Making America Great Again

[Moiraine]

Ya. It's pitiful whichever party does it. Cut funding for obsolete tanks. The actual soldiers should be making a decent income.

[HuskerNation1]

 

 

This isn't the first time bnilhome has started a thread where he has simply needed everyone to agree with him, or at least get out of the way of those who did.

 

Equally, in every one of the other threads here are dozens of posts made in fawning admiration of Trump. That's what this forum is here for -- discussion, not unfettered 'information' propagation.

 

If he wants to argue a particular thing is positive, he should be prepared to back up any arguments he has, rather than play up the victim card. Otherwise, what he's looking for is a zone of total solidarity. I don't begrudge him that. r/TheDonald seems like a good place to start.

 

Please point to all these other threads where I have made such requests? I will be waiting a long time. I honestly would find it great if you and others would focus more in discussion instead of the constant negativity about Trump or Republicans. That would be highly welcome. Maybe someday you will get there.

 

 

I wish that Trump and Republicans gave us more to feel good about.

 

This comment seems to be a roundabout way of saying you don't think our criticism of them is legitimate.

 

Edit: Read your comment to NM's list. I feel those are all legit concerns about Trump for people, even if his cabinet gives largely opposite feelings to someone like yourself.

 

To answer your question about Trump and improving the country vs. his personal antics... I'm already embarrassed that he is going to be our next representative on the global stage. Like, really embarrassed. But if lots of us are wrong and he improves the country in leaps and bounds, we should give credit where credit is due. I'd still probably be embarrassed and be disgusted by the guy personally, but if he can do his job, I'd have to respect that.

 

My question: Why don't you feel this way about Obama? Even if you largely dislike his personality or his politics, he's done at the very least a serviceable job keeping us safe, stabilizing the economy, and representing us with class on a world stage.

 

 

I think its fine for you to criticize Trump just as I have Obama, but the level of animosity toward Trump even before he has taken office is way worse than the treatment Republicans gave to Obama from November 2008 til the middle of 2009. Myself included, I didn't rail against him and gave him a chance to prove he would be a different kind of POTUS that truly meant he was non-partisan and wanted to bring together all Americans. His actions and rhetoric unfortunately proved otherwise, and there have been many great articles written in the last few weeks about Obama's legacy vs Bill Clinton's legacy. Obama was personally more likable but was a complete failure when it comes to delivering results for the American people, while Clinton was just the opposite which is why I rated Clinton #2 on the best Presidents over the past 40 years. Even MSNBC has talked about how inconsequential Obama's legacy is. I completely disagree that he has made the world a safer place and has made us look better on the world stage. This is where I think he has failed the most. Just look at what he's doing with Israel right now. His administration treats Iran better than it does Israel. It's crazy.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muERUKsTyF0

 

At the time I personally could not stand Bill Clinton and it made it difficult for me to look at his record, but now that time has past, I am comfortable rating him behind Reagan and ahead of the Bushs, Carter, and Obama. I do think Obama is morally superior to Clinton which makes Obama's personal rating higher, but I also think that Obama put his party ahead of the country, where I think Clinton accepted the results of the 1994 midterms and chose to put his country ahead of his party.

[Danny Bateman]

Well, I think we've finally found some common ground, Bnil. I can agree that Obama has leaned more heavily toward Democratic ideals and policies than Bill Clinton did. Clinton's deregulation and centrist governance did preside over a very good economy, though one could make the argument that that deregulation set the table for Bush to further deregulate which led to the crash in '08. I think the point is that deregulation should be wielded carefully and not as a rule, as it appears the new administration and Congress are pledging to do. Some deregulation can lead to growth; deregulating everything will lead to another crash.

 

I do wish Obama had gotten a more cooperative Congress. I think the obstructionism was despicable. I think he could've met them halfway on certain ideas, but some things absolutely shouldn't be compromised on, like substantial steps toward addressing climate change or striving for quality, sustainable healthcare. Perhaps Obama could've focused less on gun control, though I still support universal background checks (which doesn't really seem like a big hurdle people should disagree on, TBH). He probably burnt a lot of political capital talking about gun control and discussing institutional racism in policing. Those two factors seemed to anger a whole lot of people. I realize his motives though: He's not some calculating politician pushing an agenda. Watching kids get gunned down and minorities mistreated by SOME officers in SOME departments bothered him on a human level and he probably felt a moral obligation to talk about those issues. I think it's a shame we still have such a politicized, emotional discussion about them instead of a rational one, but I digress...

