The Trump Presidency

[Allan F]

So basically I did good.

Yes.  Cash tips are further appreciated because there's no paper trail to remind you to report it as income for tax purposes.  If you get what I mean.

It doesn't really matter if you tip on card on cash. The employees and the business are only interested in the total amount of cash in the till and on card and the sum of the days sale. Where I live, tips are tax exempt, they have been ruled to be gifts. Unless a tip is "substantial" - like a days wage or more. Then the receiver is obliged to self-report it.

[gillianren]

Here, servers are supposed to report all their tips; there are plenty of places in the US (blessedly not here) where servers are quite legally paid less than minimum wage, because it's assumed that tips will make up for the rest of their earnings.

[Obviousman]

Well, this is going to be interesting.

I know President Trump doesn't have any type of strategy but I can't say I disagree with his ordering a Syrian strike. Being ex-military, I tend to sometimes favour military options where they are quick and leave the message 'do not poke the tiger!'.

[Peter B]

Well, this is going to be interesting.

I know President Trump doesn't have any type of strategy but I can't say I disagree with his ordering a Syrian strike. Being ex-military, I tend to sometimes favour military options where they are quick and leave the message 'do not poke the tiger!'.

As with a lot of what happens in the Middle East, I'm unsure about whether it was a good thing.

For example, I note that North Korea has pointed out the value of its nuclear weapons in the context of the attack on Syria - I think it's pretty unlikely that the USA would attempt an attack of this sort on North Korea...

For another thing, it certainly hasn't helped the relationship between the USA and Russia.

But something else to consider is that the attack came a day after Steve Bannon was removed from the National Security Council. As I understand it, the alt-right was unhappy with Trump getting the US more deeply involved in Syria, so I wonder what the relationship is between the removal of the alt-right's poster boy from the NSC one day and the attack on Syria the next.

[gillianren]

And even if it flawlessly succeeded at what it was intended to do--it hasn't--with no further political consequences--not likely--I don't like that Russia knew about it before Congress, when Congress is supposed to authorize military intervention in the first place.  I didn't like it when Bill Clinton intervened without Congressional authorization; I didn't like it when Obama did.  I wouldn't have liked it if Hillary had.  We have checks and balances for a reason.

[Allan F]

Problem is, if the president asks congress for permission to do a single operation, the target of that operation will get advance knowledge of the operation, and can either hide the intended target, disperse it, or beef up the defenses.

[smartcooky]

Problem is, if the president asks congress for permission to do a single operation, the target of that operation will get advance knowledge of the operation, and can either hide the intended target, disperse it, or beef up the defenses.

Yep, there are basically two ways to get a message to the widest possible audience

1. Television.
2. Tell Congress.

Much as I detest Trump (IMO, he is a misogynistic nitwit and about the worst choice of US President in the 240 year history of the country), I do agree that the President should have the power to act without reference to Congress. He is, after all, the CinC of US forces.

[gillianren]

But not a dictator.  I don't care why he does it; the point is that he still has to follow the Constitution.  And after all, letting Johnson avoid going through Congress got us Vietnam.

[smartcooky]

But not a dictator.  I don't care why he does it; the point is that he still has to follow the Constitution.  And after all, letting Johnson avoid going through Congress got us Vietnam.

You are probably right, but as a person with a military background, if I am a soldier, sailor or airman embarking on a dangerous mission, I sure as hell don't want the bunch of self-interested politicians in the leaking tank that is the US Congress knowing anything about it.

[nomuse]

Meh. Just limit the size of what can be mobilized without consultation. Above a certain point, you aren't going to be able to get the troops moving without everyone knowing about it already.

It's been a while, but wasn't that one of the reasons the RDF was around?

[Glom]

Should the President of the European Commission be allowed to deploy armed forces? He technically doesn't have any who are responsible to him so that does make it difficult.

[Jason Thompson]

Forgive my political naivety, but isn't allowing the President to act unilaterally when it comes to military action against any other country because there's too much risk of the plans being leaked if Congressional approval is sought solving the wrong problem? Might even be advantageous if military plans were leaked on all sides, since that would effectively create a military stalemate where no actual shooting or bombardment would happen because everyone knows and is prepared for it, thus rendering it pointless.

Or am I just being too liberal and wishy-washy in being amazed and disappointed that we can, collectively, put people on the Moon, eradicate some illnesses, treat others very well and improve life in many ways, yet we can't seem to find ways to solve many differences that don't involve blowing the crap out of large groups of people?

[gillianren]

Not only that, but letting Russia know first that we were bombing a Russian ally has its own set of problems.  Some people who ought to have known in advance read about it in the media, a recurring problem with this administration.

The reason the President is not, according to the Constitution, allowed to declare war despite being C-in-C is that the Founding Fathers were generally (there were exceptions) terrified of a tyranny and didn't want a single person to be able to make decisions of that magnitude.  They were afraid that a single person would be more likely to act for foolish or selfish reasons.

[Glom]

Well we vest such a power in the Queen and yet in 65 years she has never done it. So there.

[Trebor]

Well we vest such a power in the Queen and yet in 65 years she has never done it. So there.

The best quality in a leader is the ability to do nothing ever.