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/

2 minutes ago, Zontar said:

Iran thing isn't about oil.  It's about the desire to contain if not elimitate Iranian political influence in the region it has through Shia islam.

 Unintended consequence of Iraq war was the rise of Shia influence in post war Iraq. Hezbollah ( Shia) presence and influence in South Lebanon has long been a thorn in the side of Israel. Hezbollah is primarily financed and armed by Iran.

US/Ismall has long resented Syrian influence in N.Lebanon. They tacitly support Hezbollah in the south as a buffer vs Israel.

For the past 50 years the US/Israel policy has either bought off or flattenend the leading Arab nations. Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Arab N. Africa are all on board.

Syria and Iran (not Arab but influential as previously mentioned ) are the lone holdouts. 

Since the Iranian revolution all US administrations have wanted Iran neutered to varying degrees. For example Obama tried to buy them off with nuclear technology.  Reagan tried to kill them off by arming Iraq. Israel uses assassination of scientific and military leaders.

The real passionate Iran haters were in the Bush 2 administration some of which like Bolton have wormed their way into the Trump orbit.

 

 

 

Solid post.

I have heard a few rumblings about what you have mentioned above- do you have any links I can check out?

37 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

Solid post.

I have heard a few rumblings about what you have mentioned above- do you have any links I can check out?

Thanks. Pat Buchanan just wrote a column on this. He has been a constant critic of US policy in the middle east. Anti interventionist.  Ditto Eric Margolis 

When the truth about the imbecile Trump is told, it's going to be worse than we already know.

Quote

The barrier that President Trump wants to build along the Mexico border will be a steel bollard fence, not a concrete wall as he long promised, and the president is fine with that. He has a few other things he would like to change, though.

The bollards, or “slats,” as he prefers to call them, should be painted “flat black,” a dark hue that would absorb heat in the summer, making the metal too hot for climbers to scale, Trump has recently told White House aides, Homeland Security officials and military engineers.

And the tips of the bollards should be pointed, not round, the president insists, describing in graphic terms the potential injuries that border crossers might receive. Trump has said the wall’s current blueprints include too many gates — placed at periodic intervals to allow vehicles and people through — and he wants the openings to be smaller.

At a moment when the White House is diverting billions of dollars in military funds to fast-track construction, the president is micromanaging the project down to the smallest design details. But Trump’s frequently shifting instructions and suggestions have left engineers and aides confused, according to current and former administration officials.

This is what he spends his time thinking about.

I hope somebody sane has the guts to keep the nuclear codes away from this dimwitt.

BERNIE!

 

 

Wow. First Republican to go grow a spine and stand up for the country.

 

Good on him.

 

 

 

Will be interesting to see the fallout from this. Nice to finally see a GOP member of congress put Country before party. 

Edited May 19, 20196 yr by wanna-b-fanboy

it is tough to keep up with the madness of King Donald.

Working for him must be absolute hell.

 

If he was truly "courageous" and truly believed what he says he would be leading the charge by beginning and introducing the procedures for impeachment formally.

Until then he's just another politician on twitter enjoying all the pats on the back from the #Resistance and woke media.

Edited May 19, 20196 yr by Zontar

11 minutes ago, Zontar said:

If he was truly "courageous" and truly believed what he says he would be leading the charge by beginning and introducing the procedures for impeachment formally.

Until then he's just another politician on twitter enjoying all the pats on the back from the #Resistance and woke media.

I disagree, I don't think he needs to be spearheading the impeachment train to show courage- I think that when you do the morally correct choice and stand to loose YUGE politically, that takes courage in today's political landscape. 

 

Quote

Anti-money laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving legal entities controlled by Donald J. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog.

The transactions, some of which involved Mr. Trump’s now-defunct foundation, set off alerts in a computer system designed to detect illicit activity, according to five current and former bank employees.

But executives at Deutsche Bank, which has lent billions of dollars to the Trump and Kushner companies, rejected their employees’ advice. The reports were never filed with the government.
 

 

"executives" ... wonder who that was.

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

Edited May 19, 20196 yr by Mark F

30 minutes ago, Mark F said:

"executives" ... wonder who that was.

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

Yeah totally!

 

I was just reading an article in the NYT- it was really brutal the level of criminality gets a pass when YUGE amount of money is involved. I mean, yeah I understand corruption and all that but the level at (aptly called) D.B., is astounding. 

Quite the thread but... Worth it. 

25 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Quite the thread but... Worth it. 

Yeah, it was something to see those excerpts highlighted on their own. helps drive the message home. I especially like the fact she is giving the page # 

Wow... this administration knows no bounds...

Now there is a back channel between the WH and AG to keep a bit of a buffer between Barr and trump... Barr's son-in-law... ffs:

 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/william-barr-son-in-law-white-house?verso=true

I gotta say trump is actually on the right side of this US aggression towards Iran- 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-frustrated-by-advisers-is-not-convinced-the-time-is-right-to-attack-iran/2019/05/15/bbf5835e-1fbf-4035-a744-12799213e824_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2b0ed38939de

Quote

Trump “wants to talk to the Iranians; he wants a deal” and is open to negotiation with ... 

 

 

 

Oh wait... never mind

 

52 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

I gotta say trump is actually on the right side of this US aggression towards Iran- 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-frustrated-by-advisers-is-not-convinced-the-time-is-right-to-attack-iran/2019/05/15/bbf5835e-1fbf-4035-a744-12799213e824_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2b0ed38939de

 

 

 

Oh wait... never mind

 

Typical Trump carrot and stick approach just like N.Korea. More than a few surrounding Trump who would prefer all stick and no carrot 

12 minutes ago, Zontar said:

Typical Trump carrot and stick approach just like N.Korea. More than a few surrounding Trump who would prefer all stick and no carrot 

I hope so... but where is the carrot here?

He's been ratcheting tension with Iran since day one. 

 

I hope you are right.

6 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

I hope so... but where is the carrot here?

He's been ratcheting tension with Iran since day one. 

 

I hope you are right.

US has had pretty stiff sanctions in place since 1979. Lots of bargaining there if both sides were serious. 

10 minutes ago, Zontar said:

US has had pretty stiff sanctions in place since 1979. Lots of bargaining there if both sides were serious. 

I thought those sanctions were removed with the Iran deal with Obama? the reimposed by trump when he took office. Ironically easing sanctions against russia, who is a greater threat to the USA than Iran is... 

So... trump is going to reinstate Obama era sanction relief in exchange for Iran's cooperation in not pursuing Nuclear weapons?

Its more about if they are at War he cant be removed as president

4 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

I thought those sanctions were removed with the Iran deal with Obama? the reimposed by trump when he took office. Ironically easing sanctions against russia, who is a greater threat to the USA than Iran is... 

So... trump is going to reinstate Obama era sanction relief in exchange for Iran's cooperation in not pursuing Nuclear weapons?

Iirc just the sanctions involving nuclear energy tech.  Drove Israel and the Bolton crowd bananas .

1 hour ago, Goalie said:

Its more about if they are at War he cant be removed as president

Holy ****. You might be right.

 

The days will get darker and darker for Trump and his family, Duetsche Bank and many of Trump's cronies.

Remember Trump didn't need any help and has the greatest memory of all time.

 

 Good twitter thread by the lone GOP'r

He goes point by point in disproving the GOP talking points in regards to the Mueller report. it's quite a good read.

Edited May 20, 20196 yr by wanna-b-fanboy