Not in so many ways.. :D

But, that's not really your problem, is it ... :)

Nope... My problem around here is that I don't toe the Party line.. :D

But hay, whatcha gonna do?? :D

Amend that to say:

Has someone told you not to be so personal?

But, that's not really your problem, is it ... :)

Amend that to say:

Democrats can't handle the facts and that is why we have President Trump and that is why the Democrat Party will continue to be the Minority Party til at least 2024...

My bust...

No.. In your Democrat world it's nonsense.. In the REAL world, it's reality..

And you can't face that and neither can the majority of the Democrat Party...

See my comment to Liz above and CW's MDDOTW award in the latest FTP ......

You can't handle the facts and that is why we have President Trump and that is why the Democrat Party will continue to be the Minority Party til at least 2024...

I start to worry when one group of Americans start calling the other group unpatriotic. That movie doesn't end well.

What else would YOU call a group of Americans who voted for open borders and putting the US into a new world order where America is simply a cog in a global corporatist machine no better than any other 3rd world hell hole cog??

I suppose delusional would also fit, but doesn't capture the essence of the stoopidity of the action..

Unpatriotic is the only description that logically and rationally fits...

But, I am saying that Democrats in Washington and around the country should take this opportunity - a lack of up-wing presidential leadership - to start putting forth a positive agenda for progressive change ... something that should have been done in the election campaign ... like the campaign for the midterms is already underway

As CW points out in the current FTP the problem is that Democrats aren't facing their real problems... They think that the ONLY problem is one of messaging.. They cannot come to grips with the FACT that the MESSAGE is the problem..

It's been a problem Democrats have been unable to face despite FOUR shellackings, each more brutal than the last...

Measured doesn't have to mean less than muscular or not results-oriented.

I'm not thinking that it would stop this administration or congressional Republicans from doing what they will do. I'm not sure what will.

But, I am saying that Democrats in Washington and around the country should take this opportunity - a lack of up-wing presidential leadership - to start putting forth a positive agenda for progressive change ... something that should have been done in the election campaign ... like the campaign for the midterms is already underway

That's fine as far as it goes. But its just the beginning as Trump and his regime aren't the least bit interested in either criticism or alternatives. Josh Marshall (TPM.com) nailed it months ago: Trump is about Dominance Politics, the #1 rule of which is that he is never wrong and he must not be beaten.

Bannon is genuinely horrible person who exercises considerable influence on 45, and the rest of the GOP is trying very hard to shovel through a series of appalling measures on several fronts while they have the window of control. They will do nothing to reign in DT for as long as they can get away with it.

Your response is way too measured for the situation confronting us.

Yes, I know! Don't you think Democrats should be talking about this particular obstructionism more forcefully and explaining what that maintenance looks like?

I've concluded that Trump is in over his head, never really wanted to be in this position but, over the course of a long campaign, he caught the bug.

Now, he's in a difficult situation and he's acting the only way he knows how to act, as a privileges and entitled businessman with more than one character flaw.

The best way to fight against him and his supporters and the policies they think are best for the country is to consistently point out why those policies are flawed or anathema to the United States of America and counter them with constructive criticism and better alternatives.

“You know what uranium is, right? It’s this thing called nuclear weapons. And other things. Like lots of things are done with uranium. Including some bad things. But nobody talks about that.”

Sorry Elizabeth - I've not looked into this for a while. My understanding is that it is a complex piece of legislation that requires TLC to tune it for the first decade or so until the kinks can be smoothed out, but the Republicans blocked required maintenance hoping that it would implode on its own.

Amen!

I have made similar calls, although what I asked yesterday was: "what did you know and when did you know it? Are you going to support investigation the administration's ties to Putin/Russia or be part of the cover-up? Did you watch Trump's press conference and not see a highly disturbed person? When will be the moment you place country before party?"

The young man I spoke with, surprisingly, told me he would pass on my concerns. Previous to the yesterday's presser the folks at Portman's office were...unreceptive.

But your script re: Press tweets is terrific.

And millions of Americans most definitely care. Even, I'll concede, some Republicans. But where is their Red line?

Do you know anything about how the problematic areas of the ACA can be fixed. I mean without repealing it?

I read somewhere a while ago that there are solutions and that they are well known but no one seems to be advocating for them, at least not vocally.

Or, is it just a matter of acknowledging that healthcare is not like any other issue and that a single payer system is the only way to go?

My congressman refused to attend the inauguration, so I'm not too worried about his stance on this.

But kudos TS!

