Archive for the ‘Trump, President Donald J.’ Category
October 21, 2020
It’s no secret that American politics has become increasingly – and maybe, irreversibly – polarized.
Obama is hitting the campaign trail for Biden.
I expect that Obama will lay blame for the political polarization on Trump and his band of ignorant deplorables.
In anticipation, let’s look at some inconvenient facts and put them in perspective…
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Way back in 2014, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd observed:
Polarization is no longer just polluting the system — it’s paralyzing it.
The deepening divide between the right and the left has largely hollowed out the center of American politics.
Gone are the politicians who once occupied the large “middle” and the voters who once gravitated to them.
Todd’s observations were true then, and they’re true now.
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The Pew Research Center has tracked party identity and ideology for decades.
One way they do it is by scoring the Republicans and Democrats on a 10-item scale of political values.
Based on the latest Pew data (from 2017), here’s where we stand:
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What the chart means …
Democrats cluster to the left, Republicans cluster to the right.
Less than 10 percent in each party overlaps ideologically with the other side.
That’s where we are.
How did we get here?
(more…)
Posted in Ideology - polarization, Obama, Political polarization, Trump, President Donald J., Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
September 29, 2020
Trump’s low taxes were courtesy of an “unwitting gift” from Obama-Biden !
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It didn’t surprise me that Trump paid virtually no income taxes for the past decade.
But, I was surprised to read an under-hyped part of the story:
Starting in 2010 (Trump) claimed, and received, an income tax refund totaling $72.9 million — all the federal income tax he had paid for 2005 through 2008, plus interest.
(The $72.9 million refund) was “an unwitting gift from an unlikely source — Barack Obama.” Source
Say, what?
Here’s the relevant part of the story…
(more…)
Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, Income Taxes, Taxes, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
August 24, 2020
Pre-convention, Team Trump released the President’s “core” priorities for his 2nd term.
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Here is the initiative in each category that caught my eye:
- Jobs: Provide “Made in America” Tax Credits
- Covid-19: Launch vaccine by end of 2020; nationalize all critical medicines and medical supplies.
- China: No Federal Contracts for Companies who Outsource to China
- Healthcare: Cover All Pre-Existing Conditions and Protect Social Security and Medicare
- Education: Provide School Choice to Every Child in America
- The Swamp: Pass Congressional Term Limits
- Police: Fully Fund and Hire More Police and Law Enforcement Officers
- Immigration: Block Illegal Immigrants from Becoming Eligible for Taxpayer-Funded Welfare, Healthcare, and Free College Tuition
- Innovation: Win the Race to 5G and Establish a National High-Speed Wireless Internet Network
- Foreign Policy: Stop Endless Wars and Bring Our Troops Home
Here’s the full list…
(more…)
Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
July 1, 2020
More specifically, a recent Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters found:
38% think Biden is suffering dementia … the breakdown: 66% of GOP, 30% of Independents, 20% of Dems
48% do not think Biden is suffering dementia … apparently, they think either (1) he’s sharp as a tack, or (2) he’s just “Joe being Joe”, or (3) there’s no dementia, he just started long ago at a low base
14% said they didn’t know or were unsure … or were, themselves hopelessly confused.
Drilling down on the survey’s results….
(more…)
Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, Biden, Joe, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
April 15, 2020
Let’s start with a refresher course on the story of Bre’r Rabbit:
Br’er Rabbit was constantly being pursued by Br’er Fox, who had personal dinner plans for the rabbit.
One day, when grabbed by Br’er Fox, the helpless but cunning Br’er Rabbit pleads, “Do any thing you want to me, but please, Br’er Fox, don’t fling me into the brier-patch.”
That prompted Br’er Fox to do exactly that.
But, Br’er Rabbit was born in this brier patch, and was at home in thickets.
So, the resourceful Br’er Rabbit used the thorns and briers as a safe haven and the threatening fox was thwarted.. Source
OK, what does the story of Br’er Rabbit have to do with the coronavirus, the governors and President Trump?
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In this Monday’s press conference, Trump went off on his “total authority” to determine the start and speed of the country’s re-opening.
I found that odd since Trump resisted calls that he order a nationwide shutdown. Rather, he was steadfast the the Feds could provide guidelines, but that the ultimate decisions were in the hands of the governors. Why the change of heart?
Predictably, the press went wild on “King Trump – the authoritarian despot”.
