The Trump Presidency

[sturg33]

57, genuinely curious if you would vote for 1996 Bill Clinton over Rand Paul in a general election

[Jaw]

Let me go one step further.

My guess and past history as my guide you and 5-10 others here would vote for Moore rather than Jones the prosecutor that rooted out the 1960's bombers of the Birmingham church -- is that an accurate assumption.

For tax cuts ?

I don't know enough about the Moore situation to say whether I would vote for him or not. Jones would oppose SC justices who are likely to overturn Roe v Wade, so I absolutely would not vote for him.

[Jaw]

I would much rather see more barriers to US-China trade, but I don't think anyone is going to give me what I want on that one.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/09/excl...mps-visit.html

These are the 37 major deals US firms signed with Chinese entities during Trump's visit
The Commerce Department has revealed the list of the 37 major deals signed between U.S. and Chinese companies around President Donald Trump's trip through Asia.

The dollar value of those deals is in excess of $250 billion. Catepillar, Boeing, and Goldman Sachs are just some of the notable names on the list of companies that made deals with China, the full list of which is below.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the deals were a good example of Trump helping to build bilateral trade relationships between the two nations.

"American businesses are the most innovative in the world and, when given access, can compete with anyone," Ross said. "I believe these deals can provide a solid foundation for a stronger relationship that is more free, fair, and reciprocal between the U.S. and China."

[Jaw]

Kanye vs Trump in 2020 is going to be great. I bet Kanye picks himself as VP.

How about Cuban vs Trump instead?

https://www.axios.com/will-mark-cuba...508350641.html

Steve Bannon reportedly wants Mark Cuban to run for president
Mark Cuban has discussed the possibility of running for president in 2020 with Steve Bannon over the past few months. Bannon has encouraged the Shark Tank entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner to run as a Democrat, according to a report by The Daily Beast.

Why it matters: Bannon wants to break down the entrenched political system, so he might view Cuban — with his mix of social liberalism and Ayn Rand devotion — as someone he could work with on the left. And while it might seem odd that Bannon would seemingly work against Trump, don't forget that he told Vanity Fair last month that he only gives his boss a 30% chance of lasting a full term.

[Julio3000]

Vomit.

[Jaw]

[Jaw]

[Julio3000]

"Play by the rules and don't exploit us."

Yeah, those are words that Trump lives by.

[Jaw]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...h-donald-trump

U.S. Factory Workers Are Falling Out of Love With Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s honeymoon with U.S. factory workers may be over after his trip to China, if the views of a manufacturers and labor group are any indication.

“We are bitterly disappointed with the president’s failure to demand systemic reforms in our economic relationship with China,” Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing said in a statement Thursday. “This trip was all for show.”

The group, a Washington-based nonprofit partnership of producers and the United Steelworkers union, demanded that Trump complete trade investigations on steel and aluminum as soon as he returns to the U.S.
...
The manufacturers group’s comments on Thursday come after the president called out China for unfair trade practices, but blamed his predecessors rather than China.

“While Trump is not wrong in pointing the finger of blame back to the United States for negotiating poor agreements and providing lax enforcement, that finger is now pointed at him,” Paul said. “There has been no tangible progress in reducing China’s mammoth industrial overcapacity in sectors such as steel, aluminum and semiconductors.”


Again, we aren't Luxembourg. There is very little the US economy needs that can't be produced here. Trade without tariffs primarily benefits the multinational corporations at the cost of domestic manufacturing jobs. Trump's voters expect him to take steps to make that situation better.

[goldfly]

Trump ends program that pairs service dogs with veterans at Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed.

A program that prepares service dogs for permanent placement with wounded veterans and their families has been booted from Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed without explanation, the program's executive director says.

GERMANTOWN, Md. — The Warrior Canine Connection, a program that uses an army of volunteer puppy raisers, dog trainers and veterans to prepare service dogs for wounded veterans and their families, has been partnering with military facilities in the D.C. region since 2009.

But suddenly — and without explanation — that came to a stop, says Warrior Canine Connection Executive Director Rick Yount.

He said his trainers and puppy raisers at Fort Belvoir and at two locations on the campus of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, were told on Oct. 27 to vacate their offices that afternoon.

“At 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I received a phone call saying there was a stop work order. There was no explanation whatsoever as to why that was the decision,” Yount said.

Asked if there had been an issue with the program, problems with staff or an incident at either of the military sites, Yount said he hasn’t heard anything.

