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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#263026: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:15:21 PM

<tries to imagine Trump breaking out into a musical number>

No thanks. xP

So, if the White House is genuinely considering making the House of Saud somewhat uncomfortable by noping out of helping them slaughter Yemenis, would this mean going after Iran is off the table?

Or, can they even think that many knock-on steps through?

And, do I really want the answer to that? -_-'

Edited by Euodiachloris on Nov 28th 2018 at 11:16:49 AM

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#263027: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:28:02 PM

maybe Colbert tries to unseat Graham in South Carolina for shits and giggles.

That's not a joke, either. Colbert has tried to enter politics in the past. In the 2008 election, he tried to launch simultaneous campaigns to be both the Republican and Democratic nominee for President.

He abandoned the Republican primary after finding out there's a $35,000 fee to file for admission and only filed for the Democratic primary. He paid $2,500 to file for admission to the Democratic primary, but was still barred from entry by the party on the basis of "You have to be f*cking kidding me."

In his defense, he only did it because his fans kept pressuring him to do it. He repeatedly refused and declared that he'd only run if he was given a Sign. Then Viggo Mortensen dropped by to give him the sword Anduril, proclaiming Colbert to be the one true King of Gondor. After that, he couldn't resist anymore.

Also, while Colbert is terribly, dreadfully unqualified, he does have both Captain America's shield and Anduril, which are two more iconic symbols of leadership than Trump has.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Nov 28th 2018 at 4:32:12 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#263028: Nov 28th 2018 at 3:44:08 PM

[up]Colbert's run was a joke, sure, but his joke run helped demonstrated how laughably easy it was to get around the "no coordination" rule between Super PA Cs and candidates.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#263029: Nov 28th 2018 at 4:11:17 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/11/28/day-678/

    Day 678: Guts 
1/ Trump told Robert Mueller that Roger Stone did not tell him about Wiki Leaks and that he was not told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump Jr., campaign officials, and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. Trump added a caveat that his responses were to the best of his recollection. For comparison, Trump also does not "remember much" from the meeting with George Papadopoulos, where Papadopoulos offered to arrange a meeting with Putin. Trump, however, has previously claimed to have "one of the great memories of all time," using it as justification for not using notes during his meeting with Kim Jong Un, and blaming Sgt. La David Johnson's widow when he stumbled over the solider's name during a condolence call. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/trump-mueller-answers-wikileaks-trump-tower/index.html

2/ Paul Manafort's attorney repeatedly briefed Trump's legal team about their discussions with Mueller after Manafort signed a cooperation agreement with the special counsel two months ago. The briefings made tensions worse between Manafort and the special counsel after prosecutors learned about them. While Manafort's attorney's discussions with Trump's lawyers didn't violate any laws, they did contribute to Manafort's deteriorating relationship with Mueller. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/us/politics/manafort-lawyer-trump-cooperation.html

Trump claimed he has never discussed a pardon for Manafort, but it's "not off the table." In August, Trump said he "would consider" pardoning Manafort, because he "feels bad." (New York Post / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/ny-post-trump-manafort-pardon-on-the-table/index.html

3/ Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill to protect Mueller, despite a threat from Jeff Flake to withhold support for all of Trump's judicial nominees unless Mitch Mc Connell allows for a vote on the protection bill. The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on a bipartisan basis, 14-7, this spring, but Mc Connell has argued that it's not necessary, because he doesn't believe Trump wants to fire Mueller. (NBC News / CNN / Politico)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/mueller-protection-bill-blocked/index.html

Trump feels no urgency to nominate a new attorney general. Republicans have asked Trump move quickly to nominate a successor to Jeff Sessions. Trump, however, is content with Matthew Whitaker as acting head of the Justice Department, who currently oversees Mueller's Russia investigation. Whitaker can stay in the job for 210 days from Session's resignation or longer if a replacement is in the confirmation process. (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-28/trump-is-said-to-feel-no-urgency-to-choose-new-attorney-general

4/ Trump – again – dismissed his own government's report on the devastating impacts of climate change and global warming, saying he doesn't see climate change as a man-made issue and that he doesn't believe the scientific consensus. "One of the problems that a lot of people like myself," Trump said, "we have very high levels of intelligence but we're not necessarily such believers." He continued: "You look at our air and our water, and it's right now at a record clean." (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-slams-fed-chair-questions-climate-change-and-threatens-to-cancel-putin-meeting-in-wide-ranging-interview-with-the-post/2018/11/27/4362fae8-f26c-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html?utm_term=.8f15faf71a0b

