monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

@hightor,

There were some clergy and others there that afterwards said they think they may have been beaten badly or even worse - had antifa not been there.

1 Reply

@emmett grogan,

emmett grogan wrote:

Trump Will Resign Before Mueller Finishes Investigation, 'Art of the Deal' Writer Says
"The circle is closing at blinding speed."

Tim Marcin
Posted with permission from Newsweek

The guy who helped President Donald Trump write his seminal book "The Art of the Deal" said the former reality TV star will soon leave the White House on his own accord.

In a series of tweets Wednesday, Tony Schwartz—who co-authored the 1987 book that helped define the real estate magnate's public image—said he thought the walls were closing in on Trump and he would soon leave office in an attempt to save face.

Every tweet Schwartz sent Wednesday was about Trump. "Think of Trump as a toddler w/ reactive attachment disorder, and therefore in a permanent virulent tantrum. His development ended at age 7," he posted, later adding, "Remember that every time Trump criticizes and demeans someone he is projecting his deep sense of inadequacy & self-hatred onto others."

Later he wrote in a series of three tweets that Trump's end would come before the year was out. "The circle is closing at blinding speed. Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and congress leave him no choice," Schwartz tweeted. "Trump's presidency is effectively over. Would be amazed if he survives till end of the year. More likely resigns by fall, if not sooner."

For the Americans who don't support Trump—that's a lot of folks considering the president's approval rating is hovering about 37 percent—Schwartz warned they have to keep the pressure up if they want the billionaire to resign. "Trump must be isolated. Resistance every day. The end is near but must keep pressure high," he tweeted.

Schwartz, now the CEO of The Energy Project, has been a critic of Trump as he ascended to the White House and has regularly tried to explain how the president goes about making decisions. Schwartz wrote in The Washington Post in May that for Trump "didn't value—nor even necessarily recognize—the qualities that tend to emerge as people grow more secure, such as empathy, generosity, reflectiveness, the capacity to delay gratification or, above all, a conscience, an inner sense of right and wrong." Instead, everything for him was transactional and considered a win or a loss. If that were true, then it would stand to reason that Trump would the desert the presidency before it could be considered an unsalvageable loss.

Oddsmakers seem to feel similarly to Schwartz. The latest odds from bookmaker Ladbrokes, for instance, gave Trump an about 48 percent chance of not finishing his first term due to either impeachment or resignation.

Isn't it possible that Trump's eventual resignation was intended from the onset of his "self-financed" campaign?

Isn't it possible that Trump's children and grandchildren have been learning the Chinese language for reasons other than entertaining China's top leader? Maybe Trump plans to resign and relocate his family to China after he pardons himself and everyone around him. Maybe he plans to live in a golden tower in the greatest and most beautiful city in China, ease back into his old life (grabbing crotches, etc.), run his world-wide empire (as any "nationalist" hypocrite should), and enjoy his many, many billions of dollars. I wonder what the odds of that will be....

1 Reply

@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Quote:
Jane Mayer‏ @JaneMayerNYer 2h2 hours ago
Jane Mayer Retweeted Dave Weigel
It's true: as far as I know, Bannon was the only one inside the White House who openly expressed contempt for the Kochs & other Big Donors.

A very important aspect. Pay attention to this.

Well, money is money to Trump. It doesn't matter where it comes from. But maybe it's necessary for Bannon to go back to Breitbart and quell its recent output of articles that have been critical of Trump. After, if there's a grand plan, it includes keeping the far right crowd agitated and on Trump's side. The propaganda machine can't succeed in its mission if it isn't used properly.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Give it a try
https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror

I watched the video twice.

The far right people were not there to protest the removal of a statue.

The driver of that car is a murderer.

It's shocking to know that so many of those kind of people live among us and they want to be in power.

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@blatham,

Noisy bunch, but I couldn't get many of the words; didn't wait for the whole 22 minutes.

1 Reply

@ossobucotemp,

In other words, it might have been more informative to have provided a transcript?

1 Reply

@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Quote:
Gabriel Sherman‏Verified account @gabrielsherman 2h2 hours ago
Bannon friend says Breitbart ramping up for war against Trump. "It's now a Democrat White House," source says.

And a Breitbart editor just tweeted

Quote:
#War

Maybe this has already been shared, but Bannon is NOT going to war against Trump:

Bannon Says He's `Going to War for Trump' After White House Exit (MSN.COM link)

Quote:

Ousted White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon returned to the conservative Breitbart News website on Friday and said he’ll be “going to war” for President Donald Trump, vowing to intensify from the outside the fight he has waged against opponents of his brand of populist conservatism.

