Donald Trump is just the kind of president America needs
 |
No Phony Politician’s Smile from Trump |
He's actually the only candidate with a decent foreign policy
Vadim Nikitim Friday 11 March 2016 - INDEPENDENT
“Authoritarianism and isolationism, and that, in essence, is what Donald Trump et al are offering, are not an answer”. Such was the rather prim warning in the Financial Times about the dangers of a possible Trump presidency. In cosying up to Europe’s right wing populists, condemning the war in Iraq, and praising Russia’s role in Syria, the Republican juggernaut has made no secret of his disdain for the status quo in America’s dealings with the world. Yet, like the man himself, Trump’s heretical foreign policy is not as dumb as it seems. By upending a discredited rule book, this most undiplomatic of men might just succeed in repairing America’s leadership in the world.
America’s foreign policy is broken. For nearly two decades, it has been predicated almost exclusively on bombing the Middle East and isolating Russia. The results are clear: a string of failed states from Libya to Syria, the rise of the Islamic State in formerly secular Iraq, a refugee crisis in Europe and an irredentist Russia marching across its former domains.
Trump’s prescription is to turn the failed doctrine on its head through isolationism in the Middle East and engagement with Moscow. The first point seems obvious. Alone among the American political establishment, Trump has acknowledged the true cost of his country’s adventurism. “Iraq is a disaster … Libya is not even a country”, he told an interviewer. “What we did there – it’s a mess.”
The second prong of the Trump doctrine is even more overdue. America’s top general Joseph Dunford recently called Russia the “greatest threat to our national security”. Yet the current policy of sanctions and bluster has only strengthened President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power and ambitions in Ukraine and Syria.
Despite all that, Trump remains the only politician in America to call for engagement with the Kremlin. He publicly described Putin as a “strong leader” and praised his military intervention in Syria. Putin returned the favour, calling Trump “very talented” and welcoming his desire to improve relations. “How can we not welcome that?”, Putin told journalists in his annual Q&A with the press.
The effects of a potential détente are hard to underestimate. Russia is holding the US to ransom over Iran, Syria and Ukraine. Obtaining its cooperation would help unlock – in one fell swoop – some of America’s largest foreign policy challenges. Historically, it has been the maverick Republicans who have done most for American diplomacy. Like Nixon in China, only a hardliner like Trump could go to Russia and come back with a deal.
Trump’s views on foreign policy have met with disbelief and ridicule in American mainstream media and political circles, where he is portrayed as an eccentric anomaly. Yet by clinging to the shibboleths of free-market capitalism and liberal interventionism, it is the US establishment that has become increasingly out of step with the rest of the world. From Greece to Poland, citizens are ejecting milquetoasts liberals in favour of the extreme left and right. Voters would rather elect true wolves than the wolves in sheep’s clothing who hide their indifference to the plight of ordinary people behind politically-correct platitudes. Who is the world coming to resemble more: Trump or his opponents?
From Putin to Hungary’s Viktor Orban, from France’s Marine Le Pen to Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el Sisi, India’s Narendra Modi to Turkey’s Reccep Erdogan: these are the people gathered – or gathering – around the high table. Ignoring or hectoring them is not an option. Who is best qualified not just to sit among these rogues, populists and snake oil salesmen, but preside over them like a mafia don? Only someone like Trump has the bigotry and bluster it takes to strike hard bargains with these blusterers, and haggle with them in a language they understand: the language of money, sovereignty and real-politik.
- More about:
- US elections 2016
- Donald Trump
- Vladimir Putin
If the Corruptocratic Barrons in The GOP Likuds Force hate him, The Lobby controlled Media hate him and the Neocons hate him...well, you know...
ReplyDeleteThe view from the Bernie voters in the younger set is that hate-filled racist, homophobic assholes are for Trump, thereby making him unacceptable to vote for.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=hate%20for%20trump
DeleteRepublican leaders adamantly opposed to Donald Trump’s candidacy are preparing a 100-day campaign to deny him the presidential nomination, starting with an aggressive battle in Wisconsin’s April 5 primary and extending into the summer, with a delegate-by-delegate lobbying effort that would cast Trump as a calamitous choice for the general election.
ReplyDeleteRecognizing that Trump has seized a formidable advantage, they say that an effort to block him would rely on an array of desperation measures, the political equivalent of guerrilla war.
There is no longer room for error or delay, the anti-Trump forces say, and without a flawlessly executed plan of attack, he could well become unstoppable.
But should that effort falter, leading conservatives are prepared to field an independent candidate in the general election, to defend Republican principles and offer traditional conservatives an alternative to Trump’s hard-edged populism. They described their plans in interviews after Trump’s victories Tuesday in Florida and three other states.