I see tweets like today's and yesterday's bizarre performance as indicators that 45 is losing it and is just lashing out more and more. He is focused on the media at the moment, but when he starts a fight with the Republican Party the real entertainment starts. We had the first slap on the wrist with Puzder when at least 12 Republican senators discovered a backbone.

Here are some areas where 45 may overreach and get slapped down again:

1. Trying to scrap the Iran deal

2. Pushing through funding for the wall if the CBO estimates start to escalate - especially as the current plan is 800 miles short and calls for a fence rather than a wall

3. Deficit estimates - Congress is forced to use the CBO numbers, and if they are dramatically different from the CEA numbers (especially if some clown is nominated to head the CEA) and the deficit hawks find their spines there could be a huge battle

4. Repealing Obamacare without a replacement in sight, or with a requirement from 45 to actually cover poor people

Your script sounds good and, with the right tone - not too angry, more pleading- if I had a congressional rep I would be making my voice heard, too.

It's important that the voices of resistance are heard and are sustained and, above all, are constructive. The voices of reason must prevail or we're all doomed.

I wonder what we'll all be thinking and saying 4 years from now ...

The President's blanket condemnation of the media is an assault on the First Amendment

I find his remarks ignorant, outrageous and unpatriotic

I consider this a moment of crisis

Mr. Republican Congressman. Are you outraged by the President's remarks? If so, have you communicated your outrage to the President and other members of your party? Are your objections on record? If not, why not?

Do you believe in rule of law and accountability?

Do believe certain lines should not be crossed?

I will hold you and your party to account for actions taken, or not taken at this pivotal moment.

I urge other Weigentians to call their congressional reps and give them Holy Hell. Calls carry more freight than E-mails. Speak up now, while we still can.

I dunno, maybe nobody cares?

At least he likes the Washington Post.

The deplorables with their guns will object when Trump is inevitably taken down -- he will be, one way or another -- and the question is whether they will be foolish enough or wicked enough to start shooting.

If they don't, we may squeak out of this coup without violence. If they do it will get ugly.

http://www.vox.com/2017/2/17/14651208/trump-budget-forecast

...Trump’s budget was put together with “transition officials telling the CEA staff the growth targets that their budget would produce and asking them to backfill other estimates off those figures.

That is what propagandists do, plain and simple.

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

What an ass he is.

Trump supporters should just up and move to Russia where they can live in the totalitarian regime they want to have here. Meanwhile true American patriots will stand up against this despicable wanna-be dicatator.

Let's all agree that patriotism isn't defined by supporting 45 or thinking he is a danger to America, or anything in between.

When we start picking who is a real American and who isn't we lose focus on the true enemy ... Belgium!

That's good enough for me.. :D

Yeah, but in the real world it is nonsense. And boring.

I know at least 3, probably 4 people agree with that assessment..

That's good enough for me.. :D

Ahhhh I see how it is..

It's perfectly OK for Paula to claim that Trump supporters are anti-American...

But when I claim that ANTI-Trump supporters are the ones who are Anti-American, I get attacked...

Hypocrisy much??? :D

But dead on ballz accurate.. :D

The anti-American-moron contingent, of course, still loves them their criminal-underling to President Bannon.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-new-disapproval-high-gallup-tracking-poll

And I am willing to bet that quite a few here agree with that assessment...

Boring.

And I am willing to bet that quite a few here agree with that assessment...

And I can find morons like that on the Left...

I thought we had all agreed that a single moron does not an entire group paint??

Hillary was one of the most honest politicians in the 2016 election and 45 was by far the least honest, but too many people believed lies about her.

You mean too many people believed the FACTS about her...

RCP POLL OF POLLs has a slight uptick in President Trump's Job Approval rating to 44.7.. a .1 uptick...

You wanted to graph it.. We're gonna graph it... :D

That is if you know it is satirical - but look at the guy who shot up the pizza parlor in DC - he believed something far more outlandish than this satire and he was not alone.

Hillary was one of the most honest politicians in the 2016 election and 45 was by far the least honest, but too many people believed lies about her.

But you can understand why Fake News is so much fun.. :D

And had absolutely NO EFFECT on the election... :D

Fake News :D

http://www.breakingburgh.com/cuba-greatly-concerned-presence-russian-client-state-90-miles-away/

You mean.... "alternate facts" ?????

heheheheheheheehehehehe

Fair enough... Completely in agreement...

Please ignore #144 then... :D

Once again, 2 seconds too early... :D

Reminiscent of the hunched over cave man, with his arms to the ground. An insult used against those of extremely low intelligence, or general stupidity.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=knuckle%20dragger

Anyone who thinks that a Republican gifted neuro-surgeon is a "knuckle dragger" is simply playing partisan politics...

Nothing more..