“If there’s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I’m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents -- on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America,” Bannon said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg News hours after his departure was announced.

Bannon led the evening editorial meeting at Breitbart, where he resumed his role as executive chairman, the website said in a statement.

. . .

Again, the propaganda arm of White "Christian" Nationalists must be run correctly. Can't have some journalists or editors "going rogue" and printing stuff that doesn't serve the agenda.

1 Reply

@roger,

right!

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@old europe,

old europe wrote:

I think protests and resistance should be non-violent and peaceful, because peaceful resistance and disobedience as a means to stand up against what is wrong is self-evident, and is the morally right thing to do.

I honestly don't know, more evidence is emerging of the one sided nature of Charlottesville, yet that hasn't stopped Trump casting the both as bad as each other.

We've had loads of peaceful demonstrations in Britain against the Iraq war and all sorts of other things. Hasn't done a damn bit of good. The poll tax riots prompted an immediate volte face by the Tories and the eventual resignation of Thatcher.

1 Reply

@Debra Law,

I don't grant much credence to what Bannon says are his intentions. Your notion may be correct of course but a statement from Bannon, prior to his ouster, isn't what I'd describe as good evidence.

There's another element in this as well. To what degree does Bannon presently represent the voice of Breitbart? Or the Mercers for that matter. Take a look at this TPM piece on the Breitbart editor's statements

Perhaps more to the point though, I do not consider that the "alt-right" crowd (as named above) are travelling the same path as the Koch operation and its partners/allies. Every indication I have suggests that this sector of the influential right longs to get rid of Trump because he is a serious impediment to their goals - a corporatocracy run by them. Money and power are their thing. They have an ideology but it is not the racial, nationalist ideology espoused in the John Birch tradition. The Kochs have long desired (and supported) Pence as an ideal placeholder whereas he is far from the ideal for the "alt-right".

And just as a relevant side note: the Mercers have a lot of money, something like a billion. The Koch brothers, merely by themselves and without consideration of enormous money held by allies, are worth 85 billion. And their organization is far far more vast and influential than the Breitbart crowd/Bannon.

1 Reply

@emmett grogan,

Hey, thanks!

0 Replies

Quote:

“The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over,” Bannon told the conservative Weekly Standard on Friday. “We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over.”

Politico

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@Debra Law,

Your history is somewhat off there. Hitler ran against Hindenburg for President in 1933, and got about 35% of the vote. In the subsequent Reichstag election, the NSDAP polled 35%. That was the largest return for any single party, so Hindenburg was obliged to hold his nose, and to call in Hitler to offer him the office of chancellor. He was supported by von Papen and the DVP, the German Peoples' Party--but it wasn't enough to take over. The Reichstag fire gave him the opportunity to ban left-wing parties, because it was alleged that a Dutchman (who was clearly mentally ill) set the fire, and that he was a Bolshevik. Of course, that was rigged, without regard to who had actually set the fire. In the new elections, the NSDAP polled just fractionally uner 45%, but they got some of those votes at the expense of the DVP. He had not improved his position as he had hoped to. But von Papen had previously been an official of the Zentrum, the Centre Party--a Catholic Party, the main agenda of which was complete Catholic emancipation throughout Germany. So van Papen was able to broker a deal which saw the NSDAP, the DVP and the Zentrum provide the two-thirds vote necessary to pass the Enabling Act.

But that was only possible because of a provision of the Weimar constitution. There is no corollary in our constitution. There is no constitutional means for the executive to dispense with the legislative and to rule by decree--which is, of course, what President Plump wants. For almost 230 years, our constitution has endured, and in the face of some serious threats. I think it will weather this storm, as well. The only way for Trump and company to take over would be in a full blown coup. He is forsworn, but every other officer of the government, civilian and military, is sworn to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. I don't think those yokels can pull it off.

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

Reading along..
I'm presently mixed on what is wise, but naturally swing toward silent vigil and sit ins - oh, and writing an actual letter (or email) to your major local representatives. I knew my local representatives, first since my husband was part of a "breakfast club" of local people who were interested in local politics, and then, years later, getting into that myself in another city upstate.

I'm inexperienced in protests, having been going nuts with school and work and homework and taking buses back and forth and in between in the Vietnam war days. I missed the Century City (LA) march, whatever it was called, and I lived something like five blocks away; mad at self.

I did stand up by a highway with the Women in Black, for an hour, cars speeding by, some honking and waving, this in California, long after Vietnam. This re us doing our Iraq ploy. So, I get the potential power of silent.