The names of a few well-known conservatives have been offered up in recent days as potential third-party standard-bearers, and William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, has circulated a memo to a small number of conservative allies detailing the process by which an independent candidate could get on general-election ballots across the country.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/03/19/republican-leaders-map-strategy-derail-trump/OPDfHnTzJJltOBia88puVK/story.html
SOME OF HILLARY’S FINE WORK:
ReplyDeleteIslamic State Gains Ground
The current volatility in Libya creates ideal conditions for Islamic State. Early on, IS jihadists put out feelers in Libya, because if the Islamists are defeated in Syria or Iraq, Libya could serve as an ideal fallback. In February 2015, Islamic State quickly captured Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. Since then, it has controlled an almost 300-kilometer (186-mile) long strip of the Libyan coast. It is believed to have grown to a force of 6,000 men.
The rival governments are scarcely in a position to stop IS. Instead, they each insist on the exclusive right to make decisions for their country. They would both also need to grant their approval for foreign troops to enter the country. For the two sides to take decisive action, they would need to join together and form a single government. Instead, though, some Libyan militias have already said they would fight against the Americans if Washington were to lose patience and conduct a massive military intervention. That would put Islamic State under military pressure, but it would also likely lead to political gains for the Islamists, widening their base of support in the country.
The two conflicting blocs did sign a United Nations-brokered peace plan in December, which provides for the creation of a unity government, but both sides are now balking. In Tripoli, Vice President Awad Mohammed Abdul-Sadiq resides in Palace I, in the middle of a park filled with mansions Gadhafi once had built for state visitors. He's now refusing to make any of the major concessions demanded by the UN plan. "We control the capital, the majority of the population and have the most armed people on our side," he told DER SPIEGEL.
Delete… grown to a force of 6,000 men.
…
… conduct a massive military intervention.
Now why would a small force of only 6,000 men require a massive military intervention, by the US.?
The first data point that 6,000 men represent a major force …
That is the size of a US Army Brigade.
A brigade of ill trained 'urban warriors' does not require a massive military intervention.
It does require the Coalition to find a local partner that is concerned that the Islamic State's flag wavers control a 300 km stretch of the shoreline.
How Hillary Clinton Lied Her Way to War in Libya
ReplyDeleteDeclassified emails released in January and February reveal that Hillary Clinton was one of the main instruments in spreading chaos and extremism in Libya when the U.S. secretary of state personally pushed for the ousting of late Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.
Clinton’s emails reveal that she and her staff were aware that civilians they claimed to be protecting were not actually in danger from government forces.
Less than a month ahead of the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, a resolution which authorized a no-fly zone to protect civilians on March 17, 2011, Hillary's assistant, Huma Abedin, in an email dated Feb. 21, 2011, stated: “Based on numerous eyewitness reports, it is the Embassy's assessment that the government no longer controls Benghazi. This is likely the case for Ajdabiyah as well."
Abedin went on to write that sources in Benghazi reported that Libyan Interior Minister Abdul Fattah Younes had "changed sides" and was "now with the protesters in Benghazi." The mood in Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, according to the email, was "celebratory" and all posters of Gadhafi had been “knocked down."
Crucially, this email was written at a time when Clinton was aware that no government crackdown was taking place in either Benghazi or Ajdabiyah.
{...}
{...}
DeleteThis was despite anti-government protests kicking off in Benghazi and Ajdabiyah a few days before, at a time when the U.S. and France and other Western governments were claiming government forces were involved in the mass-killing of protesters and civilians.
However, on March 2, 2011, a few days before the passage of the U.N. resolution, U.S. State Department official Harriet Spanos sent an email informing Clinton that "Security Reports . . . confirm that Benghazi has been calm over the past couple of days."
“Economic activity is going on in Benghazi," she added in the email, with shops and banks open and "[m]obile and landline phones… working… and Internet has returned."
The moment of truth came 11 days into the NATO bombing, which continued for several months, when Clinton’s top adviser, Sidney Blumenthal, who was not employed by the state department but by the private Clinton Foundation, laid out the reasons for the Washington-led intervention and the eventual ousting of Gadhafi.
Without once mentioning “humanitarian” purposes, in a March 27, 2011 email Blumenthal stressed to Clinton the importance of pressing for a “final win” by ousting Gadhafi in order to boost U.S. President Barack Obama’s then low approval ratings.
Ousting the Libyan strongman, argued Blumenthal, would further establish “security in North Africa, securing democracy in Egypt and Tunisia, economic development, effect throughout Arab world and Africa, extending U.S. influence, counter-balancing Iran, etc.”
Further highlighting his complete and utter disregard for the human cost of the intervention, in the same email Blumenthal informed Clinton about the horrors committed by U.S.-backed forces in Libya, which included members of al-Qaida.
