US Politics Hamsterwheel v2.0
Plastic PPRuNer
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Cape Town
Posts: 1,895
"Before taking the job as President Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton devoted a considerable portion of his time on the airways of Fox News and in the pages of the Wall Street Journal vocally advocating for regime change, guided perhaps by the stupendously naive belief that a Washington-imposed toppling of a government in Iran would be any more successful than it was in Baghdad, Tripoli, or Damascus." [Washington Examiner]
Or Vietnam, as a few of us will remember...
Mac :-(
Or Vietnam, as a few of us will remember...
Mac :-(

Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Middle America
Age: 81
Posts: 1,159
WC,
Although I don't know the extent of "many times" your generosity is favorably noted. However there is a difference between "your barracks" being out of toilet paper, etc,, and the entire US Coast Guard being not paid. Maybe your former Marine Congressman could have helped to prevent this, but maybe not as he is having significant distracting personal monetary problems...
Vlad is laughing up his sleeve only recently, but not LOL with his directed misinformation provided to get Trump elected and his misinformation provided during the Brexit situation in Britain. Vlad doesn't want to blow his cover when he says he had nothing to do with either. The world political scene is different than Trump's NYC dealings with the Mafia on the inflated cost of delivered concrete for his buildings, a deal not mentioned in his infamous book, but Trump has yet to figure out Washington DC and international dealing are unique.
I recall many times during the Clinton administration taking money out of my own pocket when one of my NCOs came to me and said the barracks was out of cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc. If Vlad is laughing, he’s been laughing for quite some number of years.
Vlad is laughing up his sleeve only recently, but not LOL with his directed misinformation provided to get Trump elected and his misinformation provided during the Brexit situation in Britain. Vlad doesn't want to blow his cover when he says he had nothing to do with either. The world political scene is different than Trump's NYC dealings with the Mafia on the inflated cost of delivered concrete for his buildings, a deal not mentioned in his infamous book, but Trump has yet to figure out Washington DC and international dealing are unique.

Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Arlington, Tx. US
Posts: 615
Coverup
MANJIB!!!!!
After the bombing that slaughtered four brave American heroes VP Pence gave a victory over ISIS speech praising the Trump/Putin order to prematurely withdraw US troops from Syria. This blatant coverup needs an immediate two year non-stop investigation with endless public hearings to assign blame to Trump and his administration regardless of any facts.
Benga....... Whoops I meant MANJIB!!!!!
The Sultan
After the bombing that slaughtered four brave American heroes VP Pence gave a victory over ISIS speech praising the Trump/Putin order to prematurely withdraw US troops from Syria. This blatant coverup needs an immediate two year non-stop investigation with endless public hearings to assign blame to Trump and his administration regardless of any facts.
Benga....... Whoops I meant MANJIB!!!!!
The Sultan

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: surfing, watching for sharks
Posts: 3,704
WC,
Although I don't know the extent of "many times" your generosity is favorably noted. However there is a difference between "your barracks" being out of toilet paper, etc,, and the entire US Coast Guard being not paid. Maybe your former Marine Congressman could have helped to prevent this, but maybe not as he is having significant distracting personal monetary problems...
Vlad is laughing up his sleeve only recently, but not LOL with his directed misinformation provided to get Trump elected and his misinformation provided during the Brexit situation in Britain. Vlad doesn't want to blow his cover when he says he had nothing to do with either. The world political scene is different than Trump's NYC dealings with the Mafia on the inflated cost of delivered concrete for his buildings, a deal not mentioned in his infamous book, but Trump has yet to figure out Washington DC and international dealing are unique.
Although I don't know the extent of "many times" your generosity is favorably noted. However there is a difference between "your barracks" being out of toilet paper, etc,, and the entire US Coast Guard being not paid. Maybe your former Marine Congressman could have helped to prevent this, but maybe not as he is having significant distracting personal monetary problems...
Vlad is laughing up his sleeve only recently, but not LOL with his directed misinformation provided to get Trump elected and his misinformation provided during the Brexit situation in Britain. Vlad doesn't want to blow his cover when he says he had nothing to do with either. The world political scene is different than Trump's NYC dealings with the Mafia on the inflated cost of delivered concrete for his buildings, a deal not mentioned in his infamous book, but Trump has yet to figure out Washington DC and international dealing are unique.

Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,407

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vendee
Posts: 138
America's Mayor with a mob pinkie ring and bad lower teeth
Saw a clip of Mr. Giuliani's appearance on CNN. I understand that one must adopt a certain sartorial standard when one is representing one of New York's "five plus one" crime families (in other words the Trump family), but what is with the pinkie ring? What is with the false upper teeth and rotten lower ones? The latter is a particularly noteworthy affectation...
Typical organized crime defence. There was no crime. Oh, wait. There was but the boss did not know about it. Giuliani is a sad shadow of a human. What a doddering old fool.
Typical organized crime defence. There was no crime. Oh, wait. There was but the boss did not know about it. Giuliani is a sad shadow of a human. What a doddering old fool.

