JoeWeber

The problem is that Trump has pretty clearly committed more than just a couple of crimes. Campaign finance, emoluments clause, obstruction, perhaps even treason. He clearly has no conscience. He has no concept of 'consequences for actions.' If his advisers are keeping him from doing 'bad things', then they are doing their job. Guiding and advising him, even when he refuses to listen. Both Mattis & Kelly seem to see their position as working for the country, not for Trump. I understand your position, but when the POTUS is an emotional and intellectual child, then someone has to be the grownup. He should be removed. Period. If this was Obama, impeachment hearings would already be in progress. But since the R base supports Trump, the congress-critters won't lift a finger to stop him. Apparently there's a betting outfit in Costa Rica that has odds posted. For individuals (the leader is 'the field' - none of the named people), the favorite is Pence. Apparently the word 'lodestar' was used a couple times in the editorial. And apparently Pence is the only one in the administration who's on record having used that word. NY Post story Pence, we're told, wants to be President. Authoring an anonymous op-ed would be a hell of a risk for him. That doesn't smell right. Like them or not there are some smart cookies in the White House. It seems reasonable that a fair bit of thought into covering tracks would have gone into it. For sure they knew it would be taken apart. Ghosted by George Conway?

seems the sort of thing a military person would write. So.... have you heard women can join the military now too? And when I say now, I mean for significantly longer than you've been alive. Posts: 17778, go figure. They were separate ideas. I was simply pondering who might be the writer. Aren't you curious?

I take it extremely seriously which is why I was horrified when the people elected a selfish, narcissistic child to the position. I still am. However, that doesn't change the legality of the situation and those laws are something we all have to abide by, whether we like it or not. To do otherwise is to invite anarchy. I don't believe the contract of working at the white house has an 'obey all orders given by the president unless you disagree with them, in that case feel free to stymie it however you can' clause... We, the people, have a responsibility to elect officials who we believe will do the best job they can. If we later decide we don't like the job our elected official is doing there are legal channels to remove them - as you pointed out, the 25th is one of them in the case of the President. If we don't take that responsibility seriously and elect a disaster then I believe we should live with the consequences. What is illegal and reprehensible is to take matters into your own hands unless the law is clearly being broken. It's fine to feel like your position is untenable as a staffer because you disagree with the policies being taken. The solution is to quit, not sabotage the system. I didn't elect these people who are now unilaterally and secretly defining policy by deciding what our president gets to see and what he doesn't. You didn't either. I not sure you take what they're doing seriously enough. I reiterate, I think Trump is an awful, awful president, but the reality is that any damage he's causing is temporary. International relations can be fixed. Edicts can be unwritten. I choose to believe that any real insanity (let's nuke the middle east!) would be met by the 25th. But the country needs a wake up call that voting is a serious business and that to elect a clown is to have your country turned into a circus... As someone who posts here you're already more involved in politics than 90% of Americans - it's going to take a serious event to wake those people up to their responsibility, otherwise we'll just run into the same problem a few presidents down the road. Roger that. Betsey DeVos, Sonny Perdue, Steve Mnuchin, Wilber Ross, Rick Perry, Ryan Zinke and Ben Carson are all just chomping at the bit to make this shit right.

Who knows if it's even legit but the op-ed seems written by a male. This: seems the sort of thing a military person would write. I disagree with yoink that everyone should fall in line or quit. Many should, no doubt. But Trump is dangerous, cornered, enamored of Putin and Kim, and he has the nuclear codes. I never thought I'd welcome a coup in this country but we would be safer without Trump and we don't need Pence. If you're a General with years of devoted service to this country what would you do?

What are those drastic changes that the US needs? To pull our federal government back toward a republic, away from the established socialistic oligarchy. To which time frame in our nations history are you referring?

With a bit of business acumen, you'd understand why that's not likely to be a successful strategy. OK...I'll bite. Well, at many small rural Post Offices they would need to hire only very skinny employees so 4 could fit behind a counter built for 2 and that might cause discrimination problems. Also, most folks who are open to part time gig's are thinking of more than just one hour between 12 noon and 1PM and/or one between 5PM and 6PM with a 4 hour break in between. Seriously, unless you are sending your hard earned farmworker money home and need a postal money order to do it, get your mail General Delivery, believe wrongly delivered mail must by law be returned in person, or still collect stamps just what on earth justifies standing in line at the post office on your lunch hour?