 

I wish Obama had been more successful, but to call his presidency inconsequential is a joke. Millions of people are getting healthcare they desperately need, even if it's unsustainable. That's better than before. We've made it known we want to be a world leader on addressing climate change. Gay people can largely enjoy the same rights as their hetero brothers and sisters. These are major, milestone domestic policies.

His foreign policy is certainly more checkered and open for criticism, but on the whole, I think he's done a very serviceable job given the circumstances within which he found himself.

 

Lastly, on Israel, I think Israel is in the wrong to just start building settlements on the Holy Land. They don't own that land. They are a crucial ally, but we don't owe them a rubber stamp, as others have said. And Netanyahu should not be above reproach. His own AG thinks so as well:

 

[BigRedBuster]

[Making Chimichangas]

Well, since you asked -

• we got a Sec of Ed that doesn't believe in Public schools
• an EPA chief that dislikes environmental protections (and who has sued the agency he's about to run multiple times)
• a Secretary of Labor that doesn't support worker protections
• a HUD guy that is qualified because "he once lived in a housing project"(and who has admitted he is not qualified to be in a cabinet position)
• a WWF owner running the Small Business Administration division
• a National Security Advisor that was fired by the past administration - and is known for using US resources to chase down conspiracy theories that have no fact behind them, but that he feels in his "gut" are legitimate.
• He has already assembled the richest cabinet in US history - after saying he'd put folks in his administration that represent the working man and not the same old wealthy folks that he campaigned against
• In his cabinet he has at least 3 that have been accused of assault against woman
• His tweets about Putin quotes as if they're admirable
• He tweets irresponsibly about nuclear weapons
• He has already walked away from, and admitted several of his "catch phrases" from the campaign were just that
• He has overstepped multiple boundaries by having his children involved in international meetings.

What am I afraid of? That he has snowed a good number of Americans, that folks around me and you don't understand the ramifications of his shallowness - that you can't just get angry and say something without understanding what impact it will have immediately and long term on the US and the world. That he is already coming into office with ZERO known about his financial interests, and all the power in the world to use the office and his family and contacts to increase his own wealth. He brags about his ability to make money by taking advantage of people - and he will not change his spots now.

 

Honestly there is so much more - really I haven't seen anything that has made me more open about him. Initially I thought he response after meeting with Obama was humble and showed appropriate respect for the office and the job. His speech after winning was professional and appropriate regarding the race - but all was short-lived and he's back to his short circuted, thin, skinned reaction that is so uneducated because he has shown zero interest (or puts zero value in) understanding history of the office, the relationships we have and have had in the past and the damage he can do with one flippant remark.

 

This ^^^ is so well stated.

 

Drumpf is a disaster just waiting to happen. He's a prone to rage, immature, 70+ year old moron, who thinks that using nuclear weapons should be the 1st option.

 

He's also said he'd commit war crimes because he wants to execute the families of known terrorists.

 

Add in the fact that he's surrounded himself with known nazis, white nationalists, and blatantly anti-LBGTQIA people...

 

He's a meglo-manic, despotic, dictator just waiting to take power.

 

I am going to say this just once: I will not go quietly into that good night.

[Making Chimichangas]

When was America great?

 

When did it stop being great?

 

Why did it stop being great?

 

What are the benchmarks we should look for so we know when it's great again?

 

The answers to those questions largely depends on your race, sexual orientation/gender identity, and social/economic standings.

[Making Chimichangas]

bnihome said "...but the level of animosity toward Trump even before he has taken office is way worse than the treatment Republicans gave to Obama from November 2008 til the middle of 2009."

 

 

You have GOT to be joking, right?

[HuskerNation1]

We have seen many companies and their CEOs cite Trump's pro-growth agenda as reasons for their planned investment in the US, including more jobs. Ford's CEO stated the following when his company chose to keep a plant in the US rather than move to Mexico.

 

One of the factors that we are looking at is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies that he said he is going to pursue,” Fields said.