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vendee
Posts: 138
Since we are all headed toward old age I almost never take a swipe at someone who is already in those ranks, but Guiliani is a piece of work. How anyone lets him near a microphone or camera is a wonder. I share that sentiment Mac in thinking that surely 45 could do better merely by opening the telephone book.
Perhaps Guiliani should replace his lower teeth with gold ones. That would give a bit of a look as if he were a rapper spending time in Las Vegas--nothing wrong at all with that and is the reason that he should entertain this look for himself. Add in another pinkie ring for the other hand and he would have it made!
Perhaps Guiliani should replace his lower teeth with gold ones. That would give a bit of a look as if he were a rapper spending time in Las Vegas--nothing wrong at all with that and is the reason that he should entertain this look for himself. Add in another pinkie ring for the other hand and he would have it made!

Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Arlington, Tx. US
Posts: 615

Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 73
Posts: 1,561
This has come up several times; it is nothing new, but compare the way Trump spoke 20 or 30 years ago to the way he speaks now. Used to be, he was pretty nimble. Today he stumbles through word salads using the same old modifiers again and again, so that it's all "very, very ... " whatever.
There are words in his tweets such as "covfefe" and "hamberders," when we have to wonder what the man is trying to say and how he can get from "hamburgers" to that .... Those aren't even typos; they are just ... insane. The man seems to be lost, where back in his salad days in New York City, chatting with Howard Stern, he was the same low-life we know know, but a low-life who could at least make sense when he spoke.
There has been this phase that seems now to be ending, a phase when everyone sort of played along, just for starters, sort of placating Trump by not calling him on his blatant BS that started with the inauguration. It's been proof of conventional wisdom about putting up with a bully, that doing that just makes him go further. What started small, with silly stuff about the size of the crowd and how the sun was shining when really it was raining, stuff we chose mostly to ignore, has now swelled to monstrous size. Trump is now playing footsie with Putin and Kim Jong-un as if this were just another reality TV show, when we must tune in next week to see Trump given another rose by some tyrant he tells us, literally, that he has fallen in love with, or that they are the very best of friends, or whatever. Has he lost his freaking mind, doing this sort of stuff? Yeah, what is left of it, I think so. He's gone too far for even some Republicans to play along and pretend this stuff is normal.
There are words in his tweets such as "covfefe" and "hamberders," when we have to wonder what the man is trying to say and how he can get from "hamburgers" to that .... Those aren't even typos; they are just ... insane. The man seems to be lost, where back in his salad days in New York City, chatting with Howard Stern, he was the same low-life we know know, but a low-life who could at least make sense when he spoke.
There has been this phase that seems now to be ending, a phase when everyone sort of played along, just for starters, sort of placating Trump by not calling him on his blatant BS that started with the inauguration. It's been proof of conventional wisdom about putting up with a bully, that doing that just makes him go further. What started small, with silly stuff about the size of the crowd and how the sun was shining when really it was raining, stuff we chose mostly to ignore, has now swelled to monstrous size. Trump is now playing footsie with Putin and Kim Jong-un as if this were just another reality TV show, when we must tune in next week to see Trump given another rose by some tyrant he tells us, literally, that he has fallen in love with, or that they are the very best of friends, or whatever. Has he lost his freaking mind, doing this sort of stuff? Yeah, what is left of it, I think so. He's gone too far for even some Republicans to play along and pretend this stuff is normal.
Last edited by chuks; 17th Jan 2019 at 23:03.

Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: In my Swag
Posts: 494
Still so sad
Sad to see Chuks waxing lyrical on his fave person.
Seems to have lost his Bungy Hempy though
Chuk's puerile attempt at Australiana sure made me smile. Perhaps I'll have my tribal elder point the bone at you, don't know if it will work over long distance.
On the shut down, can someone explain how long it can last and what mechanism is in place to circumvent it??
Seems to have lost his Bungy Hempy though
Chuk's puerile attempt at Australiana sure made me smile. Perhaps I'll have my tribal elder point the bone at you, don't know if it will work over long distance.
On the shut down, can someone explain how long it can last and what mechanism is in place to circumvent it??

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: surfing, watching for sharks
Posts: 3,704
Sad to see Chuks waxing lyrical on his fave person.
Seems to have lost his Bungy Hempy though
Chuk's puerile attempt at Australiana sure made me smile. Perhaps I'll have my tribal elder point the bone at you, don't know if it will work over long distance.
On the shut down, can someone explain how long it can last and what mechanism is in place to circumvent it??
Seems to have lost his Bungy Hempy though
Chuk's puerile attempt at Australiana sure made me smile. Perhaps I'll have my tribal elder point the bone at you, don't know if it will work over long distance.
On the shut down, can someone explain how long it can last and what mechanism is in place to circumvent it??