Governors (think: Gov. Andrew “Not My Fault” Cuomo) started shrieking “unconstitutional” … asserted that they were in charge … and threatened to sue to maintain control over the re-opening.
Then at the Tuesday press conference, Trump did an about face, saying that governors would be in charge … that Feds would just provide support … and. most important, the governors would be held accountable.
The press reported: “Trump folds under pressure from Governors”.
BINGO! The light bulb went on.
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A friend of mine has long opined that “Trump is playing chess while everybody else is playing checkers”.
I used to think that was a long reach, but over time, I’ve started to think my friend is right.
Think about it.
For the past couple of months, Trump has been held totally accountable for the coronavirus response.
Even when unjustified, the press and governors laid every stumble at his doorstep. Why are the test kits late and few? Why doesn’t NY have enough ventilators? Etc.
My view: Re-opening the economy is going to be long and messy. There will be stumbles, retreats and disappointments.
Why would Trump want to “own” that whole process? Why would he want to be the only person held accountable things that happen — large and small?
Answer: He wouldn’t.
But, if his opening position had been that the governors own it and they’ll be the ones held accountable, he would have been accused of shirking his buck-stops-here responsibilities. The press and governors would have rebelled.
Instead, he pulled a variation of Br’er Rabbit’s “get what you want” gambit… getting the governors to deprive him of the authority … and demand that they get the authority (and accountability). They united to throw Trump into the thicket patch. So there, Mr. President!
Now, when things large or small go haywire, Trump can simply point to the accountability-demanding governors.
Check … and CHECKMATE!
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Addendum: A loyal reader alerted me to a similar analogy – Tom Sawyer tricking his buddies into painting a fence for him. See Trump Whitewashes the Fence
Posted in Coronavirus - Covid 19, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
April 13, 2020
Biden said he did … and it got him 4 Pinocchios.
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Seems like this one just won’t go away…
Fortunately, the fact-checkers at the Washington Post — not exactly a right-wing, Trump-loving rag — looked into the “said it was a hoax” claim when Crazy Joe started running it in a campaign ad.
What did they find?
Let’s start with the ad’s “manipulation”:
The video shows a montage of intentionally unflattering clips of President Trump.
So far, it looks like a standard Internet campaign ad.
At the 10-second mark, the camera shows a tight shot of the president saying “coronavirus” and then cuts to a wide shot where he says, “this is their new hoax.”
What’s wrong with that?
The fact-checker explains….
(more…)
Posted in Coronavirus - Covid 19, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
March 29, 2020
Last week, White House coronavirus response coordinator (and media-certified truth-teller) Dr. Deborah Birx praised President Donald Trump’s attentiveness and ability to analyze and integrate data, linking his capacity to do so with his business background.
Asked her perspective on Trump’s performance both with the public and “behind the scenes”, Dr. Birx responded in an interview:
He’s been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data.
And I think his ability to analyze and integrate data, that comes out of his long history in business, [has] really been a real benefit during these discussions about medical issues.
Because, in the end, data is data, and he understands its importance.
And that all comes from the president seeing the data and then really directing these policies and the guidelines that go out to the American people.
Not bad for a guy who the media tags to be anti-science (and stupid).
And, based on the latest polls, the public seems to agree with Dr. Birx, not the media.
Here’s the data…
(more…)
Posted in Coronavirus - Covid 19, Polls & Surveys, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
February 25, 2020
Trump is despised by internationally, right?
Well, don’t tell the folks in India.
Over 100,000 packed a stadium rally for him.
Instead of the Star Spangled Banner or Hail to the Chief, the Indians ushered him into the rally to Village People’s classic Macho, Macho Man.
This clip – which, for some reason, isn’t being looped on many stations – is hysterical … well worth viewing.
When you click the link, be sure to ‘unmute’ the video (by moving your cursor over the video and ‘unchecking’ the x next to the speaker icon) … and watch the Trump-hatted crowd dancing.
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India plays “Macho Man” by Village People as Trump enters Sardar Patel Stadium
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By end-of-day, I expect MSNBC to charge the Indians with election meddling …
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Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, India, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
January 3, 2020
Who’s the man that Americans most admire?
According to Gallup — the most trusted polling organization — it’s a dead heat between former President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump.
Photo source: Gallup
Both are “most admired” by 18% of Americans.
