Come on now, Vikernes had nothing to do with this. This is Manson in the 90s all over again, ridiculous.
It may in fact be a stretch to say he had anything to do with it, but it's not Manson in the '90s. The problem with that scene is not the faux-Satanism. It was the whole obsession with the idea of a Nordic master race. It has nothing to do with the music itself (since one couldn't possibly understand what is being said even if they tried). The problem with Varg Vikernes isn't his music. It's that he's a perpetual violent criminal with clear ties the Neo-Nazi movements.
Assange has finally been arrested. Can't wait for him to start spilling the beans, which he will because he is a cowardly weasel.
Was literally carried out of the embassy by 4 people. I suppose it would have been more dignified if he had kept his promise to turn himself in after Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, but, like you said, cowardly weasel.
Beyond that, the guy has been going out of his way to alienate the Ecuadorian government which was has been keeping him out of jail for 7 years in recent weeks. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Come on now, Vikernes had nothing to do with this. This is Manson in the 90s all over again, ridiculous.
It may in fact be a stretch to say he had anything to do with it, but it's not Manson in the '90s. The problem with that scene is not the faux-Satanism. It was the whole obsession with the idea of a Nordic master race. It has nothing to do with the music itself (since one couldn't possibly understand what is being said even if they tried). The problem with Varg Vikernes isn't his music. It's that he's a perpetual violent criminal with clear ties the Neo-Nazi movements.
Perpetual violent criminal? According to wikipedia has a single such conviction from 1994. Obviously you're buying into a one-sided narrative with zero fact checking.
Come on now, Vikernes had nothing to do with this. This is Manson in the 90s all over again, ridiculous.
It may in fact be a stretch to say he had anything to do with it, but it's not Manson in the '90s. The problem with that scene is not the faux-Satanism. It was the whole obsession with the idea of a Nordic master race. It has nothing to do with the music itself (since one couldn't possibly understand what is being said even if they tried). The problem with Varg Vikernes isn't his music. It's that he's a perpetual violent criminal with clear ties the Neo-Nazi movements.
Perpetual violent criminal? According to wikipedia has a single such conviction from 1994. Obviously you're buying into a one-sided narrative with zero fact checking.
Perpetual may be the wrong word, but the guy was found guilty of a murder and the arson of 3 churches at his trial. He gets released in 2009, and by 2014, he is convicted of inciting racial hatred in France. Now I realize many people problems with certain laws about this in Europe, but this is what happened. But no, perpetual would in fact be pushing it too far. But there isn't any "narrative" to buy into about Varg that he didn't create himself for publicity or because of acts he actually engaged in. Even in his DEFENSE of the church burnings, he said he didn't participate in them but did support them. Also (and I didn't even know this) when on leave from prison in 2003, he hijacked a car at gunpoint and when he was apprehended police found multiple weapons and GPS systems. This act apparently got him an essentially meaningless 3 month addition to his murder/arson sentence. Now, I think OUR prison system is completely insane, but it seems that Norway's might be just a TAD lax in this regard.
Normally, I'd assume that the complaint about Netanyahu's election being "dangerous" was simply a partisan disagreement--we're talking about the results of a democratic election here--but the criminal indictments against Netanyahu are pretty damn serious.
In Case 2000, Netanyahu allegedly attempted to strike a deal with the owner of Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s largest newspaper: He would pass a law limiting circulation of one of its rivals, the already pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom, in exchange for more favorable coverage in the Netanyahu-skeptical Yedioth.
In Case 4000, Netanyahu allegedly manipulated regulatory powers in order to benefit Bezeq, a major Israeli company. In exchange, the Bezeq-owned news organization Walla gave the prime minister more favorable coverage. Unlike Case 2000, this apparently went beyond the conspiracy stage, with Netanyahu trading regulations for good press over a five-year period.
If you're using government power to manipulate the free press... that's not something that any remotely decent or honest person would ever do.
So supposedly Assange and Roger Stone are connected. Will be interesting to hear how deeply they are connected in regards to Roger Stone's criminality while operating in Trump's campaign.
Normally, I'd assume that the complaint about Netanyahu's election being "dangerous" was simply a partisan disagreement--we're talking about the results of a democratic election here--but the criminal indictments against Netanyahu are pretty damn serious.
In Case 2000, Netanyahu allegedly attempted to strike a deal with the owner of Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s largest newspaper: He would pass a law limiting circulation of one of its
If you're using government power to manipulate the free press... that's not something that any remotely decent or honest person would ever do.