 

http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/01/03/ford-ceo-betting-on-trump-s-pro-growth-agenda.html

 

Now I know the Post and Slate are trying to do everything possible to discredit the Trump effect we are seeing already in the economy, but its really his policies that have created great optimism. This optimism is also being felt at the consumer level, where consumer confidence has shot up to a 13-year high since Trump was elected.

 

http://rismedia.com/2017/01/01/thank-trump-consumer-confidence-catapults/#close

[knapplc]

 

When was America great?

 

When did it stop being great?

 

Why did it stop being great?

 

What are the benchmarks we should look for so we know when it's great again?

[VectorVictor]

 

Well, since you asked -

• we got a Sec of Ed that doesn't believe in Public schools
• an EPA chief that dislikes environmental protections (and who has sued the agency he's about to run multiple times)
• a Secretary of Labor that doesn't support worker protections
• a HUD guy that is qualified because "he once lived in a housing project"(and who has admitted he is not qualified to be in a cabinet position)
• a WWF owner running the Small Business Administration division
• a National Security Advisor that was fired by the past administration - and is known for using US resources to chase down conspiracy theories that have no fact behind them, but that he feels in his "gut" are legitimate.
• He has already assembled the richest cabinet in US history - after saying he'd put folks in his administration that represent the working man and not the same old wealthy folks that he campaigned against
• In his cabinet he has at least 3 that have been accused of assault against woman
• His tweets about Putin quotes as if they're admirable
• He tweets irresponsibly about nuclear weapons
• He has already walked away from, and admitted several of his "catch phrases" from the campaign were just that
• He has overstepped multiple boundaries by having his children involved in international meetings.

What am I afraid of? That he has snowed a good number of Americans, that folks around me and you don't understand the ramifications of his shallowness - that you can't just get angry and say something without understanding what impact it will have immediately and long term on the US and the world. That he is already coming into office with ZERO known about his financial interests, and all the power in the world to use the office and his family and contacts to increase his own wealth. He brags about his ability to make money by taking advantage of people - and he will not change his spots now.

 

Honestly there is so much more - really I haven't seen anything that has made me more open about him. Initially I thought he response after meeting with Obama was humble and showed appropriate respect for the office and the job. His speech after winning was professional and appropriate regarding the race - but all was short-lived and he's back to his short circuted, thin, skinned reaction that is so uneducated because he has shown zero interest (or puts zero value in) understanding history of the office, the relationships we have and have had in the past and the damage he can do with one flippant remark.

Charter schools are public. The Sec of Ed is big on Charter Schools. Not private schools, as far as I know.

 

 

Whoa...no they're not. Not when they're a) owned by a private/corporate entity or business, and b) have the ability to permanently remove students from the school at will. These are some of the same features that private schools have enjoyed for some time now--the only difference is Charter schools use taxpayer money and legitimate Private schools do not (save for any sort of voucher system bulls***.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to disrupt Bnilhome's thread trying to convince himself that he wasn't played for a chump by Drumpf.

[NM11046]

I'm not one to tune into Ann Coulter, but it came up today that she posted something on twitter akin to a dog whistle ... I wasn't aware of the connotation, but it took my breath away, more so to see the replies from her followers.

 

 

 

14 88 is a combination of two popular white supremacist numeric symbols. The first symbol is 14, which is shorthand for the "14 Words" slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." The second is 88, which stands for "Heil Hitler" (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet). Together, the numbers form a general endorsement of white supremacy and its beliefs.

[B.B. Hemingway]

I'm not one to tune into Ann Coulter, but it came up today that she posted something on twitter akin to a dog whistle ... I wasn't aware of the connotation, but it took my breath away, more so to see the replies from her followers.

 

 

 

14 88 is a combination of two popular white supremacist numeric symbols. The first symbol is 14, which is shorthand for the "14 Words" slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." The second is 88, which stands for "Heil Hitler" (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet). Together, the numbers form a general endorsement of white supremacy and its beliefs.

 

 

Normally, I would give someone the benefit of the doubt, and suggest that she SURELY is referring to something else, but the way social/government politics have been playing out, who the 'f' knows anymore....

[BigRedBuster]

I guess I am so out of touch with that pathetic part of our population that I would have never caught that.

[QMany]

I guess I am so out of touch with that pathetic part of our population that I would have never caught that.

#ThanksTrump

[BigRedBuster]

It doesn't help that at the same time, she tweets this.