monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

@blatham,

I'm very sorry to hear that. I liked Saab, she will be missed.

Health Care Vote: Senate Rejects Repeal Without Replace (NYT)

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Some of the anti-cheese-eaters who were regular participants in this thread seem to have suddenly disappeared without notice, eh?

I suspect that the cheese-eaters are a powerful lobby, acting in concert to influence the admins.

They probably collude in PM's then "report" a selected post en mass, with each one providing a lengthy tale of how morally OUTRAGED they are, ya know?

I've been suspended more than once. After one 6-month ban, out of curiosity, I asked why I had been banned. I didn't get any substantive response, but they did take time to tell me that I got a lot of downvotes, indicating that I wasn't "popular" with certain elements of the crowd.

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@izzythepush,

Yeah, she will be missed. Osso started a thread in her name and I'll alert the family to it
https://able2know.org/topic/401865-1

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@revelette1,

I don't know what the hell is going on with Trump and Sessions, but this media campaign he seems to be running to constantly undermine his AG is disgusting. Trump needs to fire him or stop the kneecapping. Loyalty is a two way street and Sessions has been loyal to Trump.

I would have preferred a lot of other people over Sessions, but Trump picked him. Nothing wrong with his re-evaluating his decision after watching the AG's performance, but there is no good reason (that I can even imagine) for this public humiliation of Sessions. It's like watching a kid torture a frog.

I've no doubt there are Trump Supporters (not necessarily here, but maybe) who think there is a good reason for this nonsense, but I sure as hell can't see it. It's another brick in the wall for the Resistance and certainly not enough for me to even think about joining their ranks, but this time, they have a point. I must say however, that the expressions of sympathy for Sessions that I've seen in the MSM are as hollow as a donut hole when the sympathizers spent a lot of ink and bytes going on about what a racist the AG is.

Politics is a contact sport without a lot of rules. Politicians who can't stand the heat need to get out of the kitchen, however without a strategic reason for this game Trump is playing it's just gratuitous foul play.

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@glitterbag,

The transgender/military move is a completely cruel and cynical political ploy. Trump had previously promised he would be "transgender people's best friend".

Quote:

Jonathan Swan‏Verified account
@jonathanvswan
Just spoke to a Trump administration official about the transgender military decision. Here's what they said...

Quote:
This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin to take complete ownership of this issue. How will blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for reelection in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

I just received word from Saab's daughter that Saab passed away on Sunday.

Oh gosh that's very sad news.

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@glitterbag,

glitterbag wrote:

It doesn't fit his fantasy of what a President 'is', he mistakenly believes he has unlimited powers.....and he CAN influence many things but like any other greedy man he can never be satisfied.

I hate to tell you this, but unless someone tells him, and forcibly tells him otherwise, his powers are more or less unlimited.

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@Finn dAbuzz,

You deserve kudos for that post, finn. But...

Quote:

I don't know what the hell is going on with Trump and Sessions

There are rather a lot of clues strewn across the landscape not the least of them being that Trump has displayed far, far more loyalty to Putin than to Sessions or that the only way Trump can fire Mueller is to get Sessions gone first.

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@Finn dAbuzz,

Yeah, it is. Feel free to comment on the thread Osso started.

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@blatham,

From what I read in those states, we lost more young blacks and young progressives than we ever have to worry about with the white working class who obsesses over these types of issues. So I don't think the issues would necessarily hurt the left chances in the middle election season.

But yeah, I can see this cynical no good President punishing our transgender men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for pure political gain. Hopefully it will not work. Regardless, we have to step up for what is right even if it cost votes.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

the only way Trump can fire Mueller is to get Sessions gone first.

#45 still has to get past Rod Rosenstein

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@ehBeth,

Which is why he wants to get rid of Sessions. Sessions recused himself in all Russian matters so Rosentein is boss in Russian matters. If he gets a new Attorney General that attorney general can decide to fire Mueller and there would be nothing anyone could do about it, unless of course at long last republicans in control of the house and senate finally realize this despot has to go. Fat Chance.

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@revelette1,

Sessions continues to be popular with conservatives - and southern Republicans.

I understand that #45 doesn't much care about conservative Republicans and how they do in the midterms. It will be interesting to see if they decide to let him know that they do care.