"Speaking in strict confidence, one rebel commander stated that his troops continue to summarily execute all foreign mercenaries in the fighting." Such actions are considered war crimes and in violation of international resolutions and conventions.
The emails also reveal that the Obama administration and Clinton were aware of the threat of al-Qaida in the eastern part of the country, which had for years been suppressed by the Libyan leader.
{...}
{...}
DeleteThe emails also show that claims made by NATO at the time, including alleged atrocities committed by Gadhafi’s forces such as rape and mass killings, were rumors used by Clinton and the Obama administration to help sell the intervention to the world.
IT IS CLEAR THE NATO INTERVENTION WAS NOT INTENDED FOR HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES. SO WHAT WERE THE INTENTIONS OF CLINTON AND THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION? THE SAME AS MOST U.S. INTERVENTIONS: FINANCIAL INTEREST.
THE EMAILS REVEAL THAT MOST OF THE INTELLIGENCE CLINTON RECEIVED ON LIBYA WAS FROM BLUMENTHAL, WHO WAS PREPARING TO MAKE SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL GAINS FROM THE FALL OF THE LIBYAN LEADER.
According to Vice News, the intel briefs on Libya were “prepared by Blumenthal's business partner and former CIA operative Tyler Drumheller, a consultant with plans to take advantage of economic opportunities in a post-war Libya."
RELATED: War Is Still Not the Answer
Both men worked with the U.S.-based security company Osprey, a start-up that hoped to profit from medical and military contracts with Libyan rebels amid the chaos of the conflict, according to Vice News.
Five years later, the opportunism of Clinton and the Obama administration which resulted in one of the most disastrous interventions in recent decades, aiding the rise of extremist groups in the oil-rich African country and contributing to Europe’s ongoing refugee situation can be seen for what it was: a devastating assault on the people of Libya rooted in lies, deceit and narrow, imperial self-interest.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/How-Hillary-Clinton-Lied-Her-Way-to-War-in-Libya-20160318-0008.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
“Sid Vicious”
DeleteBenghazi Select Committee chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has already subpoenaed Blumenthal for what the New York Times previously called "a private transcribed interview." Reuters obtained a copy of the subpoena which commands Blumenthal to appear before Gowdy's committee on June 3.
Sources in the know suggest Blumenthal, who knows as much about Libya and military strategy as Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the lawmaker who said Guam might be in danger of becoming "so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize," knows about geophysics, gave terrible advice to Mrs. Clinton.
Emails obtained by the Times show that Clinton took Blumenthal's questionable advice memos very seriously.
Blumenthal possesses a robust self-esteem that in his mind allows him to weigh in on important diplomatic matters, so the fact that he wasn't even an official State Department employee was not an obstacle. (Obama White House officials torpedoed Hillary's request to put him on State's payroll.)
But Mrs. Clinton, like so many other powerful politicians, values loyalty over competence so a way was found for Blumenthal to participate in the ripping apart of North Africa. As the nation's top diplomat, Hillary forwarded her old supplicant's amateur pontifications "to senior diplomatic officials in Libya and Washington and at times ask[ed] them to respond," the newspaper reported. The former Miss Rodham "continued to pass around" Field Marshal Blumenthal's "memos even after other senior diplomats concluded that Mr. Blumenthal’s assessments were often unreliable."
The newspaper reported that the emails "suggest that Mr. Blumenthal’s direct line to Mrs. Clinton circumvented the elaborate procedures established by the federal government to ensure that high-level officials are provided with vetted assessments of available intelligence."
It turns out that while Blumenthal was providing advice he was eminently unqualified to give, he was also on the payroll at the now-infamous Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the philanthropy whose name recently became synonymous with corruption. Foundation officials said Blumenthal helped with research, “message guidance,” and commemorative events planning.
Blumenthal simultaneously performed paid consulting work for the Brocktopus, which is a delightful neologism that refers to the growing array of sleazy non-profit organizations run by disgraced former journalist and pathological liar David Brock. The goal of these well-funded, tax-exempt slander shops like Media Matters for America, American Bridge, and Correct the Record, is to impose at all costs a second consecutive Alinskyite president when Barack Obama leaves office in 2017.
It is unclear who, if anyone, was paying Blumenthal for his non-expertise or if his on-the-fly Henry Kissinger impersonation was among his duties at the Clinton Foundation.