He is pulling a Trump, you have to remain President in order to avoid criminal charges. As long as Trump is President and he has a AG loyal to him instead of America he will not be charged with crimes. Bibi has the same approach, stay in power to have the power to thwart justice and remain above the law.
BTW Trump pitched in to help Netanyahu. He announced support for isaraeli sovereignty over Golan Heights and other things like a week ago just before their vote.
Trump is very in love with right wing dictators like Bolsanaro, Netanyahu, Erdogan, Putin, Kim Jong Un. So all the un-American leaders he loves em.
The two things all these right wing dictators have in common is using fear as a means to seize power for themselves and their disdain for Democracy.
This is absolutely insane. Not because of what would have actually happened, but because of what Trump BELIEVES would happen. And if he does believe that (and this story clearly indicates that he does), it means he would be willing to release people he personally believes to be criminals to (ostensibly) engage in violent acts against citizens of certain cities. Trump doesn't just not speak for those of us that didn't vote for him, he literally has no qualms about engaging in a plan he believes might physically harm or KILL people in "blue" cities. The intent and reality in Trump's mind is darker than anyone imagined:
On one hand, you have this insane idea that all undocumented immigrants are just feral animals ready to pounce on the first white person they see. And on the other, you have Trump, who thinks this is how things are, ready to unleash people he THINKS are dangerous into American cities. This is the mindset that could lead to an American Reichstag Fire. In fact, I think this story more than any other in the last 2 years reveals just how dangerous and malicious Donald Trump is.
Not too surprising, really. Trump also dismissed the human impact of his government shutdown by saying most of the people were Democrats, and he attacked wildfire victims in Democratic states even as he called for assistance for similar disaster victims in Republican states. We already know Trump does not care if his political opponents suffer financially or die.
Not too surprising, really. Trump also dismissed the human impact of his government shutdown by saying most of the people were Democrats, and he attacked wildfire victims in Democratic states even as he called for assistance for similar disaster victims in Republican states. We already know Trump does not care if his political opponents suffer financially or die.
And you want to know something REALLY interesting about that mindset?? I know for a fact that the hardest hit town in California was Paradise, which is in Butte County. I just looked up how Butte County voted in 2016. It went 46-42 for Trump. I interacted with alot of these people after their homes burned down. You know what never came up?? Their political affiliation. It turns out the people Trump was most willing to hurt in regards to wildfire relief were actually people who, by and large, probably SUPPORTED him. Or at least half of them. How have we reached a point where the President of the United States is essentially dealing out retribution for ENTIRE STATES not giving him their electoral votes??
This is the mindset that could lead to an American Reichstag Fire. In fact, I think this story more than any other in the last 2 years reveals just how dangerous and malicious Donald Trump is.
While I agree that the allegations in this report are absolutely insane and horrible, they dont really hold a candle to child separation(In my opinion). As far as I'm concerned, child separation was a state sponsored act of terrorism, and one of the more shameful incidents in recent American history (To be lumped in with the Tuskegee experiments, the detaining of Asian Americans and so on).
That act alone should be entirely disqualifying from holding office.
Not too surprising, really. Trump also dismissed the human impact of his government shutdown by saying most of the people were Democrats, and he attacked wildfire victims in Democratic states even as he called for assistance for similar disaster victims in Republican states. We already know Trump does not care if his political opponents suffer financially or die.
"Trump administration officials have proposed transporting detained immigrants to sanctuary cities at least twice in the past six months — once in November, as a migrant caravan approached the U.S. southern border, and again in February, amid a standoff with Democrats over funding for Trump’s border wall.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco was among those the White House wanted to target, according to DHS officials....
The White House told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the plan was intended to alleviate a shortage of jail space but also served to send a message to Democrats."
The actually said it out loud, in official government communications. That's insane.
"The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that “there are PR risks as well.”"
Vitiello’s removal from ICE last week was followed Sunday by the ouster of DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who lost favor with Trump and Miller by repeatedly warning the White House that the administration’s policy ideas were unworkable and likely to be blocked by federal courts.
There's no one left in DHS to stop Stephen Miller's heinous, fascist proposals.
I'm blown away.