Trump’s score increased by 5 percentage points from 2018.
Obama’s inched down by a point over that period.
Pundits say that Trump’s increase is mostly attributable to the continuing economic boom
I’ll take that…
Obama’s decline?
In 2018, Obama was “most admired” by 39% of Dems … that number dropped to 35% in 2019.
Hypotheses include:
- Out of sight, out of mind … happens to all former presidents.
- Way more “hope” than “change”
- Not progressive enough for 2019 Dems.
Gallup didn’t offer a point-of-view as to whether impeachment boosted or dampened Trump’s scores.
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Posted in Obama, Polls & Surveys, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
October 7, 2019
Whose approval numbers were higher – Trump’s or Obama’s?
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Well, at this stage of their presidencies, Trump and Obama had approval ratings that were statistically equal.
Can’t be right … can it?
Below is the composite chart from RealClearPolitics — the bible of poll-of-polls aggregation.
Trump’s numbers are the bolder lines – black for approval, red for disapproval. Obama’s are the fainter lines – same color scheme.
Focus on the end-points — where the black lines converge.
That may be a little hard to read, so let’s zoom in to the summary box at the top…
(more…)
Posted in Obama, Polls & Surveys, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
October 3, 2019
“Resist” may be alive and well … with the tables turned
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Yesterday we ran through a couple of scenarios if Trump did end up getting bounced from office.
The scenarios assumed that Trump would still run in 2020, probably against Warren, maybe with a “moderate” independent jumping in.
My bet: Trump would be be re-elected.
Why?
Largely because Trump supporters would turn out in droves, angry that their votes were overturned by flimsy political machinations … and because:
“In recent interviews of several big-money Democratic donors and fundraisers in the business community, CNBC has found that this opinion is becoming widely shared as Warren surges against Joe Biden.”
Specifically, big bank executives and hedge fund managers that electing Warren would be tantamount to “shutting down their industry.”
And, oh yeah, there’s that wealth tax that she has been proposing.
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Even while pulling back their support, some Wall Streeters are strategizing for a possible life under President Warren…
(more…)
Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, Trump, President Donald J., Warren, Elizabeth | Leave a Comment »
October 2, 2019
Big new from today’s New York Times…
Here are my takeaways (with emphasis added):
The Democratic head of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, learned about the outlines of a C.I.A. officer’s concerns that President Trump had abused his power days before the officer filed a whistle-blower complaint.
The C.I.A. officer approached a House Intelligence Committee aide with his concerns about Mr. Trump.
The House staff member, following the committee’s procedures, suggested the officer find a lawyer to advise him and file a whistle-blower complaint. The aide shared some of what the officer conveyed to Mr. Schiff.
The early account explains how Mr. Schiff knew to press for the complaint when the Trump administration initially blocked lawmakers from seeing it.
The whistle-blower’s decision to offer what amounted to an early warning to the intelligence committee’s Democrats is sure to thrust Mr. Schiff even more forcefully into the center of the controversy.
Note:: Schiff had said publicly (on tape)that neither he nor his staff “have spoken directly to the whistleblower” before the complaint was made public.
Oops.
The entire NYT article is worth reading … especially since it’s from the Trump-adverse New York Times.
Draw your own conclusions.
Ah, the plot thickens.
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Posted in Impeachment, NY Times, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
October 2, 2019
Impeachment imbroglio raises some very interesting scenarios.
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Over the weekend, mused about possible outcomes for the Dems impeachment offensive and the impact on the 2020 election.
My current bet:
- House will approve articles of impeachment on a straight party line vote (regardless of any evidence or legal logic) … a couple of GOP reps jump ship, allowing Pelosi to position the vote as bi-partisan.
- A majority of Senators will vote to remove Trump from office but the vote won’t be close to the 2/3s threshold that’s needed, so Trump survives.
- Biden will be toast, so it’ll be Warren versus Trump … and maybe an Indie will jump in.
- It’ll be Nixon vs. McGovern 2.0 … as pro-Trumpsters come out of the woodwork in droves … and Dem fat cats reject Warren’s brand of socialism.
But, there are a couple of other interesting “what if” scenarios…
(more…)
Posted in 2020 Presidential Campaign, Impeachment, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
September 23, 2019
Russiagate, the Mueller fail … and now the Ukrainian whistleblower fiasco bring back memories of legendary cartoon character Wile E. Coyote.