📌 The Re-up: Day 676. The National Climate Assessment concludes that global warming is already "transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us." The findings from the landmark scientific report, issued by 13 federal agencies, are at odds with the Trump administration's environmental deregulation agenda, which Trump claims will lead to economic growth, and its plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. The report predicts that the effects of global warming could eliminate as much as 10% of the U.S. economy by the end of the century, and warns that humans must act aggressively now "to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades." The first report, released in November 2017, concluded that there is "no convincing alternative explanation" for the changing climate other than "human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases." Trump recently questioned the science of climate change, saying that "I don't know that it's man-made" and that the warming trend "could very well go back." (New York Times / Associated Press/ Washington Post / CNN)

https://apnews.com/f9732784135c4f4a8963daff79e2583e

📌 The Re-up: Day 627. A U.N. report on the effects of climate change predicts a strong risk of an environmental crisis much sooner than expected. The report finds that the atmosphere could warm by as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels by 2040 if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, which would cause sea levels to rise, intensify droughts, wildfires, and poverty, and cause a mass die-off of coral reefs. To prevent 2.7 degrees of warming, greenhouse pollution must be reduced by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and fully eliminated by 2050. The use of coal as an electricity source would have to drop from nearly 40% today to between 1% and 7% by 2050. Renewable energy would have to increase to about 67%. Trump has mocked the science of human-caused climate change, vowing to increase the burning of coal, and he intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement. The world is already more than halfway to the 2.7-degree mark and "there is no documented historic precedent" for the scale of changes required, the report said. (New York Times / Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/08/world-has-only-years-get-climate-change-under-control-un-scientists-say/

The acting EPA chief credits Trump for a 2.5% decline in carbon emissions from 2016 to 2017. Trump took office in January 2017. Andrew Wheeler also noted "a 14% reduction in CO 2 emissions in the United States since 2005," which includes the Obama administration's implementation of strict environmental policies, which the EPA and Trump administration have tried to reverse, change, or eliminate. Wheeler also said he has not finished reading the report. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/epa-administrator-climate-report/index.html

Notables.

The Trump administration waived FBI fingerprint checks for caregivers and mental health workers in charge of thousands of teens at a migrant detention camp. None of the 2,100 staffers working at a tent city holding camp with more than 2,300 migrant teenagers have gone through the rigorous FBI fingerprint background check process. "Instead," reads an HHS memo, the camp is "using checks conducted by a private contractor that has access to less comprehensive data, thereby heightening the risk that an individual with a criminal history could have direct access to children." The federal government is also allowing the facility to forgo mental health care requirements that mandate at least one mental health clinician for every 12 children. Instead, the camp has one for every 100 kids. (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/0c62b088c27147b0a6055d1e8394a3af

Trump blamed the Federal Reserve for the GM plant closures and layoffs, as well as the recent declines in the stock market. Trump said he is "not even a little bit happy" with Jerome "Jay" Powell, who Trump picked to head the central bank. "So far," Trump said, "I’m not even a little bit happy with my selection of Jay. Not even a little bit. And I’m not blaming anybody, but I'm just telling you I think that the Fed is way off-base with what they're doing." He continued: "I'm doing deals, and I'm not being accommodated by the Fed. They're making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else's brain can ever tell me." (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-slams-fed-chair-questions-climate-change-and-threatens-to-cancel-putin-meeting-in-wide-ranging-interview-with-the-post/2018/11/27/4362fae8-f26c-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html?utm_term=.8f15faf71a0b

The Senate advanced a bipartisan bid to pull U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led forces in Yemen. The measure passed 63-37, signaling a rebuke to Trump and a reversal for the Senate, which rejected the same measure nine months ago. 19 senators switched their votes from the March vote following an "inadequate" briefing by Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Pompeo repeated the Trump administration's claim that there was no "direct reporting" connecting Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to Kahshoggi's murder. The Trump administration had been urging senators against withdrawing military support for the war in Yemen. (NBC News / Politico / New York Times)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/28/pompeo-khashoggi-saudi-crown-prince-1023850

Trump threatened to cancel his upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin over Russia's recent maritime skirmish with Ukraine. Trump said he is waiting for a full report on the incident, during which Putin captured three Ukrainian ships and their crews in the Black Sea on Sunday, before making a final decision on whether he will cancel the planned summit in Argentina this week. The report "will be very determinative," Trump said. "Maybe I won’t have the meeting. Maybe I won’t even have the meeting." Russia said that it still expects the meeting to go ahead as planned. (Washington Post / Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/17f1ff79b09e411b9b6a85b00afbe618

Contributions to the NRA went down by $55 million in 2017, according to the gun-rights group's latest tax records. The NRA reported $98 million in contributions in 2017, down from almost $125 million in 2016. In addition to the drop in contributions, membership dues were also down by roughly $35 million. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-nra-just-reported-losing-dollar55-million-in-income

Trump – again – threatened that he would "totally be willing" to shut down the government if he doesn't get the $5 billion for his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democratic leaders will only approve $1.6 billion for for border security measures. "I will tell you, politically speaking, that issue is a total winner," Trump said, citing U.S. border agents firing tear gas on migrants protesting near the border as evidence of support for more security. Trump also said the $5 billion would only be for a physical barrier and that "the number is larger for border security." (Politico / CNN)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/28/trump-politico-interview-1023306

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#263030: Nov 28th 2018 at 4:20:30 PM

Admittedly I'm a fan of Colbert, so I have reason to view it in a positive light, but basically, yes. A political commentator running for President to prove a point about how easy it is to break the ostensible rules about running for President is very different from a talk show host or musician declaring that they're running for President because they've run out of other things to spend money on.