Just take a moment to consider the levels of evil here:
* Migrants (human beings) are like a plague you can release on a community as punishment
* The residents of that community (regardless of political affiliation) *should* be punished with this plague to "send a message" to a political enemy
* The sin for deserving this punishment is refusing to treat migrants with malice
* All of this is done in order to "protect" you from the Boogeymen cut from whole-cloth
This is going to be an important moment in our history.
This is the mindset that could lead to an American Reichstag Fire. In fact, I think this story more than any other in the last 2 years reveals just how dangerous and malicious Donald Trump is.
While I agree that the allegations in this report are absolutely insane and horrible, they dont really hold a candle to child separation(In my opinion). As far as I'm concerned, child separation was a state sponsored act of terrorism, and one of the more shameful incidents in recent American history (To be lumped in with the Tuskegee experiments, the detaining of Asian Americans and so on).
That act alone should be entirely disqualifying from holding office.
Add to that list: The kidnapping of Native American children so they could be "civilized" by hardline christians. Anybody want to take a bet that when we get the full story of what's going on, we find out these children were placed with hardline protestants who think it's their god given duty to "beat the catholic" out of them?
Ok, where to begin here. First off, I believe that Trump (and many of his supporters) are obviously under this mistaken impression that the majority of people in these cities are as piss-their-pants afraid of brown people as they are. So, on one hand.....yeah, sure asshole, go ahead. We aren't "frightened" by it. It's not a punishment. The majority of people aren't cowards hiding under their beds at night with dreams of killer migrants. What Trump and his ilk perceive is some kind of punishment is nothing but projection. THEY would view the browning of their communities as a threat and attack, so they assume that everyone else feels this way as well.
But moving on, the second point is that if he does indeed want to RELEASE illegal immigrants DHS or ICE has in custody onto the streets, that would definitely seem to prove that he doesn't actually give a shit about curbing illegal immigration AT ALL, and only scoring some sort of truly bizarre and reprehensible political point.
But finally (and this is really by far the most important) these people are not pawns on a chessboard. They are human beings. The idea that he is thinking of shipping them to strategic locations across the country to then be "let loose" to further his maniacal plans is just repulsive. There is no other word for it. Seriously, this is what is being discussed in the White House?? Shipping detained asylum seekers or undocumented workers to specific locations across the country for some perceived maximum political impact?? What the fuck is going on here?? Christ, this makes Chris Christie's bridge scandal look like a game of Connect Four.
I would have expected the White House to deny those reports. That Trump is admitting they're true is surprising. You'd think they'd be embarrassed about trying to order ICE to release illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities... the very places where it's easiest for them to hide and remain in the country indefinitely.
I mean, if a Democrat wanted ICE to send illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities, wouldn't that seem like a very "pro-illegal immigration" move?
I would have expected the White House to deny those reports. That Trump is admitting they're true is surprising. You'd think they'd be embarrassed about trying to order ICE to release illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities... the very places where it's easiest for them to hide and remain in the country indefinitely.
I mean, if a Democrat wanted ICE to send illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities, wouldn't that seem like a very "pro-illegal immigration" move?
It isn't about curbing illegal immigration. Like nearly everything else, it's about "owning the libs". And yes, the White House denied the reports yesterday, which has now been revealed less than 24 hours later to have been a complete lie, because Trump just decided to give the game away. So I guess the "fake news" was in fact correct in their reporting. But surprising?? Oh no, no, no, no, no. None of this is "surprising", per se. Shocking yeah, but only because of how many people are ok with it and how many of these straight-up lunatic ideas are being discussed. So one has to ask, if the pushback on THIS is why he purged the DHS, then what is coming next?? Because this is, on top of everything else, highly illegal.
Ok, where to begin here. First off, I believe that Trump (and many of his supporters) are obviously under this mistaken impression that the majority of people in these cities are as piss-their-pants afraid of brown people as they are. So, on one hand.....yeah, sure asshole, go ahead. We aren't "frightened" by it. It's not a punishment. The majority of people aren't cowards hiding under their beds at night with dreams of killer migrants. What Trump and his ilk perceive is some kind of punishment is nothing but projection. THEY would view the browning of their communities as a threat and attack, so they assume that everyone else feels this way as well.
But moving on, the second point is that if he does indeed want to RELEASE illegal immigrants DHS or ICE has in custody onto the streets, that would definitely seem to prove that he doesn't actually give a shit about curbing illegal immigration AT ALL, and only scoring some sort of truly bizarre and reprehensible political point.