First, some background for younger readers.
Back in the olden days, there was a cartoon series called Looney Tunes. One of the main characters was a clever, ground-running bird named Road Runner.
Road Runner’s nemesis was a wannabe clever coyote named Wile E. Coyote (get it?).
Wile E. spent every waking hour crafting devious plots to “get” and eat the Road Runner.
Invariably, the plots failed … and often boomeranged … inflicting deserved pain and anguish on Wile E. Coyote.
For 3 minutes of flashback entertainment, see “Wile E. Coyotes Top 10 Fails”
Looks to me like Wile E. is on the Dems payroll these days.
Evidence: the unraveling of the Ukrainian “bombshell”…
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Using Federal whistleblower statute for cover, an “intelligence officer” files a workplace complaint that President Trump threatened to cut off foreign aid to the Ukraine if the Uke Prez didn’t restart an investigation into corrupt activities by Hunter Biden — Sleepy Joe’s son.
It’s alleged that Hunter’s firm rallied some dough from the Chinese, laundered it, and plopped it into Uke energy companies.
When the Ukes started poking around, then VP Biden stepped in and threatened to pull the plug on a billion dollar loan guarantee for the Ukes unless they called off the investigative dogs who were nipping at Hunter’s heels. They did.
Want evidence?
In a classic video appearance:
Joe Biden brags about how he threatened to pull $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine if it didn’t immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.
The prosecutor, who was fired, was leading a corruption investigation into a company that employed Biden’s son, Hunter.
Trump admits that he told the Uke Prez — in a top-to-top classified phone call — to re-open the probe.
The whistleblower toots to an Inspector General that Trump pulled a no-no and the impeachment lobby rallied to the cause.
But, the case seems to be unraveling.
Some reports say that the alleged incident isn’t even covered by Fed whistleblower statutes, so the process is compromised.
But, Trump offered an illegal quid pro quo … that’s a big deal and needs spotlighting, right?
Well, some folks who were listening in on the call are saying that Trump didn’t offer a quid pro quo or threaten the Uke Prez.
Did you notice the nuance?
That’s what folks who were listening in report.
Turns out that the whistleblower wasn’t even on the call.
He was simply blowing his whistle on the basis of a rumor that he heard.
Say, what?
Oh, and did I mention that the whistleblower is alleged to be a Democratic political hack?
Or, maybe it’s Wile E. Coyote.
I guess we’ll eventually find out.
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Posted in Impeachment, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
August 9, 2019
Last week — following Trump’s tweet calling out Baltimore — we reminded readers that: Once upon a time, Baltimore was thriving…
Noting former mayor William Donald Schaefer’s positive leadership and attention to detail, concluded:
imagine a mega-initiative to clean-up the inner city — haul away the garbage (and maybe some of the rats).
Hire Baltimore’s notorious squeegee boys (and other unemployed residents) to attack the problem.
It wouldn’t fix all of Baltimore’s problems, but it would be a conspicuous step forward.
Well, the city administration didn’t rally the notorious squeegee boys (nor anybody else, as near as we can tell).
But, some people did step up…
(more…)
Posted in Baltimore, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
July 16, 2019
Unforced error or political brilliance?
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These days — with the S&P over 3,000 and all politicians proving to be incompetent idiots — I’m finding politics decreasingly interesting, save for its entertainment value.
And, there’s plenty of that, for sue.
Cue Trump’s shocking (?) weekend tweet … and the nationally televised press conference by the self-named “Squad”.
Let’s run through that …
(more…)
Posted in AOC - The Squad, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
July 8, 2019
5 point surge in past couple of months.
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If it were Rasmussen, we’d have to dismiss it as right-side bias, but this is an ABC-Washington Post Survey that’s reporting that despite a constant barrage of negative media coverage and a majority feeling that he acts unpresidential:
Aided by a strong economy and perceptions that he has dealt with it effectively, President Trump’s approval rating has risen to the highest point of his presidency.
Specifically, his approval has gone from 42% in April to 47% in July … a 5-point gain.
He’s still underwater by 3 points — 47% to 50% … but that gap has closed from the 12 point deficit in April) 42% to 54%).
How can this possibly be?
(more…)
Posted in Polls & Surveys, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
June 10, 2019
Pelosi spews silly-talk; GOP Senators outted as border-indifferent.