It's been fun.
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#263031: Nov 28th 2018 at 5:05:26 PM

I doubt he would've followed through even if he did manage to make it all the way to the top.

tsstevens Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did from Reading tropes such as Righting Great Wrongs Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: She's holding a very large knife
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
#263032: Nov 28th 2018 at 5:35:11 PM

Everyone here would remember women, children, toddlers bombed with tear gas at the boarder. Well Farron Cousins on Ring of Fire reports how the Republicans think this is something to cheer and celebrate.

Until Cousins said this was an Ann Coulture like means of getting people to notice her for being so offensive or how some of Trump's personal army see making such troll posts will really upset the Liberals, the Democrats, and this is a way to pwn them, I didn't think it was this. I genuinely hope it is being offensive for attention because to be that mentally unbalanced and hateful even for Trump's camp, this is just what the Nazis did.

Edited by tsstevens on Nov 29th 2018 at 12:37:18 AM

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#263033: Nov 28th 2018 at 5:42:28 PM

TJ Cox has declared victory in the 21st California District. That gives the Democrats 40 seats in the House.

Friendperson Since: May, 2018
TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#263035: Nov 28th 2018 at 6:52:06 PM

[up] Unicameral legislatures don't do so hot either. Imagine the nightmare if it was Unicameral and Trump won most of the seats.

I hold the secrets of the machine.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#263036: Nov 28th 2018 at 7:29:41 PM

Colbert running for President would be a total joke still, but him running for senate... Comedians have gone into politics before, he’d be an outsider and pretty out of his comfort zone but the senate isn’t the worst place for someone who has been on the sidelines of politics for years to make an entry into active politics.

Part of me would like him to run as a paper candidate, don’t expect to win, but try and get democrats in South Carolina used to bothering to vote, boost down ballot races and make the Republicans spend a bunch of money defending a seat that should be safe.

Edited by Silasw on Nov 28th 2018 at 3:31:01 PM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#263037: Nov 28th 2018 at 8:31:26 PM

Because the Orange House apparently has more leaks than the Titanic, someone leaked part of how Trump answered some of Mueller's questions about whether Roger Stone told him about Wikileaks and if he knew about Don Jr.'s Trump Tower Meeting.

The surface level stuff is pretty predictable, but the implications this brings up are far more interesting.

  • Someone in Trump's camp must have leaked it, since it' certainly wasn't Mueller's team.
    • Why would they do that?
  • And why would they leak the bit of information about Roger Stone and The Trump Tower Meetings?

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 28th 2018 at 11:33:31 AM

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#263038: Nov 28th 2018 at 8:32:29 PM

Unicameral legislatures don't do so hot either. Imagine the nightmare if it was Unicameral and Trump won most of the seats.

You might as well imagine the nightmare of Trump being an immortal god king, that has about as much connection to our political reality as your idea.

Everyone here would remember women, children, toddlers bombed with tear gas at the boarder. Well Farron Cousins on Ring of Fire reports how the Republicans think this is something to cheer and celebrate.

Fascists are fascists, disgusting but unsurprising.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#263040: Nov 29th 2018 at 7:40:29 AM

According to Spiegel already did so.

"You can reply to this Message!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#263041: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:20:01 AM

A What the Fuck Just Happened Today preview

Trump made several calls from a blocked number in the middle of the night to Roger Stone during the 2016 campaign. The call logs were turned over to the special counsel, and Mueller's interest in them was laid out in a draft court document. The document revealed that prosecutors have drawn a direct line between Stone and Trump, a revelation that rattled Trump's legal team and showed how closely the special counsel is scrutinizing their relationship. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-night-owl-calls-to-roger-stone-in-2016-draw-scrutiny-in-mueller-probe/2018/11/28/77d6174e-f332-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html?utm_term=.5fd277ca8bb7

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#263042: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:29:55 AM

Between that and Cohen they either hide his phon or his twitter's gonna have a blast

"You can reply to this Message!"
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#263043: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:39:33 AM

I think now would be a good time to bring up what we will see from Trump in the coming weeks. In fact, we've already started to see it now.