Of particular interest to the famously hard-driving Rep. Gowdy is a series of drivel-rich Hillary-bound emails in which Blumenthal held forth on the complexities of the situation in Libya, both before and after the ugly end of dictator Muammar Qaddafi. For all we know at this point, Blumenthal's advice got people killed.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/257255/sidney-blumenthal-fathers-yet-another-clinton-matthew-vadum
Women like Bill Clinton's alleged rape victim Juanita Broaddrick, and two who rebuffed Mr. Clinton, Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones, were targeted and Hillary herself got personally involved in containing the so-called "bimbo eruptions" that kept happening with the seeming regularity of Old Faithful. (For what it's worth, Hitchens believed Bill was guilty of sexual assault. Broaddrick's "story of rape has withstood fairly rigorous challenges," he wrote in the Atlantic article.)
DeleteLike Bill and Hillary, Blumenthal can be reckless.
On the day before the New Hampshire general primary in 2008 as Hillary battled Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, Blumenthal was charged with aggravated driving while impaired (DWI) in that state. Police clocked his car going 70 miles per hour in a 30 zone. He failed a field sobriety test and refused a Breathalyzer test.
Blumenthal's lawyer worked out a plea bargain in March of that year and he entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor DWI charge. His sentence included a $900 fine and a 10-month suspension of his driver's license.
He is also notoriously thin-skinned. As law professor Jonathan Turley noted, he launched "strange litigation" over allegations that he abused his wife. In 1997 the Drudge Report website ran a story about the alleged abuse and Blumenthal's legal eagles leapt into action, seeking $30 million in damages in a proceeding that stretched out over four years.
Blumenthal's case was so ridiculously weak that he was forced to withdraw the suit and pay Matt Drudge's lawyers. The Democratic Party hack even had to fork over cash to Drudge in order to preempt a countersuit.
Given Blumenthal's legal track record, don't count on him emerging unscathed once the facts are known about the mischief he was orchestrating in Libya.
Blumenthal's testimony before the Benghazi Select Committee next month won't be his first time in the hot seat and it almost certainly will not be his last.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/257255/sidney-blumenthal-fathers-yet-another-clinton-matthew-vadum
In the meantime:
ReplyDeleteGet used to the phrase, "Madame President."
Huffpost Pollster
How Trump vs. Clinton could reshape the electoral map
Deletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trump-vs-clinton-would-reshape-the-electoral-map/2016/03/19/783a834c-ed35-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html
In the meantime"
DeleteGet use to the phrase Prisoner #9-0938453
DeleteWill that be your 'new' profile name, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson?
Criticism of past efforts in the ME is easy but Trumps prescription for going forward is to escalate America's involvement against ISIS. Ironic, no?
ReplyDeleteEasy?
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y
Gawd, she's Hot!
And HONEST:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dY77j6uBHI#t=76.414921
Even Deuce has said we got to deal with ISIS.
DeleteWhat is your solution, Ash ?
I see you had another "Q"Nit-Canada the other day, this time in Toronto.
Maybe you should stop all Moslem immigration under you find out what is going on ?
The Wisdom of Farmer Bob:
Delete"Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."
.
Delete"Or more."
.
The use of local forces, combined with Coalition or Russian close air support, is all that is required to defeat the Islamic State.
DeleteEmpower Assad and his Syrian coalition with US and European close air support and the Islamic State would be devastated in short order.
That is not what Trump has been urging - that's too
DeletePC for him.
Kasich erases himself from my short list -
ReplyDeleteKasich says he would consider nominating Garland for SCOTUS if he were president
March 20, 2016
What was the candidate thinking? More
American Thinker
Kasich is a Dick !
Delete
DeleteMarch 20, 2016
Gallup poll: Voters love Trump's tax plans
By Sierra Rayne
In a poll of Americans across the political spectrum, there is widespread support for the tax proposals suggested by GOP presidential nominee frontrunner Donald Trump.
Trump has proposed eliminating most federal income tax deductions and loopholes available to the very rich. Sixty-three percent of Americans support this, with just 17% opposing.
Both Trump and Ted Cruz have proposed eliminating the estate tax that is paid when a person dies. This garners 54% support and 19% disagreeing.
The idea of simplifying the federal tax code into four tax brackets instead of the current seven, which has been championed by Trump, receives 47% agreement and only 12% opposition.
In addition, Trump's recommendation to cut federal income taxes for all income levels gets far more support (47%) than opposition (34%), as does his proposal to lower the federal corporate tax rate to 15% (43% agree, 30% disagree).
Cruz's proposal for a 10% flat tax is also popular among Americans, with 45% support and 28% opposition.
However, Cruz's proposal to eliminate the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is a loser among all voters – getting just 18% support and 63% opposition – as is his suggestion to abolish the IRS (34% agree, 44% disagree).
Voters are also not generally supportive of Cruz's ideas that there should be a hiring freeze for all civilian jobs in the executive branch of government (33% agree, 28% disagree) and that three government employees should leave the federal government before the government can hire one new employee (29% agree, 31% disagree).