On the other hand, I get other posters saying, essentially, there are times to fight back. Which and when, that's a fair question.

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@Debra Law,

I certainly think Trump never thought he'd be elected and I don't think he ever seriously was running until the clown car thinned out before the Convention.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

I don't grant much credence to what Bannon says are his intentions. Your notion may be correct of course but a statement from Bannon, prior to his ouster, isn't what I'd describe as good evidence.

There's another element in this as well. To what degree does Bannon presently represent the voice of Breitbart? Or the Mercers for that matter. Take a look at this TPM piece on the Breitbart editor's statements

Perhaps more to the point though, I do not consider that the "alt-right" crowd (as named above) are travelling the same path as the Koch operation and its partners/allies. Every indication I have suggests that this sector of the influential right longs to get rid of Trump because he is a serious impediment to their goals - a corporatocracy run by them. Money and power are their thing. They have an ideology but it is not the racial, nationalist ideology espoused in the John Birch tradition. The Kochs have long desired (and supported) Pence as an ideal placeholder whereas he is far from the ideal for the "alt-right".

And just as a relevant side note: the Mercers have a lot of money, something like a billion. The Koch brothers, merely by themselves and without consideration of enormous money held by allies, are worth 85 billion. And their organization is far far more vast and influential than the Breitbart crowd/Bannon.

The corporatocracy (or corporate oligarchy) exists and has controlled both major parties through its dark money for several decades. (And that's why Clinton lost the election--because millions of progressives would not vote for another corporate whore just because the DNC shoved her at us.) The Democratic Party has been moving further and further to the right for a very long time.

The corporate oligarchy controls the political agenda of this country and is actively stacking our courts with judges (vetted and selected by the Federalist Society) who are willing to rule in favor of the corporate agenda (elimination of taxes, deregulation of corporate activities, repeal of environmental laws and regulations, protection from tort liability, etc. ). But the corporatocracy cannot maintain this control without riling up the electorate through divide and conquer tactics.

Trump and Bannon cashed in on that divide by catering to the lowest of the low sentiments harbored by people on the far right of the political spectrum. And those far right people have been emboldened and are crawling out of the woodwork like never before in my memory. That establishes what "we the people" are to those in power: just a bunch of useful idiots; pawns in an agenda that has nothing to do with the welfare of the people or our republic.

But who is in control of Trump? What is the agenda? There is something sinister wagging the dog. Whatever it may be, it is causing an overwhelming feeling of foreboding that I've never felt before. I feel like our nation is sitting on a time bomb.

Does anyone else have that sense of foreboding?

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@snood,

snood wrote:

There were some clergy and others there that afterwards said they think they may have been beaten badly or even worse - had antifa not been there.

Here is the Reverend Traci Blackmon, Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, talking about the events of Friday and Saturday:

She's describing how there were clergy standing at the steps to the entrance of the park, singing "This Little Light of Mine" when neo-Nazis attacked them and began to beat them and trample on them. She specifically credits the groups that Trump attacked as violent perpetrators, calling them "alt-left," as saving the lives of those clergy.

The whole video is worth watching, but jump to 6:54 for the relevant part.

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Quote:

Donald Trump's former chief strategist has vowed to go to war against the president's opponents, after being fired from his job at the White House.
Steve Bannon, who has returned as head of ultra-conservative website Breitbart News, said he would fight for the agenda that won Mr Trump the election.
"I've got my hands back on my weapons," he said, "it's Bannon the Barbarian."
Mr Bannon helped shape the America First campaign message but fell foul of more moderate White House forces.
The 63-year-old has been accused of voicing anti-Semitic and white supremacist views.
There had been suggestions Mr Trump was under renewed pressure to sack Mr Bannon following the violence at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, when a car was driven into counter-protesters, killing a woman.
But he told the Weekly Standard that he had informed chief of staff John Kelly and Mr Trump on 7 August that he would announce his resignation on the 14th. The tumult over the violence in Charlottesville postponed the announcement, he said.
President Trump had hinted at the situation during his controversial press briefing on the Virginia violence on Tuesday.
Although the president had defended Mr Bannon as "not a racist", saying he had received an unfair press, Mr Trump said "we'll see what happens" about him.
The only statement about Mr Bannon's sacking on Friday came from Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said: "We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."
In his Weekly Standard interview, Mr Bannon said: "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.
"We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It'll be something else. And there'll be all kinds of fights, and there'll be good days and bad days, but that presidency is over."
He added: "In many ways I think I can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda President Trump ran on. And anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40985180

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A broader piece on Israeli reaction to events in Charlottesville.

