Trump to FBI Director Comey: You're Fired!

[Revoltingest]

....as well as Walter Cronkite. They were boring, and just presented the facts. Gods, how I miss them. It would seem that Ms. Maddow has taken up the banner. She has had Dan Rather on her show many times.

Though I should point out that I have heard many right-wing zealots consider Rather and Cronkite to be 'lying liberal nut bags'. I guess the truth burns the conservatives, just like sunlight.

Rachel has an evening show, repeated as a daily free podcast the next day. Good (well documented, honest) stuff.

Actually, Dan Rather was known for fabricating stories.
Eg, the fake exploding gas tank.

 

[Revoltingest]

Some really should do some homework: Great Recession - Wikipedia

Some might present an argument rather than a lazy link.

My criterion for the start of the recession was when things began crashing....not
when the crash reached a particular level. 9/11/01 was the trigger for extensive
business cut-backs on employment, leasing, building, & operation. I saw many
tenants go out of business (when venture capital funding was withdrawn) or
reduce their rental footprint & workforce. Borrowing became more difficult,
so builders saw a steep decline, & many developers had wolves at the doors.
It's something one would know if one were in business.
But an economist might miss it if he looked only at statistics rather than businesses.

 

[Falvlun]

Some might present an argument rather than a lazy link.

My criterion for the start of the recession was when things began crashing....not
when the crash reached a particular level. 9/11/01 was the trigger for extensive
business cut-backs on employment, leasing, building, & operation. I saw many
tenants go out of business (when venture capital funding was withdrawn) or
reduce their rental footprint & workforce. Borrowing became more difficult,
so builders saw a steep decline, & many developers had wolves at the doors.
It's something one would know if one were in business.
But an economist might miss it if he looked only at statistics rather than businesses.

I mean, at least he presents a source rather than just his say-so.

 

[leibowde84]

Of course it was within his power, but that doesn't make his actions any less treasonous. I have already explained why it is treason. You telling me your reason why you think it wasn't treason also doesn't make his actions any less treasonous.

But, you haven't pointed out anything that he did that was treasonous. And, if it was within his power as president, it was necessarily not treason. Treason is not permitted even for Presidents.

 

[Sonofason]

But you're not entitled to your own facts.

Of course I am...I am fully capable of stating the facts as I see and understand them. I don't need you to know facts. I can discover my own facts. No one even has to believe me, and it will still be a fact.

 

[leibowde84]

Maybe I need to be water-boarded for the information, since you believe you have that right.

Trump would certainly be ok with that. Not Obama though.

 

[Revoltingest]

I mean, at least he presents a source rather than just his say-so.

My opinion is based upon direct observation, & I present it as such.
To offer someone else's opinion without any elaboration might be
convincing to those who agree with it, but it's uninteresting &
unconvincing to anyone with a different perspective.

A recession to me is all about causes, ie, risk factors & triggers.
To view it only as some metric rising to some level isn't useful.
But to analyze the system....that offers insight into prevention.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

If we're smart, we should be losing some sleep over this.

Democracy is a very fragile form of government because there's so many "moving parts" involved, and now we have a president who has viciously attacked the judicial system and the media, and has taken actions that are very dangerous to any democracy.
And to make matters worse, no opposition party controls any branch thus, for all practical purposes, a huge segment of our checks & balance system is no longer in effect. Look at all that has happened in just over 100 days, and what has happened should be keeping us up at least a bit at night.

I wish everybody would pay attention to what Metis wrote here, because it is precisely true. Never, ever forget that Hitler was (in a sense) elected Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and appointed by Hindenburg in 1933, but his was exactly the same sort of populist movement (hate the establishment, blah blah blah) as we're seeing today (that France, thankfully, avoided).

Trump can -- and very probably will -- do enormous damage to cherished American ideals about their democracy. Too bad you don't have many ways to stop it.

 

[leibowde84]

This is a myth.
System stability isn't linked to the number of moving parts, but rather
to how the parts interact.
Think of a bicycle chain...so many parts, but it functions so reliably.
More complex systems can be stable, eg, living animals with their
self regulating metabolisms. Democracy, with a well designed system
of proverbial checks & balances can be more stable than simple top
down governments like the old USSR.

I'll bet you a fiver that after Trump's reign ends, we'll still have democracy.

Basic logic tells us that the more moving parts, the more fragile something is. Democracy is no different. In our democracy there are a lot of different opinions trying to come together to pass and enforce legislation. There is nothing simple about it.

 

[BSM1]

Dang! Where did you find this info? Good news, I just missed it.

Last Thursday from the Labor Department.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/business/economy/jobs-report-unemployment.html?ref=business&_r=0

 

[pearl]

Americans’ ignorance about their own government could lead to a dictatorship.

"I don’t worry about our losing a republican government in the United States because I’m afraid of a foreign invasion, he said. "I don’t worry about it because of a coup by the military, as has happened in some other places. What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed people will not know who is responsible, and when the problems get bad enough — as they might do for example with another serious terrorist attack, as they might do with another financial meltdown — some one person will come forward and say ‘Give me total power and I will solve this problem.'"

"That is how the Roman republic fell," Augustus became emperor not because he arrested the Roman senate. He became emperor because he promised that he would solve problems that were not being solved."