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: surfing, watching for sharks
Posts: 3,704

Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 73
Posts: 1,561
Not related to the more famous Jimmy Dean, I assume ....
Eddie, ask your tribal elder to help you with your English before you ask him to work his juju long-distance on me. (If you believe in that kind of stuff you might want to watch your step. I can find some tribal elder of my own from Yorubaland who can ask Shango to fry your good self with a bolt of lightning, no trouble.)
Technically, Trump does need an invitation from the Speaker of the House in order to appear in the House chamber to give his Snake of the Uniom speech in person. The other day he seemed to be hinting that he would appear uninvited to give the speech. That could be interesting.
Also technically, the shutdown does not affect any branch of the military aside from the Coast Guard. (In peacetime the Coast Guard is under the DHS, so that it is going unfunded now due to the shutdown.) This means that Trump's grounds for cancelling this Congressional trip abroad are fake; the Air Force is fully funded.
Technically, Trump does need an invitation from the Speaker of the House in order to appear in the House chamber to give his Snake of the Uniom speech in person. The other day he seemed to be hinting that he would appear uninvited to give the speech. That could be interesting.
Also technically, the shutdown does not affect any branch of the military aside from the Coast Guard. (In peacetime the Coast Guard is under the DHS, so that it is going unfunded now due to the shutdown.) This means that Trump's grounds for cancelling this Congressional trip abroad are fake; the Air Force is fully funded.

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vendee
Posts: 138
Chuks
A legal friend was telling me, that if the President shows up in the Congressional chamber uninvited, that the Speaker has the right to order the Sergeant-at-Arms to usher him off the premises or at least from the chamber.. Can you imagine that? What would the Secret Service do?
Is this correct? At the very least, it is a dive into the arcane recesses of Congressional rules, This is getting interesting.
A legal friend was telling me, that if the President shows up in the Congressional chamber uninvited, that the Speaker has the right to order the Sergeant-at-Arms to usher him off the premises or at least from the chamber.. Can you imagine that? What would the Secret Service do?
Is this correct? At the very least, it is a dive into the arcane recesses of Congressional rules, This is getting interesting.

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,060
Fred, the brief version would be that Trump (as President) is free to enter the House Chamber at any time.
Pelosi controls 1) whether the House is "In Session" or just an empty (and possibly dark) room, 2) whether Senators are invited and allowed in (requires a joint resolution, and some furniture rearranging), and 3) whether the chamber's TV cameras are on.
To speak at all when the House is in session has to follow parliamentary rules: requests to be recognized, etc. Trump would be "gavelled to order" if he just started shouting from the back for the room, and if he persisted, the House could just be voted into Recess, leaving him in the dark empty room anyway (rather than evicting him). If no-one is there, it may be possible for the President to bring his own lights and cameras, talk to the camera, and then "tweet" the speech from his own SD-card.
The Constitutional requirement is only that the President shall, from time to time, report to the Congress on the state of the Union. It has been done just via a letter, but not in living memory.
Pelosi controls 1) whether the House is "In Session" or just an empty (and possibly dark) room, 2) whether Senators are invited and allowed in (requires a joint resolution, and some furniture rearranging), and 3) whether the chamber's TV cameras are on.
To speak at all when the House is in session has to follow parliamentary rules: requests to be recognized, etc. Trump would be "gavelled to order" if he just started shouting from the back for the room, and if he persisted, the House could just be voted into Recess, leaving him in the dark empty room anyway (rather than evicting him). If no-one is there, it may be possible for the President to bring his own lights and cameras, talk to the camera, and then "tweet" the speech from his own SD-card.
The Constitutional requirement is only that the President shall, from time to time, report to the Congress on the state of the Union. It has been done just via a letter, but not in living memory.

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,060
In other news, Buzzfeed is reporting, on the basis of unnamed law-enforcement officials, that Mueller has evidence, in the form of interviews with Trump Organization employees and "documents," that state that Trump directed his lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress in 2017, while Trump held the office of President. And that Cohen, in talks with investigators, has confirmed this. The subject of the lies was Trump's business dealings regarding a "Trump Tower" in Moscow. Cohen was sworned in and under oath when he delivered those lies.
If substantiated, that means that as President, Trump suborned perjury. A felony. And effectively, the primary charge that brought down Nixon; he had directed the CIA to lie to the FBI about Watergate, and directed associates going before investigators to "just tell them you don't remember."
Coincidentally, earlier this week when Trump's own nominee for Attorney General was undergoing confirmation hearings, he was asked point-blank whether subordination of perjury would be a crime, even if done by a President. He said "Yes." The question was asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar - one wonders if a little bird whispered something in her ear.
Depending on the nature of the "documents," which may include subpoenaed Trump Org emails, this may (emphasize "may") also involve Trump's adult children. The documents may also, of course, include Cohen's emails and recordings of phone conversations, seized during his arrest last year.
If substantiated, that means that as President, Trump suborned perjury. A felony. And effectively, the primary charge that brought down Nixon; he had directed the CIA to lie to the FBI about Watergate, and directed associates going before investigators to "just tell them you don't remember."
Coincidentally, earlier this week when Trump's own nominee for Attorney General was undergoing confirmation hearings, he was asked point-blank whether subordination of perjury would be a crime, even if done by a President. He said "Yes." The question was asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar - one wonders if a little bird whispered something in her ear.
Depending on the nature of the "documents," which may include subpoenaed Trump Org emails, this may (emphasize "may") also involve Trump's adult children. The documents may also, of course, include Cohen's emails and recordings of phone conversations, seized during his arrest last year.