But finally (and this is really by far the most important) these people are not pawns on a chessboard. They are human beings. The idea that he is thinking of shipping them to strategic locations across the country to then be "let loose" to further his maniacal plans is just repulsive. There is no other word for it. Seriously, this is what is being discussed in the White House?? Shipping detained asylum seekers or undocumented workers to specific locations across the country for some perceived maximum political impact?? What the fuck is going on here?? Christ, this makes Chris Christie's bridge scandal look like a game of Connect Four.
WTF, if you're in a position to "place illegal immigrants" why aren't you just having them processed. Isn't the general point of illegals that they're undocumented..
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Fine but why is this the guy you want as president?
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Fine but why is this the guy you want as president?
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Fine but why is this the guy you want as president?
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Fine but why is this the guy you want as president?
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
You as in the American people
Ah, misunderstood your question there. Well for two more years we don't have a choice. The US is, unfortunately, not a parliamentary system so unless Trump resigns (unlikely) or has a catastrophic health problem, we're getting another year-and-a-half of this. Of course he can run again, and probably will, so it could potentially be another 5-and-a-half years...
Don't feed the troll. I swear more than half of what comes out of Trump's mouth (or off his i-phone) is just to piss people off. Few, if any, of these bullshit rant-tweets ever happen. He's got Democrats so worked up I swear he's trying to give them heart-attacks. Maybe that's his master plan...?
Personally, I don't think Trump is trying to troll people. If you go back to his days as a businessman, the one thing that drove his eccentric and flamboyant behaviors was the desire to be respected and admired. That's why he made a point of holding press conferences for business ventures he quickly lost interest; that's why he coated his properties in gold and plastered his name all over them; that's why he created an entire reality show dedicated to showing himself as a successful businessman rather than the privileged son of a wealthy man, Fred Trump.
As a politician, he has much the same goals. That's why he ran for president; that's why he spends half of his days watching TV; that's why he complains bitterly about the media not being nice to him; that's why he holds rallies with his supporters even when no elections are upcoming; that's why he views his political opponents with so much fear and hatred. He desperately wants public approval, and he doesn't understand how to get it. All he can do is get the approval of a narrow subsection of the Republican population, and so he sticks to them and tries to stay in their good graces.
I don't think the reason Trump admitted to making that order to release illegals into sanctuary cities (again, what a bizarre idea from an anti-immigration politician) was because he wants to troll people. I think he genuinely thought it was a good idea, that it would rise crime rates in those cities and convince people that he was right about sanctuary cities being a bad idea. He showed similar thinking with that "appreciate the congrats for being right about terrorism" tweet he made after a terrorist attack.
As for the reason his various rants don't tend to go anywhere, I think that's just a lack of follow-through. Back in the day, people in the business sometimes pointed out that his other high-publicity ventures tended to dissipate once he lost interest in them. Combine that with his own inexperience, a hobbled administration where many of the top positions in our government remain vacant and the seats that are filled are held by less-qualified people, and Trump's time-consuming TV+Twitter habit, and you have a recipe for a government that doesn't have the brains, hands, or heart to actually accomplish most of its own goals.
From what I can tell, the only major policy that the Trump administration pushed through without just following the lead of mainstream Republicans (that would be the tax cut) was the family separation policy. A lot of his other policies never made it past the courts, or even past the "tweet" stage.
Combine that with his own inexperience, a hobbled administration where many of the top positions in our government remain vacant and the seats that are filled are held by less-qualified people, and Trump's time-consuming TV+Twitter habit, and you have a recipe for a government that doesn't have the brains, hands, or heart to actually accomplish most of its own goals.
From what I can tell, the only major policy that the Trump administration pushed through without just following the lead of mainstream Republicans (that would be the tax cut) was the family separation policy. A lot of his other policies never made it past the courts, or even past the "tweet" stage.
Which, frankly, is why Trump is less dangerous to the American public in office than dead/impeached/25th Amendment removed.
Under President Trump, the government is just bumbling and/or paralyzed and corrupt.
Under President Pence, kiss half of the civil liberties with an openly antagonistic government.
Combine that with his own inexperience, a hobbled administration where many of the top positions in our government remain vacant and the seats that are filled are held by less-qualified people, and Trump's time-consuming TV+Twitter habit, and you have a recipe for a government that doesn't have the brains, hands, or heart to actually accomplish most of its own goals.