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/03/gallup_poll_voters_love_trumps_tax_plans.html#ixzz43Rkrwabc
DONT YOU LOVE SEEING ASSHOLES MAKE FOOLS OF THEMSELVES?
ReplyDeleteELECTION 2016
Republican Leaders Map a Strategy to Derail Trump
By ALEXANDER BURNS and JONATHAN MARTIN (NEW YORK TIMES)
If aggressive efforts to deny Donald J. Trump the presidential nomination fail, party leaders say they will try to field an independent candidate for the general election.
Eat shit and die,
DeleteFielding an independent Republican candidate is like putting a gun to the head and pulling the trigger.
DeleteWhich is generally not considered a wise course of action.
It is probably good for another 4 or 5 clicks for Trump.
DeleteHERE IS ANOTHER
ReplyDeleteIn mid-December, President Barack Obama signed into law a hastily thrown together 2,242-page $1.8 trillion omnibus spending bill that didn’t just make a mockery of prior Republican commitments to keep federal spending in check; it included a series of last-minute insertions, many of them anathema to fiscal responsibility and constitutional restraint.
(See "What Is Congress Hiding?" page 18.) ( http://reason.com/archives/2016/03/09/what-is-congress-hiding)
Among the non-debated provisions was the 100-page Cybersecurity Act of 2015, which drastically expanded the federal government’s ability to scoop up Americans’ digital information without a warrant. “I (Amash) asked the chairman of Homeland Security whether the cyber bill was going to be included in the omnibus,” Amash says, “and he didn't know." The congressman promptly authored a straight-up repeal.
{...}
I'm thinking the 2016 Electoral Map will look a lot like the 2012 Map, with the exception that a Trump Candidacy would likely push North Carolina into the Blue.
ReplyDelete538 Blog
I have to admit, my good friend from Mississippi always walks on the sunny side of the path less taken.
DeleteWhat's a hillbilly to do? :)
DeleteEat Shit and Die !
Delete{...}
ReplyDeletereason Editor in Chief Matt Welch spoke with Amash in his congressional office in Washington, D.C., this January.
reason: When the Republicans took the Senate, there was a lot of talk that they were going to restore both fiscal responsibility and procedural responsibility. Here we are, 10 days after another omnibus bill. What happened?
Justin Amash: They’re always promising that next time we’ll be better. "We need the House," then "we need the Senate," then "we need the White House," then "we need a supermajority"—it seems like they're never really interested in actually doing anything in the present. The excuse is usually that we don't have the votes or we don't have the right president to sign the bill, but that highlights the problem with their thinking. They're not interested in persuading people. They're interested in waiting.
reason: You have to wait until the next election and then maybe tip the numbers a little bit more?
Amash: Their hope is that people will for some reason elect more Republicans.
We've had a good run in the House. We have a large majority right now. I think there are a lot of reasons for that—and I do think redistricting and some of the gerrymandering around the country helped with that. But if your idea is simply to wait for the White House and the supermajority in the Senate, good luck. You’re likely never to get everything you want.
{...}
(Is it worse being stupid or being slimy lying Aholes)
DeleteIf you need more...
Deletehttp://reason.com/archives/2016/03/17/the-last-honest-man-in-congres
Slimy Lying Aholes are far worse.
DeleteRufus is just stupid.
That's why we love him.
Carrier Workers See Costs, Not Benefits, of Global Trade
ReplyDeleteIn fact, many Carrier workers here say that it was not so much Mr. Trump’s nativist talk on illegal immigrants or his anti-Muslim statements that has fired them up. Instead, it was hearing a leading presidential candidate acknowledging just how much economic ground they’ve lost — and promising to do something about it.
Mr. Trump has repudiated decades of G.O.P. support for free trade, calling for heavy tariffs on Mexican-made goods from the likes of Carrier. This has helped put him within arm’s reach of the Republican nomination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/business/economy/carrier-workers-see-costs-not-benefits-of-global-trade.html?_r=0
"A Positive Attitude may not solve all of your problems,
ReplyDeletebut it annoys enough people to make it worth your while."
:)
:)
DeleteTrump Didn’t Put the Con in Conservatism
ReplyDeleteMARCH 20, 2016 1:56 AM March 20, 2016 1:56 am
So, I’m in a time zone far, far away — and also still shaky, although I’m finally managing to hold down some food. Output will still be low, but I wanted to note something about the reactions to the John Harwood interview with Paul Ryan, which are very relevant to understanding the Republican mess.
Liberals have been jumping, rightly, on Ryan’s extraordinary dismissal of any attempt to look at the distribution of tax cuts as “ridiculous.” But conservative writers — even those who are relatively moderate, or at least try to seem that way — clearly still view Ryan as an almost saintly figure: serious, intellectually honest, and compassionate toward the poor.