I am sorry, Neil. I don't mean to offend you but I calls em as I sees em...

Sounds like the Trump presidency... :D

http://www.aalto.fi/en/current/news/2017-02-16-003/

The only pertinent information is that she ran and she lost..

TWICE...

But she is not a knuckle-dragger.. She is many many MANY things, but a knuckle-dragger is not one of them..

Oh come on - if 45 claimed that he was going to enter the U.S. Open and expected to win because he is the World's best golfer, you'd laugh your head off and conclude he was a knuckle dragger.

Nope.. I would conclude he was delusional, but based on everything else I know about him a "knuckle-dragger" would be the LAST thing I would call him..

*I* am a knuckle-dragger and I got the scars to prove it.. :D

Dr Ben Carson may be delusional about his capabilities.. But, based on the totality of his life, a "knuckle-dragger"???

Not possible...

Still wouldn't make him a knuckle-dragger...

Oh come on - if 45 claimed that he was going to enter the U.S. Open and expected to win because he is the World's best golfer, you'd laugh your head off and conclude he was a knuckle dragger.

Not a liar - but somebody who either ignores a lot of pertinent experience (even Republicans called her an excellent Sec State until it became clear she was running) or believes a lot of lies about nonsense hit jobs like Benghazi!!! and Emailgate.

Hope I didn't dent your confidence - but seriously, this was not meant to single out surgeons - in fact they get immediate feedback and tend to learn on the job. A study of radiologists who were asked to determine if a patient has signs of cancer by looking at multiple x-rays was far more disturbing. The same radiologists, when given the same x-ray at a later point in their tests gave different answers. And the answers were all over the place and not very well tied to the actual results.

Medicine is far more of an art than a science.

All the same, I hope your Achilles tendon is OK.

No, it doesn't...

Too many people think that being President is simple, but would scoff at 45 if he claimed he could be a top golfer, a neuro-surgeon or a astro-physicist.

Still wouldn't make him a knuckle-dragger...

If I had made a claim such as that (calling her a knuckle-dragger because she thought she could be POTUS) about, say NOT-45, I would be accused of lying..

Aren't you happy I am more civilized than that?? :D

I know I am...

Thinking he can be President when he has absolutely no experience does. He would laugh at somebody who told them that their experience as a car mechanic allowed them to perform complex brain surgery, so the fact that he doesn't understand that being President requires a similar level of proven experience does.

Too many people think that being President is simple, but would scoff at 45 if he claimed he could be a top golfer, a neuro-surgeon or a astro-physicist.

130-

Thanks for that. I'm visiting a orthopedic surgeon next week to see if my Achilles tendon needs splicing.

129-good job on that. I would add that intelligence is multidimensional. You can be strong one axis, and very weak on others.

Notice I used the term slow witted to describe Trump. By that, I mean that he doesn't he doesn't seem to process very fast...the best evidence of this is his word salad speech pattern. Trump tends to be impulsive, he acts before adequate processing. An important part of overall intelligence is self awareness, which includes knowing what your weaknesses are. Being superb in one dimension can make you very successful at something. That's my rough definition of street smart. Trump seems street smart. Highly specialized, remains to see how well he succeeds outside of his salesman niche.

Not knowing about politics does not make him a "knuckle-dragger".....

No - he didn't say anything sensible about politics. He may we excellent in his field and have great eye-hand coordination coupled with a lot of experience in brain architecture and structure, but that does not translate to running a large organization and being insightful about complex policy.

And your assessment of Dr Carson as a "knuckle-dragger" has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that he has a '-R' after his name?? :D

I went to medical school - surgeons are human butchers.

I'd say about 10% of the rich, successful people I know fall into this category, mostly the offspring of family businesses like 45.

Thus his projections of wealth don't really cut it with me. I want to know why he is hiding his tax returns - there has to be a reason and it is likely that he has way less income than he claims. I'd also like to see his balance sheet - I can see the golf clubs and his name on buildings - but what is the debt structure for his organization - and who does he owe money to?

So the outward signs of success that impress many people are red flags for me when coupled with lack of transparency. His history of bankruptcy and the complaints from suppliers add to the suspicion that he isn't all he seems.

So a respected neuro-surgeon is a "knuckle-dragger"... :D

Yea... No political bigotry there... :D

"GEEE I wonder why that is!!??!"
-Kevin Spacey, THE NEGOTIATOR

:D

After I see you lie about things, you no longer get the benefit of the doubt.

I proved over and over again on previous threads that was was outright lying about things he said. Not mistaken. Lied.

After you are caught lying, every time you lie, I will call it that.

Not everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt.