I could not agree more. Bill, directness is a form of free speech. You need to relax control by a lot. Private site isn’t covered by free speech. Yense why bill can keep deleting my posts for calling out his hypocrisy. Leeroy, Bill is a damn smart guy and, I hope, still a friend. He's banned me deservedly and warned me often. He fly's a hard slot, that's sure. I do not agree with how he moderates when it gets close to the bone. Yes, he has vested interests here but he is not a hypocrite. Joe

I could not agree more. Bill, directness is a form of free speech. You need to relax control by a lot.

We gotta get out of this place If it's the last thing we ever do

Are you still glad that you voted for Trump? Jerry Baumchen Hi Jerry, Absolutely. I would have voted for Kermit to keep HRC out of office. Keith BIGUN, Perhaps that was your mind at the time but I think Jerry was looking for any misgivings you may have now. The thing is you can now only guess if you were right about HRC. With Trump there are now data points. For just one example, did you read Admiral McRavens rebuke of Trump? Seems to me that he has a few misgivings. Do you? Joe BIGUN, I think that based on today's events it is fair to ask again. Do you now have any misgivings? And if not, just what will it take? Joe

Are you still glad that you voted for Trump? Jerry Baumchen Hi Jerry, Absolutely. I would have voted for Kermit to keep HRC out of office. Keith BIGUN, Perhaps that was your mind at the time but I think Jerry was looking for any misgivings you may have now. The thing is you can now only guess if you were right about HRC. With Trump there are now data points. For just one example, did you read Admiral McRavens rebuke of Trump? Seems to me that he has a few misgivings. Do you? Joe

Since this came up I have been pondering the concept. There are two, for the purpose of this discussion, aspects of Christianity. One is salvation and the other is spiritual enlightenment. Salvation is basically linear. If I accept Jesus's atoning death on the cross as The Son of God and His resurrection then I am saved. Then I receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide me in sanctification. Spiritual enlightenment is non-linear. It is the development of sanctification on the path of eternal life. The Holy Spirit is constantly enhancing individual spirit and soul in sanctification. It is dynamic creating the wonders of God as the attachment to the world is forsaken. I'm not sure whether "gobbledegook" or "mumbo-jumbo" is the better description of that. Neither, that is grade A, gluten free, non-GMO, free range and absolutely guaranteed to be undiluted woo-woo. Non linearly speaking, of course.

I honestly don't get it. Why does no one seem to understand that he doesn't care? He won't answer your questions. He won't provide proof for his ludicrous assertions (which doesn't exist in the first place). He won't post in a rational manner, or even in decent English (unless it serves his needs). He posts links where the headline sort of matches the point he wants to push, but doesn't care if the actual text in the article agrees or disagrees. As was noted by Billvon somewhere recently, he's in favor of anything that opposes the Democrats. It doesn't have to be true. If someone says it and it makes the Ds look bad, he repeats it. Provide proof that he's wrong and he ignores it. Ask for proof and he ignores it. He refuses to acknowledge anything that makes Trump or the Rs look bad. He simply ignores it. The repeated demands by many for him to back up his claims are foolish. He ignores them and keeps posting his garbage. WHY does anyone treat him as if he is going to do anything different? Because the powers that be, and some posters, seem to enjoy arguing with walls.

All right, but apart from the Budweiser, margaritas, frankfurters, hamburgers, Cajun culture, jambalaya, kindergarten, apple pie, cars, cowboys, the music to the Star Spangled Banner, morality, language, and religions, what have the immigrants ever done for us? Pole dancing.

Yup. I know an instructor who starts off her Carry Permit classes by telling the students: "Write a list of everyone you are willing to die for. Now write down everyone you are willing to go to prison for the rest of your life for. Now write down everyone you are willing to give up everything you own for; house, car, savings, everything. The reality is if you use a gun to defend someone, those are very real possibilities. Be very careful using that gun." Yesterday, in the local ACE Hardware store I passed an angry looking dude with a Glock in a thigh holster. Never mind that this store has a "No Open Carry" sign on the front door, this deluded asshole was out to exercise his second amendment rights and fuck anyone who disagreed. How is it that anyone views this as necessary? For fucks sake, I just wanted to buy a piece of 2" PVC pipe in a town that has 3 marijuana stores and not a single goddamn 3 way stop light. Not to mention that it would have been child's play to grab a shovel and whack the moron on the head if necessary. WTF? I'm a gun guy but this is just ridiculous bullshit. You do realize not everyone carrying a gun is some gun nut ass hole? Great story. Here is another story that just happened yesterday. A dude and his friend were trying to steal some cars parked at a popular hiking location. A guy with a concealed weapon approached them. The thief got in his car and tried to flee, striking a women in the process and backing into one of the parked cars. After the thief backed into the women and tried to ram her a second time to flee the location, the man pulled out his weapon and shot the thief. The thief was later charged with attempted murder and auto theft. The guy with a gun quite literally saved the day in very measurable sense and if someone with a gun wasent present someone would have died. The sign on the front door states "No Open Carry Allowed". That makes this particular constitutional scholar both an asshole and a moron. Seriously, that is compensating behavior at best. "Look everyone! I got a bulge, too. Just not where it's supposed to be."