He isn’t, of course. His various budgets all have the same basic outline: huge tax cuts for the rich combined with savage cuts in benefits for the poor, with the net effect being to increase, not reduce the budget deficit. But he pretends that they’re deficit-reduction proposals by claiming that he will raise trillions in revenue by closing unspecified loopholes and achieve trillions more in unspecified savings. In other words, Ryan has been playing a con game in which he uses magic asterisks to mask a reverse Robin Hood agenda — take from the poor, give to the rich — as deficit hawkery.
This isn’t hard to see, and it has been pointed out many times. Back in 2011, at the height of media Ryanolatry, the truth even became slightly mainstream, as reporters started to point out the absurdities of his assumptions.
But moderate Republican pundits can’t, won’t see the obvious. For them it’s all about affect — how he comes across — which is also why they saw tax-slashing, war-starting Marco Rubio as somehow a break from the failures of the Bush years.
So when these commentators lament the blindness of primary voters, their willingness to be taken in by an obvious con, they might want to take a look in the mirror. Is it really the con that bothers them, or just the vulgarity?
NY Times
.
DeleteEven a blind squirrel...
.
.
ReplyDeleteIf aggressive efforts to deny Donald J. Trump the presidential nomination fail, party leaders say they will try to field an independent candidate for the general election.
A normal person may look at that and see disaster for the GOP. The GOP establishment looks at it and sees job security. No matter what happens with Trump in the election the gridlock in D.C. will continue. The same A-holes (or at least most of them) will be populating the halls of Congress on November 9. [Great B'day present for the old Quirkster by the way. Thank you very much. (For rat, sarcasm off)]
They would rather lose the election than take a chance on Trump (or any other non-establishment type) actually doing anything right. The risks are too great. The American public might start getting uppity and think their vote actually meant something.
Of course, the same apples to the Dems. There wasn't anyway anyone other than Hillary was going to get the nomination this year.
.
.
.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the GOP continue to do the things they do? Simple. Because they can.
It's the same reason Clinton used the counter scheduling strategy in the 90's. It's the same reason Obama ignores the needs of a good part of his base, blacks, minorities, union members, etc. He/They do it because they can. The assumption? Where else is that base going to go?
The GOP establishment sees it the same way. Where is their base going to go? To the Dems? Not in their minds.
Nothing of substance will likely change (with the exceptions of some things that can be done by presidential initiative on foreign policy) if Trump were to win the presidency; however, I see it as a hopeful sign that the public appears to have awaken. At least a little.
The only real change may come when the current crop of dicks dies out from old age.
.
I'm feeling a real tide of support for Trump developing in this joint.
DeleteDoes the above comment by Quirk place Trump in some sort of quasi 'non-dick' category never existing before ?
Only Quirk knows for sure.
.
DeleteOf course, Trump is a dick. The question remains what type of dick is he
All politicians are dicks, it is built into their DNA. Now that he is running for president it remains to be seen whether Trump will continue to be just a run of the mill dick or, if after all of these years, it becomes evident that he too contains that particular gene that controls 'political dickdom' and that the defect is just now starting to manifest itself.
.
Aha ! I told you Glenn Beck was crazy -
ReplyDeleteBECK: CRUZ FULFILLMENT OF MORMON PROPECY...
'THIS IS THE PRIESTHOOD RISING!'.....Drudge
.
ReplyDeleteI see you had another "Q"Nit-Canada the other day, this time in Toronto.
You'll note, Ash, that O'Bumble has had to expand his 'terrorist/terrorist suspect/possible Muslim connection hit list from the US to all NAFTA countries. I expect CAFTA will be absorbed soon.
Meanwhile, it was reported on the local news here that over the past 2 days there have been 6 shootings in Detroit with 2 deaths (for now).
Dearborn and Hamtramck by all accounts have continued to enjoy another pleasant and violence free weekend.
.
Haven't you heard ? - we live in 'one world' now.
DeleteGlad to hear things are temporarily all quiet in Dearborn and Hamtramck, by the way.
A single guy went into an army recruiting center with a knife and said "Allah told me to" how many crazies have done things cause God told them to? Boobie goes and hides under his bed because terrorists are attacking Canada. There's loads of crazy folk, that's for sure, and Bob just one more.
DeleteLots of folks, Ashlikins, far too many.
DeleteMost of us here are a little crazy, Ash, and you more than most, but none so far have gone into an army recruiting center and started slashing yelling the Akbar.
It is a daily occurrence somewhere around the world and nearly weekly in USA, Canada or Europe
I just point it out as there are lots of "Q"Nits occurring, and it's not fair to not mention those in Canada, I believe.