“We’re trying to get answers. Why would — all of the sudden — a program be halted that was serving patients?” Yount asked.
If a dog had bitten someone or if there had been an incident, he said he could understand why there would be concerns about the program or even an interruption in the activities that his staffers and volunteers provide. “We’ve heard absolutely nothing,” he said.

WTOP has contacted Fort Belvoir and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Warrior Canine Connection had two offices at the Bethesda campus, one at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence and one at Building 11. Public affairs officials at both facilities have been contacted. Jimmie Cummings at Fort Belvoir said he was trying to track down information on the contract, which Yount said was not set to expire until 2019.

The Warrior Canine Connection training model has volunteers visit with young puppies to socialize them when they are just weeks old. Then, the training begins. Volunteer puppy raisers get training on how to handle the dogs at Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed. Veterans have been taking an active part in the training so that eventually the dogs that “graduate” the program can be placed for a life of service alongside a wounded warrior.

That’s what’s so distressing, Yount said.

Some veterans told him that knowing they’d be visited by the dogs and training with them gave them a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

“There’s no question that this program saves lives,” he said, cradling a future service dog named “Lou” in his arms.


https://wtop.com/local/2017/11/progr...-reed/slide/1/

[goldfly]

[Hawk]

Moore denies the allegations ... on Sean Hannity's radio show.

- Doesn't remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother.
- Doesn't "generally" remember dating girls in their late teens.

Dude, just stick to the 'I'm being persecuted like Jesus was' pandering.

[Hawk]

And Moore won't deny dating 17/18 year olds.

I don't think that's a crucifying admission in and of itself, especially in Alabama, but he's going to get kneecapped everywhere else. Mainstream Republicans (Romney/McCain/Kasich) want him out.

[jpx7]

I have to feel Bob Menedez must be pretty pleased that this Moore stuff dropped at the same time as his own (probably true, but at the moment less-verifiable) teen stuff.

[The Chosen One]

Devin Nunes.

The clown circus continues.

[goldfly]

[goldfly]

Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Alibaba's Jack Ma: Today technology can empower small businesses
2:23 PM ET Wed, 18 Jan 2017 | 02:31

Alibaba founder Jack Ma fired a shot at the United States in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ma was asked by CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin about the U.S. economy in relation to China, since President-elect Donald Trump has been talking about imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports.

Ma says blaming China for any economic issues in the U.S. is misguided. If America is looking to blame anyone, Ma said, it should blame itself.
"It's not that other countries steal jobs from you guys," Ma said. "It's your strategy. Distribute the money and things in a proper way."


He said the U.S. has wasted over $14 trillion in fighting wars over the past 30 years rather than investing in infrastructure at home.

To be sure, Ma is not the only critic of the costly U.S. policies of waging war against terrorism and other enemies outside the homeland. Still, Ma said this was the reason America's economic growth had weakened, not China's supposed theft of jobs.

In fact, Ma called outsourcing a "wonderful" and "perfect" strategy.

"The American multinational companies made millions and millions of dollars from globalization," Ma said. "The past 30 years, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, they've made tens of millions — the profits they've made are much more than the four Chinese banks put together. ... But where did the money go?"

He said the U.S. is not distributing, or investing, its money properly, and that's why many people in the country feel wracked with economic anxiety. He said too much money flows to Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Instead, the country should be helping the Midwest, and Americans "not good in schooling," too.

"You're supposed to spend money on your own people," Ma said. "Not everybody can pass Harvard, like me." In a previous interview, Ma said he had been rejected by Harvard 10 times.

Along those lines, Ma stressed that globalization is a good thing, but it, too, "should be inclusive," with the spoils not just going to the wealthy few.

"The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about working together," Ma said. "As a business person, I want the world to share the prosperity together."

[cajunrevenge]

And he is exactly right. The war on terror, war on drugs, and idiotic regulations are holding us back in a big way. But yeah. keep voting for the same ****tards, Surely one of these days they will do the right thing.

[Hawk]

Doubtful.

Alibaba made over 1 billion dollars in 3 seconds today though.

[mqt]

And Moore won't deny dating 17/18 year olds.

I don't think that's a crucifying admission in and of itself, especially in Alabama, but he's going to get kneecapped everywhere else. Mainstream Republicans (Romney/McCain/Kasich) want him out.

Around the point that you're admitting to dating teenagers in your 30s and getting permission from mothers to date young girls, I feel like you start to lose any credibility regarding your behavior with girls only a couple years younger.