Trump Thread 2.0

[z31maniac]

"It's 2019"

"I want to argue about 2016, god damnit"

[bmwman91]

Wait. So do people not wear onions on their belts anymore?

[phillipj]

... If you want a read that will boil your blood, check out Matt Taibbi's Griftopia concerning the indescribable criminality that caused 2008 and the lack of consequences for those responsible. That was, for me, the last straw and when I became a 2-issue voter: cracking down on Wall Street, and cracking down on the military industrial complex (my original #1 issue before the book).

Great Recommendation there(!) Taibbi spares no punches on anyone.
Right on. We are def. on the same page.

[phillipj]

The President declaring a "National Emergency" today because "we are being invaded on our Southern Border" goes to new lows for our broken politics and lying.

[gwb72tii]

The President declaring a "National Emergency" today because "we are being invaded on our Southern Border" goes to new lows for our broken politics and lying.

Why??
Hasn't he been talking about doing the very same thing for weeks?

I believe Trump declared a national emergency about human rights etc in Guatemala, yet somehow doing the same over gun/drug/illegal immigrant smuggling over the southern border is immoral?

[gwb72tii]

And Parker, you seem to be the most upset at what you perceive to be criminals on Trump's team etc.

Where were you when the previous administration:
1. Umasked illegally Trump team members that the NSA had spied on
2. Ran guns through Mexico that killed a border agent
3. Refused to recuse our ambassador in Libya
4. Lied about the reasons for the ambassador being killed
5. etc etc etc etc etc

You are one sided.

Do you ahve ANY problem with an asshole like Tom Steyer putting up $40MM of his own money to impeach a President?

Do you have ANY problem with what now has been exposed as a coup attempt by the previous administration's DOJ against an elected President?

Do you believe the DOJ under Obama, with the aid of the NSA and former spy chiefs Clapper and Brennan would have proceeded without Obama knowing?

If you're going to get hot under the collar about Trump, at least be consistent

[phillipj]

The President declaring a "National Emergency" today because "we are being invaded on our Southern Border" goes to new lows for our broken politics and lying.

Why??
Hasn't he been talking about doing the very same thing for weeks?

[doing so] over gun/drug/illegal immigrant smuggling over the southern border is immoral?

In the past, Presidents declared a 'National Emergency' to make available immediately significant $$$ and actions for events such as 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina -- real, immediate Emergencies!

Today Trump declared a 'National Emergency' over something that isn't!! Only because he didn't get the 'deal' he wanted. He even admits as much in his press conference today, which is going to cause him serious problems in court.

Even worse is that his case for "National Emergency" for unchecked multiple $Billions is built on obvious distortions and mischaracterizations. It's brazen lying. This is all about one person's ego and unrealistic campaign promises, not solving our actual problems properly.

[parkerbink]

Why??
Hasn't he been talking about doing the very same thing for weeks?

I believe Trump declared a national emergency about human rights etc in Guatemala, yet somehow doing the same over gun/drug/illegal immigrant smuggling over the southern border is immoral?

Do you know what the word emergency means?

I'll help you. It is an unavoidable, unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action.

Sooooo you can't claim there is an emergency for years, you can't claim something needs immediate action after talking about it for years.

Ok? Get it?

I await your next diversion and my next laugh with bated breath.

And Parker, you seem to be the most upset at what you perceive to be criminals on Trump's team etc.

Where were you when the previous administration:
1. Umasked illegally Trump team members that the NSA had spied on
2. Ran guns through Mexico that killed a border agent
3. Refused to recuse our ambassador in Libya
4. Lied about the reasons for the ambassador being killed
5. etc etc etc etc etc

You are one sided.

Do you ahve ANY problem with an asshole like Tom Steyer putting up $40MM of his own money to impeach a President?

Do you have ANY problem with what now has been exposed as a coup attempt by the previous administration's DOJ against an elected President?

Do you believe the DOJ under Obama, with the aid of the NSA and former spy chiefs Clapper and Brennan would have proceeded without Obama knowing?

If you're going to get hot under the collar about Trump, at least be consistent

None of the people you note are currently President. You ignoring all of the harm Trump is causing is hilarious claiming I am one sided.

But thanks for the laugh.