You give me too much power. Ephesians 6: 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. I am simply one of the watchmen on the wall. Armed and ready to shoot, too! Why not:...a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord..... It isn't me that gives you too much power. If it was up to me you'd be paying property taxes on your Church and receiving zero tax deductions on your donations. If you were still personally compelled to help others see the light, and read them a little scripture to aid digestion, you'd be doing it without helping yourself to public money.

That's Jeff Sessions announcing his task force and that's what we are up against. I'm also pretty sure that I'm one of the many that didn't detect said dangerous movement. Must be my tin foil hat needs tuning. No matter if I, or anyone else, likes it or not it may already be too late. With the courts packed with right wingers who have lifetime appointments, and with decades of social progress eroded or destroyed by the likes of Sessions and others, having Trump in the rear view mirror may not matter. Whether or not yo's that blindly love Trump and their own ignorance can spell, answer asked questions, or get their facts in order is probably the least of our troubles. Don't forget Jeff Sessions stood up to trump re Mueller. Give America credit. The time of trump will end and the pendulum will swing the other way. IMO this is a wake up call. Politically active concerned citizens will answer the call for equality and justice. The democrats have seen a wave of women, gays, Muslim women, etc. All entering politics. Hopefully the pendulum will not swing the other way too far, or too fast. Sure thing, everyone will come to their senses and not vote for the next Jill Stein. Those folks are more responsible for Trump as President than the Russians or Hillary's many faults, I believe. Then there are also the folks who didn't want Trump but didn't vote for Hillary because she had it in the bag nationally or in their state or because FUN! We might have had a better shot at fixing the electoral college ridiculousness if she had won the popular vote by a few million more. There would be a number, right? If naught else we still have geologic time to fall back on, that's longer than lifetime appointments. Or maybe space aliens will turn Mar-a-Lago into a scorched spot as a wake up call. Take that, you knuckleheads! And by the by when is the next season of Deadwood? I think it's too glib to wait on a pendulum swing when innocent lives are being hammered during their one lifetime. Right wing authoritarianism is ascendant worldwide. Every one of those places is a place of wide income disparity and civil oppression. It's not about not giving America credit, it's about the law of large numbers. In this case it's that we have such a large number of dipsey-doodles with voter registration cards.

Yup. I know an instructor who starts off her Carry Permit classes by telling the students: "Write a list of everyone you are willing to die for. Now write down everyone you are willing to go to prison for the rest of your life for. Now write down everyone you are willing to give up everything you own for; house, car, savings, everything. The reality is if you use a gun to defend someone, those are very real possibilities. Be very careful using that gun." Yesterday, in the local ACE Hardware store I passed an angry looking dude with a Glock in a thigh holster. Never mind that this store has a "No Open Carry" sign on the front door, this deluded asshole was out to exercise his second amendment rights and fuck anyone who disagreed. How is it that anyone views this as necessary? For fucks sake, I just wanted to buy a piece of 2" PVC pipe in a town that has 3 marijuana stores and not a single goddamn 3 way stop light. Not to mention that it would have been child's play to grab a shovel and whack the moron on the head if necessary. WTF? I'm a gun guy but this is just ridiculous bullshit.