After all, we're neighbors and what tolls for thee tolls for me.
Daily occurrence around the world and weekly 8n the US? I suggest you support that with some stats.
DeleteWhere did you get he was yelling "akbar"?
You are just making stiff up - or it is evidence of your delusion.
Ash you are just a jihadist apologist...
DeleteNaw, it's you and your buddy Bob who see a terrorist around every corner and tremble in fear.
DeleteAsh, very seriously, I just urge you to read 'Jihad Watch' everyday like I do.
DeleteYou will become nauseated by it, if you have any humanity, and I've sure you do.
You could use a little nausea...
You're too comfortable up there in Canada.
Ash, In Turkey an ISIS dude blew himself up killing 3 Israelis and 2 Americans wounding 11 Israelis...
DeleteIn Sinai 18 or so Egyptian police were killed by Isis over the weekend
In Ohio last month a islamic dude screaming allah uakbar went into a restaurant with a machete and started to chop at people.
In Israel dozens of palestinians attempted to stab random folks, including americans...
also ramming of cars into civilians and IDF check points...
Ash might I suggest you are legally blind?
Ash may a problem of 'general awareness', or 'proper orientation to the world' as well.
DeleteOh my, the man in Idaho should be afraid, very afraid.
DeleteAsh, I see you are flippant...
DeleteI hope that you and your family have the privilege to live thru an Islamic attack...
.
ReplyDeleteThe Elk population continues to shrink around Coeur d'Alene
.
How in the world did you come across that ? Thinking of moving out to God's Country ?
DeleteSmoot said he can envision showing indie films in the public space and possibly adding a cigar room as well.
You one for a fine cigar once in a while aren't you Quirk ?
Come on out !
I'll take you fly fishing !!
Strikes in Iraq
ReplyDeleteRocket artillery, attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed two ISIL tactical units.
-- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL tactical vehicles, an ISIL car bomb, two ISIL rocket rails and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Kisik, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL supply cache, and three ISIL rocket rails and suppressed an ISIL sniper position.
-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL headquarters and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed two ISIL supply caches and an ISIL headquarters.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL supply cache and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/03/20/criminal-blockades-are-now-apparently-the-norm-at-trump-rally-protests/
ReplyDeleteWhat if some old guy or gal or some woman giving birth needed to go to the hospital ?
Hell, they don't even think of it.
I've tried to post excerpts from this article three times and they always disappear.
DeleteI've contracted the 'disappearing post virus' again.
Quirk complained about it too, one time.
Good article. Hope someone, maybe Ash, reads it.
The gods give computers to those they wish to drive mad
.
DeleteIt was a false flag operation on my part. Where do you think the 'disappearing post virus' came from.
.
GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE JOB GENERATOR
ReplyDeleteMinnesota generated 21% of its electricity from renewable energy in 2015, up from just six percent a decade ago, putting the state well on pace to exceed its Renewable Energy Standard of 25% by 2025, according to the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Renewable energy includes wind, solar, hydro, and biomass.
“Minnesota’s commitment to renewable energy is showing clear results,” said Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman. “Since 2005, Minnesota’s electric power generated from renewal sources has more than tripled. We have reduced our dependence on polluting coal that must be imported from outside the state, while increasing our own clean energy made right here in Minnesota. It’s a tremendous benefit for our energy sector, our economy and jobs, and our environment.”
In 2007, Minnesota adopted landmark bipartisan legislation, the Next Generation Energy Act. It established one of the nation’s most aggressive Renewable Energy Standards, which requires the state to get 25% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025.
Legislation passed in 2013 also established a Solar Energy Standard, which requires that 1.5% of Minnesota’s electricity come from solar energy by 2020, with a goal of 10% by 2030.
Interestingly, both Iowa, and South Dakota beat that (with more than 25% of their electricity coming from Renewables.)
DeleteThis is a major reason why I'm sticking with the Democrat this election.
Deletehttp://dailycaller.com/2016/03/17/obama-backed-solar-plant-could-be-shut-down-for-not-producing-enough-energy/
DeleteObama-Backed Solar Plant Could Be Shut Down For Not Producing Enough Energy
1.6 BILLION in Government loans....
California regulators may force a massive solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert to shut down after years of under-producing electricity — not to mention the plant was blinding pilots flying over the area and incinerating birds.
The Ivanpah solar plant could be shut down if state regulators don’t give it more time to meet electricity production promises it made as part of its power purchase agreements with utilities, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ivanpah, which got a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Obama administration, only produced a fraction of the power state regulators expected it would. The plant only generated 45 percent of expected power in 2014 and only 68 percent in 2015, according to government data.