From what I can tell, the only major policy that the Trump administration pushed through without just following the lead of mainstream Republicans (that would be the tax cut) was the family separation policy. A lot of his other policies never made it past the courts, or even past the "tweet" stage.
Which, frankly, is why Trump is less dangerous to the American public in office than dead/impeached/25th Amendment removed.
Under President Trump, the government is just bumbling and/or paralyzed and corrupt.
Under President Pence, kiss half of the civil liberties with an openly antagonistic government.
I entirely disagree. The biggest problem is that Trump is in power AND is in complete control of a cult of personality that makes up a significant portion of the electorate, one that Pence could never tap into. Why is this the case?? Well, actually, this article from early 2016 that was re-upped on Twitter a few minutes ago explains how some researchers (to their shock) seemed to answer that question:
Trump is trying to abandon his Constitutional duties requiring him to enforce immigration to "get payback" because he can't control strong Democratic politicians like he can the weak Republican politicians that keep bending over backwards for his every whim.
His agencies will have to catch them again because it's their job to catch illegal immigrants. It's not the states job. It's the federal governments job.
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
Except, that's completely different because Bill Clinton never said he wanted to do those things. In this case, Trump just admitted that he both wanted to, and attempted to implement a plan to put people that are, in his eyes, rapists and drug-dealers into a cites in an attempt to hurt Democrats.
He shouldnt get a pass because saner minds prevented him from doing something like this. I wish people would stop trying to excuse it.
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
Except, that's completely different because Bill Clinton never said he wanted to do those things. In this case, Trump just admitted that he both wanted to, and attempted to implement a plan to put people that are, in his eyes, rapists and drug-dealers into a cites in an attempt to hurt Democrats.
He shouldnt get a pass because saner minds prevented him from doing something like this. I wish people would stop trying to excuse it.
+ He offered a preemptive pardon to his ice director for breaking immigration law and also separately told border agents to break the law.
Could be, just maybe, he's trying to distract from the unreleased Mueller report or his attempt to hide his taxes.
Comments
It may in fact be a stretch to say he had anything to do with it, but it's not Manson in the '90s. The problem with that scene is not the faux-Satanism. It was the whole obsession with the idea of a Nordic master race. It has nothing to do with the music itself (since one couldn't possibly understand what is being said even if they tried). The problem with Varg Vikernes isn't his music. It's that he's a perpetual violent criminal with clear ties the Neo-Nazi movements.
Was literally carried out of the embassy by 4 people. I suppose it would have been more dignified if he had kept his promise to turn himself in after Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, but, like you said, cowardly weasel.
Beyond that, the guy has been going out of his way to alienate the Ecuadorian government which was has been keeping him out of jail for 7 years in recent weeks. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Perpetual violent criminal? According to wikipedia has a single such conviction from 1994. Obviously you're buying into a one-sided narrative with zero fact checking.
Perpetual may be the wrong word, but the guy was found guilty of a murder and the arson of 3 churches at his trial. He gets released in 2009, and by 2014, he is convicted of inciting racial hatred in France. Now I realize many people problems with certain laws about this in Europe, but this is what happened. But no, perpetual would in fact be pushing it too far. But there isn't any "narrative" to buy into about Varg that he didn't create himself for publicity or because of acts he actually engaged in. Even in his DEFENSE of the church burnings, he said he didn't participate in them but did support them. Also (and I didn't even know this) when on leave from prison in 2003, he hijacked a car at gunpoint and when he was apprehended police found multiple weapons and GPS systems. This act apparently got him an essentially meaningless 3 month addition to his murder/arson sentence. Now, I think OUR prison system is completely insane, but it seems that Norway's might be just a TAD lax in this regard.
He is pulling a Trump, you have to remain President in order to avoid criminal charges. As long as Trump is President and he has a AG loyal to him instead of America he will not be charged with crimes. Bibi has the same approach, stay in power to have the power to thwart justice and remain above the law.
BTW Trump pitched in to help Netanyahu. He announced support for isaraeli sovereignty over Golan Heights and other things like a week ago just before their vote.
Trump is very in love with right wing dictators like Bolsanaro, Netanyahu, Erdogan, Putin, Kim Jong Un. So all the un-American leaders he loves em.
The two things all these right wing dictators have in common is using fear as a means to seize power for themselves and their disdain for Democracy.