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OK, Trumps threatens Mexico with tariffs unless they help with the border crisis.
Think “wallets” and you’ve variant of a Teddy Roosevelt negotiating principle: “If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
Mainsteam media made fun and lambasted (“won’t work”) Dems cried foul (”abuse of power”); some GOP Senators jumped ship (opting to side with corporate donors).
But, within a week, an agreement is reached with Mexico agreeing to militarize its southern border and hold asylum seekers in Mexico.
Not a bad week, right?
But, there were some losers…
(more…)
Posted in Border Security, Border walls, Mexico, Negotiations, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
May 14, 2019
DOJ focus shifts to counterintelligence effort that Barr called ‘spying’
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According to the NY Times…
AG Barr has assigned a top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation.
John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, has a history of serving as a special prosecutor investigating potential wrongdoing among national security officials.
Opening a DOJ investigation is “a move that President Trump has long called for but that could anger law enforcement officials who insist that scrutiny of the Trump campaign was lawful.”
Now, there are 3 related investigations…
(more…)
Posted in Barr, AG William, Mueller, Mueller Special Prosecutor, Russia - Russians, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
May 13, 2019
GOP gambit makes Mueller’s testimony less appealing (to Dems)
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After weeks of hyperventilating about the need for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler abruptly cancelled this week’s planned inquisition.
Note: The story isn’t that Trump wouldn’t let Mueller testify – he said it was up to Barr and Mueller.
So, why did Nadler suddenly back off?
(more…)
Posted in Congress - Senate, Obstruction of justice, Russia - Russians, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
March 23, 2019
“It may be that Mr. Trump has kept repeating his mantra of ‘no collusion’ because it’s true.”
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That’s a conclusion the the NYT editorial staff reached.
But that conclusion was apparently tough for the Times to swallow, so the editors pulled a Comey in their editorial.
Remember when Comey said: “Here’s a list of all the laws and policies that Secretary Clinton violated, but no reasonable prosecutor would indict her”?
Well, the Times – apparently still grateful for the memo that Comey leaked to them to get the special counsel rolling – styled their editorial after his Clinton ruling.
After the obligatory reaffirmation of Robert Mueller as “a man whose name is synonymous with integrity and fairness”, the Times reheated all of allegations about collusion and obstruction that Mueller decided didn’t merit indictment.
The Times conceded (I think) that the investigation was ‘by the book’ and fair.
But, unlike the Clinton-Comey affair, when the glee-dancing Times said that was time to turn the page, this time – since Trump is center stage – they declare:
William Barr, the attorney general, needs to release as much of Mr. Mueller’s work as he possibly can, and soon.
All Americans deserve the chance to review those findings and reach their own conclusions.
Whatever happened to “turn the page”?
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Posted in Russia - Russians, Special Counsel - Mueller, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
February 18, 2019
Last week, we posted Rasmussen poll results indicating that Trump’s approval got a bump after the SOTU.
See Trump approval up since SOTU…
Since Rasmussen leans right and doesn’t use classic interviewing techniques, it’s easy for some folks to dismiss the numbers.
But, Gallup is the gold standard of polling, right?
Well, the Rasmussen conclusion seems to be corroborated by Gallup.
The most recent Gallup survey indicates that (1) Trump has more than bounced back from the shutdown dip, and (2) His approval – which is at a high water mark – is double that of Congress!
So, what’s going on?
(more…)
Posted in Border Security, Border walls, Polls & Surveys, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
February 15, 2019
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve put up a few posts addressing the border wall legislative mess.
To get you ready for weekend cocktail party debates on “the bill” and National Emergency, I’ve pulled together the posts into a sort of border wall primer.
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For openers, Dems like to say that Trump doesn’t have a plan … or that his defacto plan is “a concrete wall from sea to sea”.
Yes, the “build the wall” campaign rhetoric provides fodder for the sea-to-sea claimers, but Trumps plan (yes, there is one) has evolved to about 225 miles of steel slat barriers, strategically placed to slow the inbound flow across the borders and channel border crossers to bolstered “ports-of-entry.
See Cutting to the chase: What exactly is Trump demanding?
But, walls are ineffective and fundamentally immoral, right?
(more…)
Posted in Border Security, Border walls, Pelosi, Nancy, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
February 11, 2019
May put a new paint job on conference committee negotiations.
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First, a disclaimer of sorts.