[decay]

gwb, if you keep this shit up, you're going to raise the commodities price on tinfoil

[parkerbink]

Many Presidents Have Declared Emergencies — But Not Like Trump Has

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/15/695203852/many-presidents-have-declared-emergencies-but-not-like-trump-has?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20190216&utm_campaign=politics&utm_term=nprnews

In declaring a national emergency Friday, President Trump tried to underscore the urgency of what he calls a national security crisis along the U.S. border with Mexico, while at the same time downplaying the gravity of his response.

The president and his advisers couched the emergency declaration as a routine move by the executive branch to redirect money Congress has authorized, just as previous presidents have done dozens of times.

Critics scoffed at that argument and accused Trump of an illegal power grab.

The emergency declaration is designed to free up more than $6.6 billion for Trump's controversial border wall, after lawmakers rejected the president's demand and approved only a fraction of the wall funding Trump had asked for.

Trump insists the extra money is necessary to control an influx of illicit drugs as well as people fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.

"We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country," Trump said during a Rose Garden ceremony to announce the emergency declaration, a claim NPR has previously fact-checked.

His plan would redirect money from the Defense Department and the Treasury to supplement the $1.375 billion Congress authorized for the wall. The extra money would allow the administration to build more than 230 miles of border barrier, rather than the 55 miles lawmakers approved.

The administration insists there is nothing unusual about a president moving money around like that.

"This is authority given to the president in law already," acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters. "It's not as if he just didn't get what he wanted so he's waving a magic wand and taking a bunch of money."

Aides said it's within the president's power to shift some funds around even without declaring an emergency. But the White House says the declaration does give the president some additional flexibility.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, presidents have declared national emergencies 60 times (including Trump) since the power was codified in 1976. Although the law — passed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate — gave Congress the right to challenge an emergency declaration, most have been uncontroversial.

"There's rarely been a problem," Trump said. "They sign it. Nobody cares. I guess they weren't very exciting."

Trump's declaration differs from many of those earlier emergencies. About three-quarters of the time, presidents use their emergency power to impose economic sanctions or limit trade with foreign parties. Then-President Jimmy Carter, for example, declared an emergency to limit business dealings with Iran. George H.W. Bush did the same with Iraq. And Barack Obama used emergency powers to limit transactions with Libya.

Other declarations have followed terrorist attacks or natural disasters. George W. Bush declared an emergency after the Sept. 11 attacks. And Obama used one to respond to the swine flu epidemic in 2009.

Critics say Trump's declaration is categorically different, in that the president is using his power to fund a border wall far bigger and more expensive than Congress was willing to pay for.

"This is not 9/11. This is not the Iran hostage crisis of 1979," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a news conference on Friday after Trump's remarks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the president's actions a clear violation of lawmakers' power to set spending priorities.

"This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed president, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process," Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, accused the president of "manufacturing a crisis" and diverting money that law enforcement in his state might otherwise use to fight drug dealers.

"Our message to the White House is simple and clear," Newsom said in a statement. "California will see you in court."

The president grimly anticipated such legal challenges in announcing the emergency.

"Sadly we'll be sued," Trump said. "And sadly it will go through a process and happily we'll win, I think."

[decay]

almost all of the fentanyl that's killing people with overdoses when they think they're taking something "milder" is coming in through ports of entry

but when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail

[parkerbink]

Most of the fentanyl comes via USPS from China I believe.

[decay]

Most of the fentanyl comes via USPS from China I believe.

yeah, that's what i mean. it's not coming across in migrants' backpacks, and the cartels have already shown us they know how to build tunnels anyway; for fuck's sake, they did one just to help el chapo escape.

for once, it's not as if i have a philosophical disagreement with drumpf, but if you want to fix the problem, catch the cartels doing the crime the way they do it, not the way you imagine they're doing it.

[parkerbink]

Although the Republican talking point is liberals want open borders nothing is further from the truth.

Birtherism, drumming up fear, hate & race separation are the key Trump talking points and his base will not stick with him without the wall.

[z31maniac]

Legalize and tax it.

It almost like we haven't had experience with how well prohibition works.

The wall thing is playing to xenophobe Bible thumpers and nothing more.