On one hand, you have this insane idea that all undocumented immigrants are just feral animals ready to pounce on the first white person they see. And on the other, you have Trump, who thinks this is how things are, ready to unleash people he THINKS are dangerous into American cities. This is the mindset that could lead to an American Reichstag Fire. In fact, I think this story more than any other in the last 2 years reveals just how dangerous and malicious Donald Trump is.
And you want to know something REALLY interesting about that mindset?? I know for a fact that the hardest hit town in California was Paradise, which is in Butte County. I just looked up how Butte County voted in 2016. It went 46-42 for Trump. I interacted with alot of these people after their homes burned down. You know what never came up?? Their political affiliation. It turns out the people Trump was most willing to hurt in regards to wildfire relief were actually people who, by and large, probably SUPPORTED him. Or at least half of them. How have we reached a point where the President of the United States is essentially dealing out retribution for ENTIRE STATES not giving him their electoral votes??
While I agree that the allegations in this report are absolutely insane and horrible, they dont really hold a candle to child separation(In my opinion). As far as I'm concerned, child separation was a state sponsored act of terrorism, and one of the more shameful incidents in recent American history (To be lumped in with the Tuskegee experiments, the detaining of Asian Americans and so on).
That act alone should be entirely disqualifying from holding office.
Speaking of which...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/white-house-proposed-releasing-immigrant-detainees-in-sanctuary-cities-targeting-political-foes/2019/04/11/72839bc8-5c68-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d8908cae0210
"Trump administration officials have proposed transporting detained immigrants to sanctuary cities at least twice in the past six months — once in November, as a migrant caravan approached the U.S. southern border, and again in February, amid a standoff with Democrats over funding for Trump’s border wall.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco was among those the White House wanted to target, according to DHS officials....
The White House told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the plan was intended to alleviate a shortage of jail space but also served to send a message to Democrats."
The actually said it out loud, in official government communications. That's insane.
"The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that “there are PR risks as well.”"
Really?
Now we find out why Trump ditched his acting ICE director
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/acting-director-immigration-customs-enforcement-leaving-n993181
Vitiello wouldn't get on board with setting the constitution on fire.
Vitiello’s removal from ICE last week was followed Sunday by the ouster of DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who lost favor with Trump and Miller by repeatedly warning the White House that the administration’s policy ideas were unworkable and likely to be blocked by federal courts.
There's no one left in DHS to stop Stephen Miller's heinous, fascist proposals.
I'm blown away.
Just take a moment to consider the levels of evil here:
* Migrants (human beings) are like a plague you can release on a community as punishment
* The residents of that community (regardless of political affiliation) *should* be punished with this plague to "send a message" to a political enemy
* The sin for deserving this punishment is refusing to treat migrants with malice
* All of this is done in order to "protect" you from the Boogeymen cut from whole-cloth
This is going to be an important moment in our history.
Add to that list: The kidnapping of Native American children so they could be "civilized" by hardline christians. Anybody want to take a bet that when we get the full story of what's going on, we find out these children were placed with hardline protestants who think it's their god given duty to "beat the catholic" out of them?
Ok, where to begin here. First off, I believe that Trump (and many of his supporters) are obviously under this mistaken impression that the majority of people in these cities are as piss-their-pants afraid of brown people as they are. So, on one hand.....yeah, sure asshole, go ahead. We aren't "frightened" by it. It's not a punishment. The majority of people aren't cowards hiding under their beds at night with dreams of killer migrants. What Trump and his ilk perceive is some kind of punishment is nothing but projection. THEY would view the browning of their communities as a threat and attack, so they assume that everyone else feels this way as well.
But moving on, the second point is that if he does indeed want to RELEASE illegal immigrants DHS or ICE has in custody onto the streets, that would definitely seem to prove that he doesn't actually give a shit about curbing illegal immigration AT ALL, and only scoring some sort of truly bizarre and reprehensible political point.
But finally (and this is really by far the most important) these people are not pawns on a chessboard. They are human beings. The idea that he is thinking of shipping them to strategic locations across the country to then be "let loose" to further his maniacal plans is just repulsive. There is no other word for it. Seriously, this is what is being discussed in the White House?? Shipping detained asylum seekers or undocumented workers to specific locations across the country for some perceived maximum political impact?? What the fuck is going on here?? Christ, this makes Chris Christie's bridge scandal look like a game of Connect Four.
I mean, if a Democrat wanted ICE to send illegal immigrants into sanctuary cities, wouldn't that seem like a very "pro-illegal immigration" move?