Rasmussen skews right and its surveys are scoffed at by most traditional pollsters because they’re conducted without human contact … folks just answer questions via touch tone phone responses.
That said, I’ve found Rasmussen to be a good predictor on sensitive issues when people are reluctant to tell somebody what they think, but are willing to interact with an impersonal computer.
Bottom line: Rasmussen says “Trump’s approval rating among likely voters has soared since the State of the Union and are at an all time high.”
More specifically…
(more…)
Posted in Polls & Surveys, SOTU, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
February 9, 2019
MUST READ: Is this the trick that President Trump has up his sleeve?
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In the last few days, Trump has seemed way too sanguine about the outcome of the conference committee trying to hash out a budget resolution … especially since the best case (from Trump’s perspective) is a token amount of money that is tightly specified so that it’s not to be used to construct a “wall”.
Trump also has signaled that he won’t force another government shutdown and won’t declare a national emergency … and, indicated that he might be able to operate under existing “executive authority“.
So, what’s he got up his sleeve?
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In a prior post, we posed a gut-check question for Pelosi (and anybody else) who says that walls are immoral and don’t work:
Should the border wall between San Diego and Tijuana be torn down?
Well, late Friday afternoon when the media was busy with the Bezos and Virginia fiascos, the San Diego – Tijuana story took a strange twist.
The DHS issued a press release headlined “DHS Issues Waiver to Expedite Secondary Fence Replacement Project in San Diego“.
click to view the press release on the DHS site
This may be a signal of what’s to come, so let’s drill down on it…
(more…)
Posted in Border Security, Border walls, IIRIR Act, Pelosi & Schumer, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
February 6, 2019
Twas a bad night for the haters, following a very bad week.
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Imagine if Pelosi had resisted the theatrical power-play of delaying the SOTU address.
If she had kept to the traditional schedule, Trump wouldn’t have had these current events mega-talking points…
(more…)
Posted in SOTU, Trump, President Donald J., Trump-haters | Leave a Comment »
January 28, 2019
And. what’s his next move?
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Gotta admit, I was surprised that the self-proclaimed tough man folded so quickly.
Driving around on Friday morning, I heard the the headlines:”Flights delayed at LaGuardia due to air controller absences.”
But, the story didn’t exactly match the severity of the news reader’s tonality as he read that there were 15 minute gate holds and some arriving flights were instructed to take a lap in holding patterns.
Geez, that sounds like a pretty normal day at any of the big airports.
When I got to my destination I was pleasantly out of media reach.
Then … BAM!
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No way to spin it … the man threw in the towel … proclaiming that he was going to trust Lucy (Nancy Pelosi) to tee up the ball again … and negotiate a wall-inclusive compromise in the next couple of weeks.
Are you kidding me?
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So, what’s really going to happen next?
(more…)
Posted in Government shutdown, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
January 15, 2019
Ad agencies (and voters) harp on authenticity.
You know, presenting yourself as you really are … rather than exhibiting a fake persona.
Let’s illustrate the concept…
Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren tried to jumpstart her presidential ambitions (and erase the memories of her laughable DNA test).
At a climatic moment, she expressed her need for a cold one and started to chug a bee.
Authentic or not?
Her nemesis – President Trump – scored it as inauthentic, noting that it would have seemed more authentic if she had been wearing her native headdress.
Boom!
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Speaking of President Trump…
(more…)
Posted in authenticity, Trump, President Donald J., Warren, Elizabeth | Leave a Comment »
January 11, 2019
Dems and their surrogates snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
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For the record, I’m net positive about both the wall and the gov’t shutdown (or, as I like to call it: “the furloughing of non-essential government employees”).
But, frankly, I’m not very worked up about either.
With that relaxed perspective, I can enjoy the the entertainment value of the hysteria.
And, this was a great week for entertainment.
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Let’s jump to the week’s winner: Chuck & Nancy’s rebuttal.
I literally burst out laughing when they did their Bobby Jindal-like hallway entrance … to me, they looked a bit ghoulish … walking in from the catacombs.
Then they delivered their remarks in the fashion of animated Madam Trussaud wax manikins.
For laughs, watch the clip with the sound off.
As NBC’s Brian William’s observed: “This Chuck and Nancy visual tonight launched a thousand memes while they were still talking.”
