The Trump Presidency

[Glom]

This program is not light watching. That was one screwed up chapter that was.

[gillianren]

Actually, one of the laws that personally benefits me is from the Nixon administration--that's when automatic cost of living adjustments to Social Security began.  If I'm reading this right, my payments will go from $685 a month to $700 a month next year.

[Glom]

Well that was light watching.

Maybe Schindler's List next to round off a romantic evening?

[twik]

Top Trump environmental nominee won't - or can't - answer if heat causes things to expand. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/09/trumps-nominee-to-lead-his-environmental-council-isnt-sure-whether-water-expands-as-it-warms/?utm_term=.d6d349af246a

[gillianren]

I'm reading What Happened, and man, I wish she were President right now.  Also, she's a lot funnier than people give her credit for.  I was horrified, too, to discover that Bill was the first husband at the hospital where Chelsea was born allowed to be in the operating room while his wife was having a C-section, and they only let him in because they didn't want to argue with the governor.

[Glom]

According to DSNY Newscast, the opening of Hall of Presidents is still delayed. The new Trump animatronic used some new tech they still working on.

Maybe they're having trouble with that hand gesture.

[twik]

Trump has decided not to meet with American Nobel laureates before they leave for Sweden. Stupid science people! Who needs them anyway?

Actually, I suspect that he or his handlers were worried some of them would take the opportunity to lecture him on some basic science facts, and didn't want to face the embarrassment.

[gillianren]

Aren't some of them immigrants?  A lot of US Nobel laureates are.  They could lecture him on more than science.

[jfb]

I'm reading What Happened, and man, I wish she were President right now.  Also, she's a lot funnier than people give her credit for.  I was horrified, too, to discover that Bill was the first husband at the hospital where Chelsea was born allowed to be in the operating room while his wife was having a C-section, and they only let him in because they didn't want to argue with the governor.

The deep, deep irony is that Trump was not supposed to win; his role was to lose ungraciously and continually call into question the legitimacy of her Presidency (remember he was saying that the election would be rigged all through the primaries and general).  The Russians had a huge pile of dirt (some legit, most made up) ready to spoon-feed Congressional Republicans so that they'd start hearings the day she was inaugurated.  And, while the federal government was distracted and paralyzed, Putin could get the band back together without much interference. 

Of course, a bunch of rednecks in "real America" wrecked that particular plan, and here we are.  The GOP's entire playbook going into 2017 was going to be "oppose Clinton on literally everything"; that's why they can't freaking shut up about her, even though she's now just a private citizen with no real power.  Trump doesn't want to be President, you can tell by his manner and attitude.  He's freaking miserable in the job.  I will legitimately be surprised if he makes it to 2020 without some major health issue. 

Personally, I wish the Democratic Party could have done better than a couple of white septuagenarians - it was kind of shocking to see that the GOP field was younger and more diverse than the Dem contenders.  Yes, Clinton was genuinely historic as the first woman with a better than even chance of winning the Presidency (Fiorina was not ever going to be a contender), but even so, the Republican slate was legitimately a more representative cross-section of America. 

The Democratic party has no bench.  We've let state organizations wither on the vine, and 31 or so states have majority Republican legislatures.  The old guard won't get out of the way, they won't mentor new blood, and generally suck up all the oxygen (and money).  It's maddening.  There's a group of Democrats who want to run Joe Biden in 2020, and I want to punch them in the neck.

How 'bout we pick someone under 70 this time around, guys?

[Zakalwe]

I'm reading What Happened, and man, I wish she were President right now.  Also, she's a lot funnier than people give her credit for.  I was horrified, too, to discover that Bill was the first husband at the hospital where Chelsea was born allowed to be in the operating room while his wife was having a C-section, and they only let him in because they didn't want to argue with the governor.

The deep, deep irony is that Trump was not supposed to win; his role was to lose ungraciously and continually call into question the legitimacy of her Presidency (remember he was saying that the election would be rigged all through the primaries and general).  The Russians had a huge pile of dirt (some legit, most made up) ready to spoon-feed Congressional Republicans so that they'd start hearings the day she was inaugurated.  And, while the federal government was distracted and paralyzed, Putin could get the band back together without much interference. 

The same thing happened here in the UK with Brexit. The look of deep, deep shock on the faces of toads like Farage and Boris Johnson was evident. They were like the dog that finally caught the car after years of chasing and then realised that they were dogs and had no idea what to do with the car.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-result-nigel-farage-nhs-pledge-disowns-350-million-pounds-a7099906.html

[gillianren]

She does talk a bit in her book about the need for younger people to run.  Kamala Harris and Tammy Duckworth are right there, though, so I wouldn't say "no bench."

[Geordie]

... Putin could get the band back together ...

He's on a mission from God.

[twik]

Of course, a bunch of rednecks in "real America" wrecked that particular plan, and here we are.  The GOP's entire playbook going into 2017 was going to be "oppose Clinton on literally everything"; that's why they can't freaking shut up about her, even though she's now just a private citizen with no real power.  Trump doesn't want to be President, you can tell by his manner and attitude.  He's freaking miserable in the job.  I will legitimately be surprised if he makes it to 2020 without some major health issue. 

I've heard rumours, not sure how accurate they are, that he's gained about 100 pounds since taking office due to stress eating.

But you're correct that the Republican/Fox conglomerate is highly confused as to what they're supposed to be doing now. The best they're hoping for  is to convince Congress to start a special investigation into Uranium One, but even most Republican Congressmembers know there's nothing in that. And Hillary, to their despair, has kept a low profile. There's nothing new they can drag out.

[Zakalwe]

Here we go:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-russia/ex-trump-adviser-flynn-charged-with-lying-to-fbi-in-russia-probe-idUKKBN1DV50U

This could be massive. According to that, Flynn is going to plead guilty and do a deal with Mueller. Also, Kushner was interviewed by the FBI earlier this week. Was Mueller sitting there with a load of information from Flynn?
I expect tomorrow's news to be full of another dose of late-night Trump tweets as he tries to create a smokescreen.

[jfb]

It only matters if Congress decides to do something about it.

They won't.

They're too busy figuring out how best to completely destroy what's left of the middle class.  Hell, the tax "reform" bill that the Senate is debating hasn't even been written yet - they're literally making it all up as they go along.  And everyone with the slightest economic clue is telling them, from Forbes to The Economist to the WSJ to the CBO, that this is a stupendously bad idea, that this "reform" will explode the debt, create structural deficits, tank savings across the board, and generally make the 2008 recession look like a minor dip. 

And DPRK has demo'd an ICBM capable of reaching pretty much anywhere in the US mainland, and we've managed to piss off Great Britain, and...

Not trying to be a drama queen here, but I honestly question if anything's going to be left standing after the new year.

Y'all gotta remember, Trump isn't the disease, he's a symptom of the disease.  The question isn't why his approval rating is so low, but why it's so high.  Literally millions of Americans think he's doing a damned fine job.