Super quick one on what we're seeing from Trump and what's likely to come next.

He's entering a different phase on the narcissistic cycle that tends to be extra unhinged, so might as well talk about it and prepare for it. It's perhaps the most bonkers part of the cycle.

As I've written countless times, severe narcissists like Trump are utterly controlled by only two primary, driving impulses:

  1. Avoid shame
  2. Seek admiration and esteem
That's it. Everything else is derivative of those two. Those two drive the bus.

People naturally say "Shame?! The guy has no conscience and is incapable of shame!"

Yes and no. Trump has no moral compass. He has no sense of right or wrong. His entire existence focuses on how OTHER PEOPLE feel about him. He has no internal life. No insight.

So, yes, it is true that Trump doesn't independently feel shame about his behavior and has no internal conscience. However, he is entirely controlled by what others think of him. He can't handle being looked down on him.

To a narc, the knowledge that others are poised to see them in a very negative light - to see them as unworthy of admiration - or worse, worthy of contempt - is absolutely excruciating. It's utterly excruciating to them to see that train coming and not be able to stop it.

It is *literally* the worst possible thing that could happen to them.

Trump is right there in that spot now. He absolutely knows that the walls are closing in on the worst public shaming of his life. He can't escape it.

This is worth than a boiling death to a narc.

When put in that position, narcs absolutely lose it. They flail wildly. They entirely lose the little emotional regulation they had and just swing wildly trying to beat away what's coming. They say utterly insane things. They accuse, attack, lie.

It's a freaking spectacle.

Trump is right there. He is right at that moment where the narc goes entirely off the rails and blurts out endless craziness. Unhinged lunacy. Utterly devoid of reasoning or thought or logic.

It's like a drunken man swinging wildly in the dark.

At the end of the day, it changes nothing. It doesn't stop the Shame Train from coming. It only makes them look utterly unhinged. It creates a major scene but you needn't do more than step back and watch.

There's no point engaging.

Just observe with detachment.

In this state, the narc is extra-bad at forethought. They can't think ahead. They're just mega-tantruming. So, Trump couldn't hatch a cogent scheme of any kind right now if he wanted to. He's on tilt.

Right now - at this moment - just sit back and watch.

We're in for a barn burner of a meltdown.

  1. He'll flail like a loco lawn sprinkler
  2. He'll lash out at an endless array of targets
  3. None of it will make any sense
  4. He'll contradict even himself

...and then...

He'll go dark when he has punched himself out.

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 29th 2018 at 11:42:51 AM

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#263044: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:39:36 AM

@Silasw: Kinda what I was thinking. If he wants to trade up into politics, he can do worse than enter the legislature, get some experience and party contacts on the front lines, and prepare for a Presidential run in 2028.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#263045: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:49:09 AM

Breaking: Michael Cohen expected to plead guilty to lying to Congress.

That's actually really interesting, since it shows that Mueller is even willing to prosecute for making false statements to congress, and not just the FBI. This also has possible implications for Donald Trump Jr., Eric Prince of Darkness, et el, who also lied in their testimonies to congress.

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 29th 2018 at 11:58:09 AM

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#263046: Nov 29th 2018 at 8:57:23 AM

[up]x3 The problem I see is, even if the majority of people do start hating him so completely that he could even lose the Primary of 2020, as long as he has his core 25-33% of the entire US Population worshipping every word he says, his ego will never break to that point. He'll just keep doing what he's doing now; lashing at those that oppose him (or are perceived as opposing him), praising those that praise him, and staying the course he has now. The fact that the Republicans lost the House but kept the Senate was enough for Trump to say "I won".

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#263047: Nov 29th 2018 at 9:02:24 AM

[up] On some level it doesn't really matter what he's saying. His narcissism would never allow him to admit that he has been defeated, so it's not even that important.

He's basically in willful denial, but reality has a funny way of catching up with you, no matter how hard you try. As Mueller is getting closer and closer to his inner circle, and with the very real threat of a Democratic controlled house, the facade is cracking, no matter how hard he tries to ignore it.

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 29th 2018 at 12:09:13 PM

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#263048: Nov 29th 2018 at 9:09:07 AM

In terms of things that actually matter, on the 4th December Georgia has its Secretary of State runoff vote. In the previous vote the Democrat was 16000 votes or 0.42% behind and as we've seen that post gives one the ability to rig influence elections.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#263049: Nov 29th 2018 at 9:16:06 AM

Trump is the sideshow. Congress is where the action is.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#263050: Nov 29th 2018 at 9:18:54 AM

It would be really satisfying to see Mueller charge Eric Prince (of Darkness) for lying to congress as well.

Jr. would be nice too, but we'll have to wait and see.

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 29th 2018 at 12:23:50 PM


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