Lets see if we can keep this thread a little more civil.

I found this interview very interesting.  A lot of soft balls thrown at Trump, he explained his back pedalling on his more extreme issues as a lot of his claims as opening bids for negotiation purposes.  Which .. whatever .. I still think that those are insincere claims he used to get elected.

He does now come across way more presidential then he did prior to the election.  A lot of his noise, yelling, and rhetoric has been scaled back.

Do respect this one though:

Quote

 

Lesley Stahl: Are you gonna take the salary, the president’s salary?

Donald Trump: Well, I’ve never commented on this, but the answer is no. I think I have to by law take $1, so I’ll take $1 a year. But it’s a -- I don’t even know what it is.

Donald Trump: Do you know what the salary is?

Lesley Stahl: $400,000 you’re giving up.

Donald Trump: No, I’m not gonna take the salary. I’m not taking it.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-donald-trump-family-melania-ivanka-lesley-stahl/

Here’s a great snapshot of what FOX tries to do. 

The headline makes you think something sneaky is going on  but the resort is they the “one” referenced in the headline IS Mueller himself 

and of 17 attorneys working the case, 10 are democrats.  The rest are unknown  which leads one to wonder “who cares?”

If the headline was “10 out of 18 attorneys working the case are dems” it wouldn’t mean much would it? 

 

That's pretty lame even by Fox news standards. 

If the US is unwilling to restrict the sale of automatic assault style weapons to protect their citizens from nut-bars than a predictable solution is to make use of the vast military personal they already employ and post them at every school, church, shopping mall and any other location that the public gathers in quantity.  Most Americans would hate to see this sign of force on their streets but the reality of the situation is that it is will only get worse with no movement towards common sense. 

It's not uncommon in many countries such as Turkey, Egypt and S. American hot spots to see military personal stationed with assault weapons scattered throughout populated areas ready to engage.  It would certainly make a psychotic killer think twice if he knew he would not attain a hefty body count to immortalize his worthless life when selecting a soft target.

2 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

If the US is unwilling to restrict the sale of automatic assault style weapons to protect their citizens from nut-bars than a predictable solution is to make use of the vast military personal they already employ and post them at every school, church, shopping mall and any other location that the public gathers in quantity.  Most Americans would hate to see this sign of force on their streets but the reality of the situation is that it is will only get worse with no movement towards common sense. 

It's not uncommon in many countries such as Turkey, Egypt and S. American hot spots to see military personal stationed with assault weapons scattered throughout populated areas ready to engage.  It would certainly make a psychotic killer think twice if he knew he would not attain a hefty body count to immortalize his worthless life when selecting a soft target.

Deploy the military within the US? Wouldn't that require martial law to be declared?

 

Of course, the gunman who killed 13 at Fort Hood didn't worry too much about all the armed soldiers at the base.

1 minute ago, JCon said:

Deploy the military within the US? Wouldn't that require martial law to be declared?

 

Of course, the gunman who killed 13 at Fort Hood didn't worry too much about all the armed soldiers at the base.

Those soldiers were clearly not trained or armed properly.  They should have sent in the teachers.

 

Anybody know what the latest is on the Sandy Hook lawsuit against Remington and their AR-15?

Last I heard was that a judge was letting it go trial, a victory by the plaintiffs and a massive award by the courts against Remington could just be the answer. Manufacturing these types of assault rifles for the general public does seem like negligent entrustment. Civil actions appear to be the only language that Americans understand. 

2 minutes ago, pigseye said:

Anybody know what the latest is on the Sandy Hook lawsuit against Remington and their AR-15?

Last I heard was that a judge was letting it go trial, a victory by the plaintiffs and a massive award by the courts against Remington could just be the answer. Manufacturing these types of assault rifles for the general public does seem like negligent entrustment. Civil actions appear to be the only language that Americans understand. 

I wonder how long they would drag it out?

I wonder if gun manufacturers see that they risk everything by pushing for little regulation. A measured approach, where they "lead" legislators to restricting some forms of high capacity weapons, buying public support, may result in them maintaining support.

38 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Here’s a great snapshot of what FOX tries to do. 

The headline makes you think something sneaky is going on  but the resort is they the “one” referenced in the headline IS Mueller himself 

and of 17 attorneys working the case, 10 are democrats.  The rest are unknown  which leads one to wonder “who cares?”

If the headline was “10 out of 18 attorneys working the case are dems” it wouldn’t mean much would it? 

 

yup....the boss.

They've filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of declining sales (gun sales have declined rapidly over the past year).

They were protected in the lawsuit by a federal law that prohibits suing gun manufactures when the gun is used "as designed and intended".  And since it's designed and intended to kill people, I suppose the Sandy Hook massacre actually is their best defense... (I say with horrified sarcasm)

 

 

...Manifort is stalling, trying to drag things out, while hoping for a pardon.   But I suspect Mueller is squaring the circle, behind him.