"If we know who is responsible, I have enough faith in the American people to demand performance from those responsible. If we don’t know, we will stay away from the polls, we will not demand it and the day will come when somebody will come forward and we and the government will in effect say, ‘Take the ball and run with it, do what you have to do.’ That is the way democracy dies."
Justice David Souter.

 

[tytlyf]

Last Thursday from the Labor Department.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/business/economy/jobs-report-unemployment.html?ref=business&_r=0

You're late to the game. The economy has been doing that for 8 years. Same thing with the stock market. Record after record after record after record.

When it was that evil Obamao in office, the unemployment rate was manufactured by that evil government. Those aren't the 'real unemployment' numbers.

What the U6 #? You see, I can play silly games too. Is Hannity still running around lying to his audience about "There's 90 million Americans out of work, this economy is a disaster and destroying America!"

 

[BSM1]

You're late to the game. The economy has been doing that for 8 years. Same thing with the stock market. Record after record after record after record.

When it was that evil Obamao in office, the unemployment rate was manufactured by that evil government. Those aren't the 'real unemployment' numbers.

What the U6 #? You see, I can play silly games too. Is Hannity still running around lying to his audience about "There's 90 million Americans out of work, this economy is a disaster and destroying America!"

Sorry, no. Go back and check the records. For at least the last two years monthly new job rates did not rise to predictions. And even if you were right, according to those of your mindset the evil and incompetent Trump should have imploded the economy the second week he was in office. Ain't happenin'.

 

[Quetzal]

Sorry, no. Go back and check the records. For at least the last two years monthly new job rates did not rise to predictions. And even if you were right, according to those of your mindset the evil and incompetent Trump should have imploded the economy the second week he was in office. Ain't happenin'.

At any rate, it will take some patience. In regards to the economy and job creation, it will take time. That is the one Trump platform I did support was the creation of jobs in house while taxing those who kept their jobs over seas. Now, I am not convinced it will work out that way but it is something that I am willing to put on the back burner until say... fiscal year 2018-19 and then take another look at.

 

[BSM1]

At any rate, it will take some patience. In regards to the economy and job creation, it will take time. That is the one Trump platform I did support was the creation of jobs in house while taxing those who kept their jobs over seas. Now, I am not convinced it will work out that way but it is something that I am willing to put on the back burner until say... fiscal year 2018-19 and then take another look at.

I think you are already seeing the fruits of this idea. Say what you want about Trump, but he is (and always will be a) a businessman; he knows how to create jobs. This is also one of the main reasons I voted for the guy.

 

[Quetzal]

I think you are already seeing the fruits of this idea. Say what you want about Trump, but he is (and always will be a) a businessman; he knows how to create jobs. This is also one of the main reasons I voted for the guy.

We did see a market jump when the election first ended. As for the rest, the water is a bit muddy so I would rather let it settle for a bit before I try to analyze it.

 

[metis]

I think you are already seeing the fruits of this idea. Say what you want about Trump, but he is (and always will be a) a businessman; he knows how to create jobs. This is also one of the main reasons I voted for the guy.

That's like saying that if one is a great hockey player that they would be a great hockey coach. Guess again.

BTW, I believe Trump has over 100 lawsuits pending from sub-contractors that he has not paid for their services, and he just lost one of the cases a few weeks ago for several hundred thousand dollars.

And if Trump is so good, why won't he release his tax returns? He promised on several occasions that he would before the election... then after the election... By releasing his returns, it would prove just how good he is-- or not. It also would establish that he has no Russian financial connections-- or maybe he does.

IMO, way too many people just believed anything that Trump spewed out without demanding verification, and now look at what we got.

 

[Shad]

Actually, they would have to prove (beyond a reasonable doubt) that Clinton knew what she was doing and knew that it was illegal.

Ignorance of the law is not a defense.

So, ignorance is actually an excuse. They would have to prove criminal intent.

It is an excuse but one that hold no weight it in court.

"I am sorry your honor. I didn't know selling crack was illegal."

 

[Revoltingest]

Basic logic tells us that the more moving parts, the more fragile something is.

I'll need more than your claiming "logic" while affecting
Spock's voice & raising that one eyebrow, bubala!
What are your premises & reasoning?

When engineering a system, we'll add many parts in order to increase reliability
& survivability. The trick is in designing it that way....not just adding parts willy nilly.
(Sorry for the arcane technical jargon in the last sentence.)
There are so many examples of some non-fragile things with numerous parts.
Let's consider to consider things beginning with "H"....
- Humble rope
- Haughty chain
- Hafthor Julius Bjornsson

Democracy is no different. In our democracy there are a lot of different opinions trying to come together to pass and enforce legislation. There is nothing simple about it.

Ours is a distributed system, each element able to act in concert with and independently from
those above & below. Consider that one element can fail, but the whole continues to function.

Simplicity has its appeal, but it shouldn't become blind dogma.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I'd remind you that it's your signature, not mine.
I believe in nothing. I know what I know. And knowing what I know, I know all I need to know, as I need to know it.
Imagine that.

Wow, you are so deep.

Deeper than an outhouse crap hole.

Imagine that.