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/

Marco Rubio is an excellent example of the power of the private prison lobby. He has very close ties to the GEO Group, the second-largest for-profit prison company in the United States. GEO was the recipient of a state contract for a $110 million prison during Rubio’s tenure as the Speaker of the House in Florida.

This right after Rubio hired an economic consultant with close ties to the company, which had also donated $40.000 to his political campaign, in 2015

1 minute ago, do or die said:

Marco Rubio is an excellent example of the power of the private prison lobby. He has very close ties to the GEO Group, the second-largest for-profit prison company in the United States. GEO was the recipient of a state contract for a $110 million prison during Rubio’s tenure as the Speaker of the House in Florida.

This right after Rubio hired an economic consultant with close ties to the company, which had also donated $40.000 to his political campaign, in 2015

$40k investment to turn into a $110 million contract... AWESOME ROI. 

 

 

I am really in the wrong business.

3 minutes ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

am really in the wrong business. 

it's amazing how cheap it sometimes is to buy influence in politics.

1 hour ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

The three strike rule effectively takes the sentencing discretion away from Judges. 

And gives a person an option...25 years or dont commit a "strike" crime.

@Mark F Researched - https://www.lnlegal.com/blog/2019/april/understanding-california-s-three-strikes-law/

 

Edited May 29, 20196 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

Influence peddling is rampart in both parties.

1 minute ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

And gives a person an option...25 years or dont commit a crime.

Life is a lot more complicated than that. Hence why, sentencing discretion should not be taken away from a judge and given over to a blanket law. It's draconian. 

An excellent example here:

https://www.aclu.org/other/10-reasons-oppose-3-strikes-youre-out

"An 18-year old high school senior pushes a classmate down to steal his Michael Jordan $150 sneakers -- Strike One; he gets out of jail and shoplifts a jacket from the Bon Marche, pushing aside the clerk as he runs out of the store -- Strik e Two; he gets out of jail, straightens out, and nine years later gets in a fight in a bar and intentionally hits someone, breaking his nose -- criminal behavior, to be sure, but hardly the crime of the century, yet it is Strike Three. He is sent to prison for the rest of his life." 

 

The above example should not carry the same weight as Murder1

31 minutes ago, Mark F said:

it's amazing how cheap it sometimes is to buy influence in politics.

A small price to pay once one decides to sell their soul.

Edited May 29, 20196 yr by Throw Long Bannatyne

14 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

And gives a person an option...25 years or dont commit a "strike" crime.

@Mark F Researched - https://www.lnlegal.com/blog/2019/april/understanding-california-s-three-strikes-law/

 

Which neglects the fact that racism in enforcement impacts people long before a case gets to court.  It's pretty common knowledge that racial profiling alone will put you more at risk of getting in  three-strike jeopardy.  Meanwhile, a bunch of old white crooks are running the U.S. government, long past their third infractions.

If three strikes was applied equally to white-collar crime, we might then begin to have a discussion on its merits.

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

cost of a slice of pizza, one dollar. cost of twenty five years in jail, two million five hundred thousand dollars.

There is a thing in the US called the Prison Industrial complex. There is a judge who took bribes from prison operators, to sentence people to jail.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/08/11/139536686/pa-judge-sentenced-to-28-years-in-massive-juvenile-justice-bribery-scandall.

The USA has twenty five percent of the population of incarcerated people, in the entire world. with five percent of the population.

do some research on it. might change your opinion.

Be aware, Harper was a fan of the "for-profit prison" concept in Canada.

File under, "create a crisis offer a solution".

"In late October, though, news leaked from the Sampson panel suggesting that it was preparing to scrap statutory release, the virtually automatic discharge of prisoners under conditions similar to parole after they've served two-thirds of their sentences. Instead, "you'd have to show why you deserve to be released [at the two-thirds point]," a Canadian Press story quoted an unnamed source "familiar with the panel's report" as saying. "It'll put more people in [prison], so they're going to need more resources."

