficult to get rid of.

JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#160561: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:13:42 AM

The nature of Trump is that he and his company fails at businesses but he goes unaffected. So Trump can fail at governing and by all probability will, but he probably won't be affected much from his electorate who want someone to "shake things up".

That is why I say focus on the majority of Clinton-voters/3rd Partyistas, suppressed and undecided. Leave the Trump voters to the wolf whose mouth they are going to gleefully dive into, and which could be wide enough as Fenris as it devours stuff.

Apparently he's elected Ben Carson as Urban Housing Chief...well joy.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#160562: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:15:11 AM

[up] Indeed, that's pretty much the textbook definition of a kleptocracy.

AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#160563: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:23:46 AM

So much of the best people promise.

Inter arma enim silent leges
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#160564: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:25:13 AM

P At Mccory has conceded.

Roy cooper is officially North Carolina's governor.

edited 5th Dec '16 9:25:25 AM by TacticalFox88

New Survey coming this weekend!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#160565: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:27:58 AM

[up]

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#160566: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:28:31 AM

Small victories in the big picture. Best learn to savor them.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#160567: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:30:10 AM

One victory at a time, comrade. This and the DAPL are about the only good news in the last few weeks.

Hopefully with a Democrat governor there might be a way to block and maybe roll-back voter suppression there. There also needs to be decisive action taken to halt this evil crap in the same state.

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#160568: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:30:45 AM

Le Garcon is from NC, right? Congrats to you, if you are.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#160569: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:32:47 AM

Now Cooper just has to endure years of nothing but vetos and overrides, since repubs still hold most state offices. Still surprised he conceded, was looking like a certainty that he was gonna take it to the legislature. Guess he figured his reputation was tarnished enough already?

edited 5th Dec '16 9:33:57 AM by carbon-mantis

ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#160570: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:38:01 AM

[up]More likely he had a good look at which way the counts were trending and decided to cut his losses before attacking from a different angle. Mccrory twisted a legislature in his pocket to the breaking point, so this suggests this was as far as he could have gotten without opening himself to serious pushback.

edited 5th Dec '16 9:38:40 AM by ViperMagnum357

carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#160571: Dec 5th 2016 at 9:39:28 AM

Amusingly enough there's whispers that the recount he demanded actually gave Cooper additional ones [lol]

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#160572: Dec 5th 2016 at 10:35:14 AM

Well there's finally a piece of good news. I needed that today.

Oh really when?
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#160573: Dec 5th 2016 at 10:51:08 AM

Trump advisors aim to privatize oil-rich Indian reservations

Native American reservations cover just 2 percent of the United States, but they may contain about a fifth of the nation’s oil and gas, along with vast coal reserves.

Now, a group of advisors to President-elect Donald Trump on Native American issues wants to free those resources from what they call a suffocating federal bureaucracy that holds title to 56 million acres of tribal lands, two chairmen of the coalition told Reuters in exclusive interviews.

The group proposes to put those lands into private ownership - a politically explosive idea that could upend more than century of policy designed to preserve Indian tribes on U.S.-owned reservations, which are governed by tribal leaders as sovereign nations.

The tribes have rights to use the land, but they do not own it. They can drill it and reap the profits, but only under regulations that are far more burdensome than those applied to private property.

"We should take tribal land away from public treatment," said Markwayne Mullin, a Republican U.S. Representative from Oklahoma and a Cherokee tribe member who is co-chairing Trump’s Native American Affairs Coalition. "As long as we can do it without unintended consequences, I think we will have broad support around Indian country."

Like real life cartoon villains

New Survey coming this weekend!
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#160574: Dec 5th 2016 at 11:11:36 AM

I laughed when Trump said he condemned bigotry at his first "thank you" rally. The guy ran his platform on bigotry and put someone in his cabinet that is from a website that runs on white supremacy. Actions speak louder than words, Trumpy.

God... it's been less than a month since he won and I'm already sick of him.

JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#160575: Dec 5th 2016 at 11:26:55 AM

How can you do things "without unintended consequences" when your aim is to go against a century of precedent.

You know Richard Nixon was the guy who did a lot of pro-Native American policies and put into effect and reversed a lot of the abuses. It's weird but Republican Presidents, first Ulysses Grant and then Nixon, have been more helpful to Native Americans than Democrats (at least until Obama asked the Army Corps to investigate/deep six the DAPL).

Now Trump is going to take even that away from them.

Vox says that Trump won't be able to do much to reverse the DAPL on his own.

The pipeline isn’t officially dead. But a fresh environmental review to examine new routes could take at least a year or more, and Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the pipeline, has said that its contracts for oil delivery would expire if the project was delayed past January 1, 2017. (If the pipeline is not built, the oil will continue to be shipped out of the Bakken by rail, which is more expensive.)

This decision is certainly a major setback for Energy Transfer Partners, which claims it has already lost $100 million from delays in the pipeline. In a statement, the company denounced the decision as a “purely political action,” noting that the Army Corps had previously granted the company every permit it needed.

It’s possible that the companies behind the pipeline could ask federal courts to enjoin (or block) the Army Corps’ decision in the coming days, says Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond. Back in September, the DC Circuit Court sided with the companies in refusing to block the pipeline via injunction.

Another looming question is how Donald Trump might respond when he finally gets into office. Trump has said he’s in favor of finishing the Dakota Access Pipeline, but today’s decision won’t be easy for him to overturn through executive action alone.

“If one agency makes detailed fact findings about how a project is not in the public interest, the next administration can’t just come in and rip it up right away,” Jan Hasselman, an attorney at Earthjustice who is representing the Standing Rock Sioux, told me on Friday. “They could seek to undo it, but it would be subject to judicial review.”

edited 5th Dec '16 11:28:34 AM by JulianLapostat


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