Marc seems to have some sort of learning and communication disability. Except in crowds, or internet forums, people like him are sort of harmless. Take away his bull horn and he's back to being a frustrated nobody. He'll never be dissuaded from a single wrong opinion because he is finally on a winning team and that justifies everything. Like Marc, I'd bet that most of the droids at Trump rallies couldn't organize a three person marble game if two of us showed up and also brought the marbles. I believe the best defense against people like Marc is to disperse them: when alone they are mostly silent. Here he has an audience. He can tell Professors they are poor thinkers and then run away with a flag like it's touch football. Surely all can now agree that it is obvious Marc will never give an inch much less a straight answer. So why bother? That’s where you're wrong, people like Rush are the people that got Trump elected. They feel embodied by him because Trump is one of them. I can almost guarantee Rush would rather have Trump admit to openly working with Putin to get elected because that means Hilary and democrats lost. Democrat is a four letter word to thes people. Even calling them these people is part of the problem. They have felt left behind for too long. They finally come out of there holes and latched on to trump. The America they knew when they were younder is gone. Trump promised to bring it back. They are loud, they are ignorant, and worst is they vote while uninformed. The public education system failed them, the news failed them, and they likely work in fields that are echochambers. This does apply to all trump supporters, but it does apply the the most hardcore trump supporters. You are right and I will step back from my statement that people like Marc are harmless. That is clearly incorrect. Indeed, by voting in large numbers they cause great harm. I more meant that alone in daily life they cause little harm. My point is that with the internet a whole lot of willfully ignorant people now have speaking roles in what should have been a silent movie. Given that they already have enough voice and power to elect someone like Trump as President (with witless help from fools on the Left) I see little reason to gift them more. I actually think it's people like Ron who need to be feared most. They are dangerous. They tend to grasp the rules of grammar and can somehow locate the spell check feature on their computers. They can come off as sensible. They have an agenda and a playbook and they are generally isolationists. They don't care about science, international relationships, social equality or equal rights. They are, as Ron's avatar advertises, holy warriors. Everyone else, of course, are their unholy enemies. Most importantly, they are already organized, have meeting houses spread across the land and are subsidized with your tax dollars. Also, they don't mind suffering a bit to get their way. Just take AG Jeff Sessions as an example. Why would he take the constant taunts, insults and humiliations of the President? Because he's a patriot? Hardly, I'm certain he despises Trump. His eye was on the prize: the coming opportunity, as the head of the United States Department of Justice, to jam his "Religious Liberty Task Force" down our throats. That's Jeff Sessions announcing his task force and that's what we are up against. I'm also pretty sure that I'm one of the many that didn't detect said dangerous movement. Must be my tin foil hat needs tuning. No matter if I, or anyone else, likes it or not it may already be too late. With the courts packed with right wingers who have lifetime appointments, and with decades of social progress eroded or destroyed by the likes of Sessions and others, having Trump in the rear view mirror may not matter. Whether or not yo's that blindly love Trump and their own ignorance can spell, answer asked questions, or get their facts in order is probably the least of our troubles.

Marc seems to have some sort of learning and communication disability. Except in crowds, or internet forums, people like him are sort of harmless. Take away his bull horn and he's back to being a frustrated nobody. He'll never be dissuaded from a single wrong opinion because he is finally on a winning team and that justifies everything. Like Marc, I'd bet that most of the droids at Trump rallies couldn't organize a three person marble game if two of us showed up and also brought the marbles. I believe the best defense against people like Marc is to disperse them: when alone they are mostly silent. Here he has an audience. He can tell Professors they are poor thinkers and then run away with a flag like it's touch football. Surely all can now agree that it is obvious Marc will never give an inch much less a straight answer. So why bother?

LOL I wish I could put into words the image in my mind of you sitting at a computer trying to find my all caps posts. I will laugh at that image forever! Sort of like the image I laugh at in my mind: you, totally free to do whatever you want, sitting alone in your boat on Lake Ahmayoyo, Schlitz in hand and waiting on the Blue Gill to bite. Ahh, buddy, it don't get no better than this!

Don't feel bad. Human memory sucks. Most everybody has a few very vivid, completely fabricated memories, pretty much indistinguishable from real ones. You mean Ron, right? Did I win?

So this revelation, if true, would directly implicate Trump himself in an effort to conspire with a foreign power to tip the election to him, and a subsequent effort to cover that up. We already know that Trump helped dictate a statement lying to America about the real purpose of the meeting, and, if Cohen is right, the coverup would also include falsely denying not just knowledge of the meeting, but also his approval of it. And now he's twitter threatened Iran with a massive attack, implying it would be nuclear, for throwing threatening words at the U.S. I hope the grown ups have it to where he can not use war to divert everyones attention from his crimes.

I'm thinking you didn't put enough spit in your hand. That or by everyone else you meant an exclusive everyone else.

Nice to see more people enslaved by giving them free money. If we don't destroy ourselves and our planet and if we find a way to keep the Luddites under control is it not likely that something akin to the Star Trek economy will, some day, take the place of our current system? I don't know if a guaranteed basic income is a good idea right now. But it seems to me that it's a forward looking idea that may seem prescient some day. That alone should protect the thought from derision.