Quote:

Most Israeli politicians and press have decried US President Donald Trump's remarks on the violent protests in Charlottesville - and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lack of response - and are examining the implications for America's Jewish community.
The Charlottesville marches shocked Israel and have been unanimously condemned. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that it was almost beyond belief that the Nazi flag was currently being paraded in the US, "the greatest democracy in the world and Israel's greatest ally".
The Yedioth Ahronoth daily led with the headline "shame" over a picture of the US president, referring to Donald Trump's remarks which equated neo-Nazis to leftists involved in the clashes. A column in the newspaper deemed the remarks to be the most prominent defence of white supremacy and racism by a top US politician yet.
Liberal daily Haaretz's front-page headline read "Trump defends neo-Nazi marchers, shocking America," while Maariv's front page called President Trump out on his "presidential embrace of the far-right".
Newspaper Israel Hayom, reputed to be close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made no mention of the developments on its front page and offered factual coverage on page 24.
Labour Party member of the Knesset Shelly Yachimovich took to Facebook to say that as the daughter of Holocaust survivors, she found the display of Nazi symbols "physically nauseating".
She also took aim at Prime Minister Netanyahu who condemned the far-right protestors but not Trump's words: "You, the prime minister of the Jewish people in their land, the man who warns us about a Holocaust every Monday and Thursday with fear mongering and bombastic oaths of " never again"? What is the matter with you?"
Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday tweeted out a statement to say that he was "outraged by expressions of anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism and racism" and added that "everyone should oppose this hatred". A response that underwhelmed his critics.
The prime minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, also came under fire for a Facebook post where he equated both sides involved in clashes.
"To put things in perspective: I'm a Jew, I'm an Israeli, the neo-Nazi scum in Virginia hate me and my country. But they belong to the past. Their breed is dying out. However the thugs of Antifa and BLM [Black Lives Matter] who hate my country (and the USA too in my view) just as much are getting stronger and stronger and becoming super dominant in US universities and public life."
The post sparked numerous responses on social media. Legislator Mickey Rosenthal from the Zionist Union tweeted: "Unfortunately, the son continues to sow hate like his father."
"This is the message of Netanyahu's silence: I am not the prime minister of the Jewish people. I am the prime minister of all of the Jewish people who are right-wing, pro-settlement, anti-Palestinian, pro-me," a column in Haaretz said.
Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin told Radio Kan that Israel should not intervene in the internal affairs of the US and that the interpretations of President Trump's comments were far-fetched.
The US support for Israel is bipartisan and the alliance between Israel and America needs to stand above all other considerations, he added.
Omer Bar-Lev of the centre-left Zionist Union said that Levin's remarks amounted to "an abandonment of American Jewry and Judaism as such".
The prime minister has faced similar criticism for refusing to condemn a negative poster campaign against Jewish Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros.
The anti-Soros posters were condemned by local Jewish leaders and the Israeli embassy in Hungary, but the Israeli foreign ministry later backtracked.
"In no way was the statement meant to delegitimise criticism of George Soros, who continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments by funding organisations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The right-wing Hungarian government removed the posters three days before Prime Minister Netanyahu's 18 July visit, but the controversy did not end there.
On 12 August, a columnist in Haaretz said that "in Netanyahu's world, George Soro's politics justify throwing him to Hungary's anti-Semitic dogs".
"The storm that erupted after the prime minister refrained from denouncing anti-Semitic expressions in Hungary about a month ago indicates a strategic partnership between illiberal regimes," an op-ed in Haaretz concluded on 14 August.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40966720

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What a dipshit

Quote:

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have elected not to attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors in December amid a political backlash among those who will be feted at the event.

The first family will not participate “to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Saturday morning.

The announcement comes as three of the five honorees — television producer Norman Lear, singer Lionel Richie and dancer Carmen de Lavallade — said they would boycott the traditional White House reception related to the celebration. As for the other two, rapper LL Cool J has not said whether he would attend, and Cuban American singer Gloria Estefan said she would go to try to influence the president on immigration issues.

The White House occupants have traditionally attended the Kennedy Center program each year. But the backlash against Trump was prompted by his handling of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last weekend, which ended in the death of a counterprotester.

WP

The few figures who have so far dropped out - specifically because of Trump's expected attendance - would certainly have become many more by December. It would have made Trump "look bad" (as he thinks of such things) and that's why he's decided to not attend.

To really get a sense of how abnormal and fucked up Trump's behavior is, just go to youtube and watch any of the incredible performances at prior Kennedy Center Honors evenings with Obama or even Dubya attending in celebration and support of the arts.

But with Trump, it's always always about Trump.

2 Replies

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