It isn't about curbing illegal immigration. Like nearly everything else, it's about "owning the libs". And yes, the White House denied the reports yesterday, which has now been revealed less than 24 hours later to have been a complete lie, because Trump just decided to give the game away. So I guess the "fake news" was in fact correct in their reporting. But surprising?? Oh no, no, no, no, no. None of this is "surprising", per se. Shocking yeah, but only because of how many people are ok with it and how many of these straight-up lunatic ideas are being discussed. So one has to ask, if the pushback on THIS is why he purged the DHS, then what is coming next?? Because this is, on top of everything else, highly illegal.
WTF, if you're in a position to "place illegal immigrants" why aren't you just having them processed. Isn't the general point of illegals that they're undocumented..
Fine but why is this the guy you want as president?
I'm stuck with him just like everybody else in this country. I'm not going to defend him but I'm also not going to have an aneurysm believing that he's the second coming of Hitler or something.
This whole narrative is sounding eerily like how the Democrats under Clinton back in the 90's were building camps to hold all of the Republicans who wouldnt give up their guns back in the 90's. Bill was so 'horrifying' to conservatives that some of them said he was going to allow UN troops to come in and herd us all up for execution. Yeah, I wish I was kidding...
You as in the American people
Ah, misunderstood your question there. Well for two more years we don't have a choice. The US is, unfortunately, not a parliamentary system so unless Trump resigns (unlikely) or has a catastrophic health problem, we're getting another year-and-a-half of this. Of course he can run again, and probably will, so it could potentially be another 5-and-a-half years...
As a politician, he has much the same goals. That's why he ran for president; that's why he spends half of his days watching TV; that's why he complains bitterly about the media not being nice to him; that's why he holds rallies with his supporters even when no elections are upcoming; that's why he views his political opponents with so much fear and hatred. He desperately wants public approval, and he doesn't understand how to get it. All he can do is get the approval of a narrow subsection of the Republican population, and so he sticks to them and tries to stay in their good graces.
I don't think the reason Trump admitted to making that order to release illegals into sanctuary cities (again, what a bizarre idea from an anti-immigration politician) was because he wants to troll people. I think he genuinely thought it was a good idea, that it would rise crime rates in those cities and convince people that he was right about sanctuary cities being a bad idea. He showed similar thinking with that "appreciate the congrats for being right about terrorism" tweet he made after a terrorist attack.
As for the reason his various rants don't tend to go anywhere, I think that's just a lack of follow-through. Back in the day, people in the business sometimes pointed out that his other high-publicity ventures tended to dissipate once he lost interest in them. Combine that with his own inexperience, a hobbled administration where many of the top positions in our government remain vacant and the seats that are filled are held by less-qualified people, and Trump's time-consuming TV+Twitter habit, and you have a recipe for a government that doesn't have the brains, hands, or heart to actually accomplish most of its own goals.
From what I can tell, the only major policy that the Trump administration pushed through without just following the lead of mainstream Republicans (that would be the tax cut) was the family separation policy. A lot of his other policies never made it past the courts, or even past the "tweet" stage.
Which, frankly, is why Trump is less dangerous to the American public in office than dead/impeached/25th Amendment removed.
Under President Trump, the government is just bumbling and/or paralyzed and corrupt.
Under President Pence, kiss half of the civil liberties with an openly antagonistic government.
I entirely disagree. The biggest problem is that Trump is in power AND is in complete control of a cult of personality that makes up a significant portion of the electorate, one that Pence could never tap into. Why is this the case?? Well, actually, this article from early 2016 that was re-upped on Twitter a few minutes ago explains how some researchers (to their shock) seemed to answer that question:
https://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
His agencies will have to catch them again because it's their job to catch illegal immigrants. It's not the states job. It's the federal governments job.
Except, that's completely different because Bill Clinton never said he wanted to do those things. In this case, Trump just admitted that he both wanted to, and attempted to implement a plan to put people that are, in his eyes, rapists and drug-dealers into a cites in an attempt to hurt Democrats.
He shouldnt get a pass because saner minds prevented him from doing something like this. I wish people would stop trying to excuse it.
+ He offered a preemptive pardon to his ice director for breaking immigration law and also separately told border agents to break the law.
Could be, just maybe, he's trying to distract from the unreleased Mueller report or his attempt to hide his taxes.