Doesn't sound like there is much smoke in the Gates guilty plea or that he has cut a deal to roll over on anyone

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/gates-guilty-plea-mueller-russia/index.html

 

Quote

 

Gates, bearded and wearing a blue suit, tie and cuff links, listened to the judge read the offenses he is agreeing to plead guilty to and the possibility of being sentenced to up to 57 to 71 months in prison. He said "Yes, your honor" repeatedly as Judge Amy Berman Jackson read the court documents. 

Gates said that despite his "initial desire to vigorously defend myself," he has had a "change of heart" in order to protect his family, according to a letter sent to his family and friends, obtained by CNN from a Gates friend.

"The reality of how long this legal process will likely take, the cost, and the circus-like atmosphere of an anticipated trial are too much," Gates wrote. "I will better serve my family moving forward by exiting this process."

He wrote that it was "difficult decision" to make, but that ensuring his family's "well-being is first and foremost."

"The consequence is the public humiliation, which at this moment seems like a small price to pay for what our children would have to endure otherwise," he said.

 

 

3 minutes ago, pigseye said:

Doesn't sound like there is much smoke in the Gates guilty plea or that he has cut a deal to roll over on anyone

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/gates-guilty-plea-mueller-russia/index.html

 

 

You think he's pleading guilty and *not* cooperating?

3 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

You think he's pleading guilty and *not* cooperating?

Well, he's only 45 and facing at most 5 years in jail. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. 

15 minutes ago, do or die said:

...Manifort is stalling, trying to drag things out, while hoping for a pardon.   But I suspect Mueller is squaring the circle, behind him.

Ive seen some speculation that Mueller doesnt even want to flip Manafort and that he, along with Trump, would be the two main targets.  By many accounts Manafort is a terrible person (his own daughter was caught saying he murdered people via hacked texts).  But one would think (being a layperson) that the goal would be to flip Manafort because he's so linked to some of the allegations about Trump. 

5 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Ive seen some speculation that Mueller doesnt even want to flip Manafort and that he, along with Trump, would be the two main targets.  By many accounts Manafort is a terrible person (his own daughter was caught saying he murdered people via hacked texts).  But one would think (being a layperson) that the goal would be to flip Manafort because he's so linked to some of the allegations about Trump. 

I don't think flipping is even an option for Manafort. If he is really that deep in bed with the Russian Oligarchs then reprisal from them is probably scares him most.  

Manifort's big problem is that most of the new charges are based on co-actions with Gates -financing based "paper" charges - prosecution will display bank account A, invoice B, memorandum C. et al.  Claiming that Gates is lying or there are other explanations, would be next to impossible.  

Mueller is also currently interviewing that fella, who is alleged to have given Manifort 18M, for a potential WH posting.  The walls are absolutely closing  in on him.

 

Edited February 23, 20187 yr by do or die

Don't think Manafort will be getting a good night's sleep, the well he is in is dark and deep.

12 minutes ago, do or die said:

Manifort's big problem is that most of the new charges are based on co-actions with Gates -financing based "paper" charges - prosecution will display bank account A, invoice B, memorandum C. et al.  Claiming that Gates is lying or there are other explanations, would be next to impossible.  

Mueller is also currently interviewing that fella, who is alleged to have given Manifort 18M, for a potential WH posting.  The walls are absolutely closing  in on him.

 

All these charges mean absolutely nothing though if you can't tie Manafort back to Russian intelligence. This Kilimnik character, Manaforts Russian connection, was cleared of being part of Russian intelligence last year already in the Ukraine investigation. There's an old Russian saying, three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead. 

2 hours ago, pigseye said:

Can you cite sources for your first three comments, I am genuinely interested to know where you got this information from?

A quick wiki search shows that coal is still the number 1 source for energy production in the world.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption

 

Your page shows coal is #1 in electrical generation.  Oil is #1 in total energy supply and consumption. 

4 minutes ago, Brandon Blue&Gold said:

Your page shows coal is #1 in electrical generation.  Oil is #1 in total energy supply and consumption. 

Good clarification, everything including renewables are well behind coal in what they do, generate electricity.  

Mulller just filed MORE charges against Manifort. 

In the 37-page indictment issued in Virginia, prosecutors describe a "scheme" in which the two longtime business partners allegedly laundered $30 million, failed to pay taxes for almost 10 years and used real estate they owned to fraudulently secure more than $20 million in loans.  

Some of the charges Gates pleaded guilty to, have now been added to the previous indictment.

 

Edited February 23, 20187 yr by do or die

18 minutes ago, pigseye said:

Good clarification, everything including renewables are well behind coal in what they do, generate electricity.  

Actually Natural Gas is right behind coal for electricity generation in the States and is probably going to overtake it shortly if it hasn't already.  Much cleaner and more efficient than coal and the Americans have a lot of it.  (Yes I know it's still not the best for the environment but it beats coal)

https://instituteforenergyresearch.org/topics/encyclopedia/coal/