This has stoked the privatization fears: that the Harper government's law-and-order agenda could unleash a crisis of overcrowding in prisons, and guess what the magical solution will be? Private prisons. There is just one catch: crime experts say all this–dramatically increased prisoner numbers, possible privatization of prisons, and get-tough measures, including increased and mandatory sentences–will probably make Canadian communities less safe, not more."

https://www.straight.com/article-119340/stephen-harper-opens-door-to-prison-privatization

Quote

As if you needed a reminder, here’s where we are: Donald Trump is the president and when he, as president, visited a Navy ship on a recent trip to Japan, the White House instructed the Navy to hide a warship bearing the name of late senator and war hero John McCain during Trump’s visit, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a May 15 email to U.S. Navy and Air Force officials, a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official issued the directive: “‘USS John McCain needs to be out of sight.’ ‘Please confirm #3 will be satisfied,’ the official wrote.” The request to hide visual evidence of John McCain’s legacy ultimately made its way to the highest reaches of U.S. government; acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan reportedly signed off on the order.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/navy-reportedly-tried-hiding-name-of-uss-john-mccain-warship-with-a-tarp-during-trumps-visit.html?via=homepage_taps_top

Mad as a hatter.

Edited May 30, 20196 yr by Mark F

Maybe they should  name a boat after Trumpy then? USS Bone Spurs?

Who's Awesome?

 

Liz is!

 

 

Edited May 30, 20196 yr by wanna-b-fanboy

 

Quote

 

We Can’t Impeach One of the Most Unpopular and Corrupt Presidents Ever and Risk Alienating the Racist Voters Who’d Never Vote for Us Anyway. He might tweet some mean things about us. Or he might tell a bunch of Cadillac dealership owners at Mar-a-Lago that he’s totally innocent and being treated unfairly. Hell, he might even call into an evening cable news show and stammer aimlessly about how he’s the subject of a witch hunt.

by Bob Vulfov

 

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/we-cant-impeach-one-of-the-most-unpopular-and-corrupt-presidents-ever-and-risk-alienating-the-racist-voters-whod-never-vote-for-us-anyway

dry  humour.

Edited May 31, 20196 yr by Mark F

Ah Liz, I wish I could agree with you on this, but I can't- but if I could, I'd still vote for you.

 

https://medium.com/@teamwarren/no-president-is-above-the-law-f4812e580336

 

I don't think the president is above the law- let me make that clear. I do how ever think that it is congress' job to do so. And yes, the senate would be the ones to oust the POTUS. Pretty much like how it is now. I think that they need to tweek the rules to stop the partisianship of this process though and try to minimize when politicians fail to their job and put party before country- that is a must. I don't have a solution for this, I just see that as the major issue is all. Hopefully "I have a plan for that" candidate has a plan for that. I have faith in her.

 

I can see a lot going wrong with treating the Office and the POTUS the same as you would a white collar or hardened criminal. 

2 hours ago, wanna-b-fanboy said:

NO COLLUSION!

Trump is so spectacularly stupid, that he thinks that tariffs are not paid by Americans.

Someone has to stop this dolt.

Tariffs on Mexico, in response to immigration. He's nuts.

Car industry in US is going to suffer, and so will ours.

 

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

Trump is so spectacularly stupid, that he thinks that tariffs are not paid by Americans.

Someone has to stop this dolt.

Tariffs on Mexico, in response to immigration. He's nuts.

Car industry in US is going to suffer, and so will ours.

 

Meh let it play out... apparently the states greatly affected by these Mexican tariffs are trump country.  

Meanwhile in Texas they have allowed....

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Brass-knuckles-Texas-self-defense-13912411.php

1 hour ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Meanwhile in Texas they have allowed....

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Brass-knuckles-Texas-self-defense-13912411.php

Yesterday. " What is with with you idiots and guns? You don't need lethal force "

Today . "What is with you idiots and non lethal force"?

Same people.

Edited June 1, 20196 yr by Zontar

Just another day, just another mass shooting in the USA.

Police name Virginia Beach gunman who killed 12 before dying in gunfight

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/virginia-beach-shooting-1.5158740

Just as his new brilliant Nafta replacement law is tabled, Trump the moron throws a huge monkey wrench into it.stock market goes for a dump.

My theory is that he's playing the market, and makes big transactions the day before he makes these crazy announcements, which then cause the market to go up or down.

That's what I think is happening.

Ask yourself, with him and his advisors knowing he  could do this, which is more likely, he would or wouldn't?

 Worst, biggest crook to ever occupy the Whitehouse.

So sick of this I think I need another break from it.

Edited June 1, 20196 yr by Mark F

23 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Just another day, just another mass shooting in the USA.

Police name Virginia Beach gunman who killed 12 before dying in gunfight

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/virginia-beach-shooting-1.5158740

Shock, Sadness, Sympathy, In Action.............until the next one and the next one and the next one

Well when a bunch of infants in a school are gunned down, and nothing is done.... It's over. 

 

Edited June 1, 20196 yr by Mark F