There was an “Angry Parents”, “Gomez & Morticia”, “Space Aliens” and the more serious meme that I think won the prize…
(more…)
Posted in Pelosi & Schumer, Politics, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
January 7, 2019
The economy has been el fuego since Trump took office.
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Last Friday’s jobs report was – by all measures – a blowout.
An exclamation point that the economy – save for the stock market – had a remarkable year.
The headline: 312,000 jobs added in December.
That’s more than the 176,000 that economists expected … and brought the 2018 total number of new jobs to more than 2.6 million.
Drilling down, the numbers are even more impressive …
(more…)
Posted in Economy, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
December 11, 2018
Forrest Grump: “What goes around, comes around”
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For a couple of years, it’s been in fashion among the established, the elite and the folks on the left to use any method to stymy the Trump agenda.
After all, the end justifies the means, right?
Well now, from Madison,Wisconsin to Paris, France … left-leaning elected officials are being thwarted.
And, many who were touting the graces of the Resist Movement just a couple of weeks ago are squealing like pigs.
(more…)
Posted in Impeachment, Politics - General, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
October 30, 2018
What’s worse, lots of inconsequential lies … or a a couple of consequential ones?
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As a Catholic kid, I was taught about the difference between venial sins and mortal ones.
The former are naughty-naughty … destining you to a few years in a holding tank before admittance to perpetual bliss in heaven.
The latter – mortal sins – are bad-bad … guaranteeing you that you’ll get banished to the fires of hell.
That lesson comes to mind when former President Obama adopts his trademarked holier-than-thou persona and lambasts current President Trump as a congenital liar.
(more…)
Posted in lies - lying, Obama, ObamaCare, PolitiFact, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
August 13, 2018
Will ‘hate trump love’ in the midterm elections?
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Lots of chatter re: a forthcoming ‘blue wave’ in the 2018 midterms.
The usual quantitative metric is the so-called Generic Congressional Ballot …. which queries folks on which parties’ (unnamed) Congressional candidate they’re likely to vote for.
At the end of 2017, the Dems had a 13 point advantage.
That gap has narrowed to under 4 points in the RCP poll-of-polls.
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And, the the most recent individual polls indicate that the gap is continuing to close…
(more…)
Posted in 2018 Midterm Elections, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
August 3, 2018
That’s what Jen Psaki, a CNN political commentator says.
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The silly talk (and bias) is getting sillier and sillier.
Here’s the backstory…
At a campaign rally this week, President Trump was pitching the need for voters to show a photo ID.
To illustrate the point, he rattled off a list of places that require IDs: airports, bars, gun shops … and he slipped in: grocery stores.
Obviously out of touch says CNN’s Psaki. Source
Hmmm.
Let’s drill down on that, Jen.
(more…)
Posted in CNN, Media Bias, Obama, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
July 16, 2018
Have to admit, I had to do a double-take when I saw this non-Trump-bashing New York Times headline:
More specifically, referring to NATO’s 2% defense spending guideline, the Times editorial read:
Now that the smoke has cleared from the NATO summit meeting, the most tangible result is apparent:
President Trump advanced President Barack Obama’s initiative to keep the allies on track to shoulder a more equitable share of NATO’s costs.
Hat tip to the Times for getting this one half-right.
Here’s the half that they didn’t get right…
(more…)
Posted in NATO, Obama, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
June 12, 2018
One of the most amazing interviews I’ve ever seen
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Last night, I was flipping channels to see both sides of the NOKO analysis.
When I clicked to CNN, my reaction was “what the hell?”
There was Chris Cuomo interviewing Dennis Rodman – who was bedecked in a ‘Make America Great Again’ and sporting a PotCoin.com t-shirt.
I put down the remote, figuring the interview would provide some comic relief to the looping partisan analyses I’d been hearing.
That’s not what I got.
I doubt that it was what Cuomo expected either.
My bet: the CNN storyline was supposed to be that Trump was relying on “The Worm” – Rodman’s NBA nickname – for diplomatic advice … demonstrating how shallow and unprepared Trump was for the talks.
That’s not the way things turned out.
Here are some highlights…
(more…)
Posted in North Korea, Rodman, Dennis, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
June 1, 2018
Trey Gowdy isn’t turning on President Trump … he’s doing him a favor.
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First, a disclosure: I’m a big Trey Gowdy fan.
Since I’m a fan of Forensic Files, I oft see reruns of him putting bad guys away.