And it does all this at a cost of $200 per megawatt hour — nearly six times the cost of electricity from natural gas-fired power plants. Interestingly enough, Ivanpah uses natural gas to supplement its solar production.
That at least is a cogent reason.
ReplyDeleteNot sufficient, mind you, but cogent.
;)
galopn2Sun Mar 20, 03:43:00 PM EDT
ReplyDeleteStrikes in Iraq
Rocket artillery, attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Al Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed two ISIL tactical units.
-- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Hit, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed four ISIL tactical vehicles, an ISIL car bomb, two ISIL rocket rails and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Kisik, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL supply cache, and three ISIL rocket rails and suppressed an ISIL sniper position.
-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and an ISIL headquarters and destroyed two ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed two ISIL supply caches and an ISIL headquarters.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL supply cache and suppressed an ISIL rocket position.
Reply
How many civilians and kids did we kill?
Do we care?
EUROPEAN JEWS ARE MORE JEWISH THAN AFRICAN JEWS
ReplyDeleteHundreds of Ethiopian Israelis marched in Jerusalem after the government cancelled plans to allow their relatives to emigrate from the African nation, calling the move discrimination.
Police and organisers estimated the crowd at up to 2,000 people for Sunday's march, which ended outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
"Stop the suffering, stop the discrimination, stop the racism," demonstrators chanted, holding signs with similar slogans as well as pictures of relatives left behind in Ethiopia.
Israel to restart law of return for Ethiopian Jews
Antaihe Cheol, a 30-year-old resident of northern Israel, said his father and brother have been waiting to immigrate for 20 years.
"This is simply discrimination," Cheol told the AFP news agency.
His friend Ashebo noted the government actively encourages immigration of Jews from France, the United States and Russia.
"When it comes to Jews from Ethiopia - everyone refuses," he said. "It's embarrassing."
Israel's Ethiopian community includes about 135,000 people.
Israel brought the bulk of Ethiopia's Jewish community to the country between 1984 and 1991 under the Law of Return guaranteeing citizenship to all Jews.
However, the law does not apply to the Falash Mura, descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity, many under duress, in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Israeli government in November voted to allow the immigration of some 9,100 Falash Mura.
But on March 7, an official from Netanyahu's office informed members of parliament the decision would not be implemented because of budgetary constraints.
The issue will be discussed in the coming months as part of the budget discussions, the prime minister's office said.
Netanyahu's office considers reuniting Falash Mura families an issue "of humane and social importance".
They don’t even believe their own bullshit.
DeleteIvanpah is a Solar Thermal plant. They're not as cost-efficient as the Solar photo-voltaic systems that are probably 99%+ of solar plants.
ReplyDeleteThat said, electricity production was up 170% in the first qtr. of 2015, compared to the same qtr. in 2014.
The government Did Not make any loans for Ivanpah; they made Loan Guarantees.
WiO above used both terms, loan and loan guarantees.
DeleteI wonder if the Government has had to make good on any of the guarantees.
Security forces retake Albu Obeid area east of Ramadi
ReplyDelete(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced liberating Albu Obeid area and raising the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings east of Ramadi.
The officials said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The forces of the Anti-Terrorism Directorate had managed to liberate the area of Albu Obeid in Khalediya Island east of Ramadi and raising the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings,” noting that, “The security forces inflicted losses in lives and equipment upon ISIS.”
Iraqinews
According to RCP rolling polls Trump is up:
ReplyDelete40+% in New York
13% in Arizona
12% in Pennsylvania
10% in California
Why The Mormons Don't Like The Donald
ReplyDeletehttp://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/mormon-voters-really-dont-like-donald-trump-heres-why#.icvNlxNVW
I've always liked the Mormons. The are widely know to make great and peaceful neighbors. I can testify to this truth myself.
They seem to me to being very silly here though. But good luck to them on their 'outreach to Moslems'.
I think I told the humorous story once of a retired Engineer from the University of Idaho. He was divorced and had four daughters. One eloped. No wedding. He was sick or something for the next one. Then he was divorced and his ex told him that if he showed up at third daughters wedding she would shoot him, and meant it too, so he didn't go.
Finally the last daughter was marrying a Mormon in the Temple in Utah. He thought, 'my last chance !'.
So he got all dressed up, drove to Utah in his VW bug, headed to the Temple and......they wouldn't let him in because he wasn't a Mormon.
Hahaha...he ran The Alley beer joint after he retired for something to do, and lived in a trailer in a low end trailer court. Then, he died, never having gone to any of his daughter's weddings.
Just another scummy cult. Samey-same Baptists, Moslems, Jews, Catholics, Hindus, Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists, and the Manson Gang.
ReplyDeleteAll, the keepers of the most Holy, High Truth, and anointed protectors of the hoi-polloi.