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@ehBeth,

If the Russian investigation by Mueller was completed, I wouldn't care two hoots if Trump fires Sessions or not. But right now, without Sessions involved, there is a much better chance of all the truth, wherever it leads, will be discovered and put down for history and to learn how to avoid further interference.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

You deserve kudos for that post, finn. But...

Quote:
I don't know what the hell is going on with Trump and Sessions
There are rather a lot of clues strewn across the landscape not the least of them being that Trump has displayed far, far more loyalty to Putin than to Sessions or that the only way Trump can fire Mueller is to get Sessions gone first.

I'm sorry if I seem ungracious, but as far your kudos go, thanks but no
thanks. Considering that my next post might just as easily be claimed by you to reflect a hunger for dog ****, I'm afraid I don't place much value in your compliments.

Trump may need to clear the decks of Sessions before he makes a foolish move on Mueller, but that can be accomplished by firing him or even asking him for his resignation. If I'm not mistaken, it's been reported that Sessions already offered to resign. (Not that I put much weight in stories based on unnamed sources familiar with the matter).

Rather than inducing Sessions to quit, this nonsense is more likely to make the AG resolve to force Trump fire him. It makes no sense.

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@Finn dAbuzz,

Quote:

Rather than inducing Sessions to quit, this nonsense is more likely to make the AG resolve to force Trump fire him. It makes no sense.

Trump's thinking may be that public admonishment is more likely to get Sessions to do what he's told. I don't agree with that, but....

He's clearly stated that he wants intelligence leaks investigated more actively and, voila, Sessions is now going to set up a task force for that. He wants democratic misadventures investigated---which could be a poor political move, and one that Sessions may be adverse to.

Of course he could do all this privately, and I'm sure he has, but apparently he isn't satisified with Sessions' response so far, and thinks that making it a "public" issue will motivate Sessions.

As an analogy of sorts, if Trump made it known that he suspected person X of leaking, then person X would certainly be subjected to a lot of scrutiny by the press and others. If he was leaking, he would undoubtedly stop if the suspicions about him were widely known. He couldn't risk being seen anywhere near a reporter, for example.

There has to be a lot more going on behind the scenes than the public is aware of.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

#45 still has to get past Rod Rosenstein

Aint no thang:

Quote:

In his order making the appointment, Rosenstein cited federal regulations issued by the attorney general in 1999, 28 C.F.R. § 600.4-600.10. In a Senate hearing on June 13, Rosenstein said he alone exercises firing authority, and that he had not seen any evidence of good cause for firing Mueller.

If he wanted to, wrote Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor, Trump could fire Rosenstein. Trump could keep firing people until he got someone to follow through on an order to fire Mueller. “That means it could go down the line until an assistant attorney general did not resign and instead carried out the President’s order,” Goldsmith wrote.

There’s yet another route the president could take, Neal Katyal, a professor of national security law at Georgetown University, wrote in a piece for the Washington Post on May 19: “Trump could order the special-counsel regulations repealed and then fire Mueller himself.”

http://www.factcheck.org/2017/06/can-trump-fire-mueller/

Trump probably aint gunna fire Mueller though. He probably has grounds: an "apparent" conflict of interest at a minimum, which, all alone, requires Mueller to voluntarily recuse himself--which he hasn't done. And he has other good reasons for doing it--huge, wasteful, unnecessary expense to taxpayers. But he probably doesn't want the political fallout.

Trump has nothing to fear from Mueller. Mueller aint gunna charge no crimes, but if he does, Trump can always hand out pardons like easter candy. No need to do that now, though. That could be years down the road.

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A very interesting interview by Brian Beutler of Steve Bannon biographer Joshua Green. You won't come out cheerful but you will be better informed
podcast interview here

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@layman,

Quote:

The change in linguistic facility could be strategic; maybe Trump thinks his supporters like to hear him speak simply and with more passion than proper syntax. “He may be using it as a strategy to appeal to certain types of people,” said Michaelis.

Ya see, there's one big-ass problem with trying to be polite, proper, refined, dignified, and respectful, while always showing restraint and discretion in the words you choose and the manner in which you present them.

By the time ya try to comply with all those lame-ass, self-imposed restrictions, ya can't even say what really on your mind no more.

Trump don't play dat.

Trump does want to appeal to "certain types of people," and it aint phony-ass, cheese-eatin frauds, thank God.

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