These days he seems to know the law and be able to cut to the chase.
To that point, the National Review has proclaimed him to be “the voice of responsibility and reason.”
Let’s start with Gowdy’s frequently looped remarks on CBS This Morning …
(more…)
Posted in NSA - Spying, Russia - Russians, Spygate, Trump, President Donald J. | 1 Comment »
May 21, 2018
That’s one of two questions that I have about “spygate”
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I’ve gotten great amusement from the evolution of the spying-on-Trump story …
First, the FBI/CIA denied that that they planted a spy on the Trump campaign … “no way, Trump is crazy”.
Then there were a flurry of stories indicating that a spy was indeed engaged … “but don’t release his name”
Then the positioning: “that would be a good thing” … “done to protect Trump” … from what?
Finally, the name of the spy-who-wasn’t was leaked … some professor with a long history working with the FBI & CIA.
But, he wasn’t a “spy”, he was a “tasked informant”.
OK, that parsing should make everybody feel better, right?
Let’s dig a little deeper…
(more…)
Posted in CIA, Clinton, Hillary, FBI, Trump, President Donald J. | 2 Comments »
May 18, 2018
There’s an interesting parallel, and a lesson for all.
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This week, the internet (and most news shows) were ablaze with the question “Do you hear ‘Yanny’ or ‘Laurel’?”
In a nutshell, a 1-word audio loop is played … some folks hear the word ‘Yanny’, some hear ‘Laurel’.
Click here if you haven’t heard the audio clip.
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What’s up with that?
(more…)
Posted in cogn, Cognitive biases, Immigration, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
May 7, 2018
Here’s the ruling that might be the most problematic.
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There was some hoopla last Friday when a Federal judge admonished Mueller’s prosecutors in one of the Manafort cases … and ordered the delivery of some here-to-fore withheld documents.
With regards to the admonition: Judge T,S.Ellis opined the obvious: that the case had nothing to do with Russian collusion … and that special counsel’s office wanted merely to pressure Mr. Manafort to provide information about Mr. Trump that might be the basis for prosecution or impeachment proceedings … and that the special counsel was acting in an “unfettered” way, far outside the boundaries of his charge. CNN
Judge Ellis then ordered the Mueller prosecutors to produce the original unredacted DOJ documents that established the special prosecutor’s scope of investigation.
The prosecutors said “no can do” because there’s sensitive (classified) information in the documents.
The judge’s reply:”C/mon guys, I decide that, not you” … and he insinuated that he would dismiss the case if he didn’t get unredacted copies, pronto.
The implication: If the special counsel refuses to produce the documents … and if the judge follows through on his threat … then, there will be a precedent on the books of a court action based on the ruling that the special counsel is exceeding his legal scope of inquiry and failing to comply with court directives.
That could be a relief for Trump “satellites” who are charged with crimes that seem unrelated to Russian collusion,
But, in my opinion, the Manafort rulings are the least of Mueller’s potential worries …
(more…)
Posted in Special Counsel - Mueller, trump, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
March 21, 2018
A fast trip from ‘hair on fire’ to ‘whatever’
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The follow up to the Facebook story can be summarized in a couple of headlines.
The Washington Post started walking back the Trump angle:
Of course, one had to read to the bottom couple of paragraphs for the revelation of who the “more” were.
(more…)
Posted in Facebook, Obama, Privacy issues, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
March 20, 2018
And, to boot, there’s some clear evidence of collusion.
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Loyal readers know that I’m not a big fan of Facebook.
I’m amazed by the amount of sensitive information that people post and, for most, the lack of interest (or sophistication) in protecting the privacy of that information.
So, I wasn’t surprised when yesterday’s “shocking” headlines started rolling about FB’s massive data breach.
By mid-day, the previous “no big news” climate shifted to near market hysteria
Why?
Bang … a Trump connection headlined in the NY Times:
In a nutshell, a data outfit called Cambridge Analytica “harvested” the personal information of more than 50 million Facebook users … and fed the information to Trump digital campaigners.
OK, data breaches are bad … it’s horrible to have your private info fall into the wrong hands (i.e. Trump’s)
Hmmm.
But, Trump and his supporters are all Neaderthals, right?
How did they do it … and where did they get the idea?
(more…)
Posted in Facebook, Hacking - Hackers, Obama, Trump, President Donald J. | Leave a Comment »