You didn't explain the facts of President Trump's success in the context of your conclusion that President Trump is "slow" or "half witted"...

Not in 117 at least..

You did in 122 and 123, but you ignored Occam's Razor...

I already did. Read [117].

I did. They sounded smart (well most of them, Carson and Perry are fellow knucke draggers, but they made the mistake of trying to sound smart).

Daddy's money and lawyers. And stiffing people.

In that context, I am not talking about President Trump or the facts..

In THAT missive I am referring to the people who have no moral foundation to hold President Trump accountable for his lies..

OK... Then explain how he was able to be so successful in business if he is "slow"...

Explain how he was able to beat 17 "smart" and savvy politicians and other men and women..

If the President is "slow" how could he have beat THE biggest, meanest, and most well-funded political juggernaut in the history of the planet...

Explain this FACTS in the context of your "conclusion" that President Trump is slow..

Try to employ Occam's Razor when you explain these facts..

I am putting a 1000 quatloo bet that you can't or won't address these facts...

:D

facts don't cease to be factual simply because some people are a bit more consistent than others in their criticism of public figures. it was still not a landslide, and the president still said it was.

JL

"Sorry media — this press conference played very different with Trump’s supporters

You see?? It's ALL about the context...

Patriotic Americans LOVED it...

Those in the middle likely loved seeing the Lame Stream Media skewered six ways from Sunday..

I expect a bump in Trump's Job Approval... :D"

AND YET, what you cited was ONLY ONE man's editorial and an OPINION piece at that, with absolutely no polls or anything else to back up his assertions.

People LOVE watching disasters, plane crashes, car and train wrecks too. It's called "rubbernecking" after all. It's great entertainment and a vicarious thrill for some people, UNTIL it happens to them.

When it comes to Michale and his insistence on Trump winning by a landslide if you put things in context, I can only offer this:

The Keeper: "She (insert Michale here) has an illusion, and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant."

FROM Star Trek, TOS episode "The Cage."

No, these are conclusions, not facts. I can't run psychological tests to determine if 45 is slow, but he sure looks like it to me.

You think he is a successful businessman, and credit him with superhuman powers to defeat political machines, thus conclude that he is not a slow-wit or half-wit, but I personally think that he isn't very smart and just talked to a lot of people in a 'regular' way.

A lot of 45's supporters have been listening to educated people talking in long words, and looked around them and concluded:

1. Things are going really well in America for people who use long words and are well educated - they are rich but me and my kids and friends are getting poorer and that isn't fair

2. Maybe the well educated politicians are looking out for their will educated kids and friends - so we need somebody like us in there - and that is what 45 sounded to them - you heard it time and again.

Any I wrong?

Along with being Hitler, etc etc etc...

Of course it was....

Yep.. Speeches replete with "I"s and "ME"s are always a concern.. :D

Yes, CW cares.. He called out Obama on his lies.. Even awarded him THE LIE OF THE YEAR..

You care. I believe you also called out Obama on his lies. And even NOT-45....

But as to the rest......

always a concern whenever someone starts touting their own intelligence.

i'm smarter than you.
~the usual suspects

https://youtu.be/obi535yDzSw

Where did THAT come from...???

That was a reference to the question from Ami Magazine reporter. It was a question about the increase in antisemitism recently but 45 took it as a charge of antisemitism against him and went off on a rant (that wasn't a rant, even though it was really ;)

"why doesn't he just clear the room and get Sean Hannity and the Fox Five to lob safe questions he has already seen at him?"

But the orthodox reporter was SO MUCH BETTER for Trump than a Hannity. Hannnities are a dime a dozen. The question was beautifully framed and pitched towards an audience familiar with rabbinical thinking. Jews in other words. Targeted audience. The question gently prompted the correct answer (very rabbinical)...if you take a millisecond or two to work out the phrasing. Trump engaged his mouth before he fully engaged his brain. Slow thinking. Limited skill set. Not out of the norm, but not Presidential.

The reporter should have used finger puppets. It's fun to imagine what THAT would look like.

i care. CW cares. you claim to care. facts matter. factually, it was an upset. factually, it was not a landslide. therefore, either the president lied, or he didn't know what the word landslide meant. CW contends the former; i personally lean toward the latter.

JL

He's lying and trolling.

this is an opinion. it's a prejudicial one, carrying the assumption that michale's error is intentional, but i can live with it.

He's a liar and a troll

this is name-calling, and crosses the line between harsh criticism and flame-bait. please note the distinction between criticizing the action and the name-calling the person. when we don't have to scroll ninety-seven posts to get to any real content, we'll all be glad you did.

JL

Also, he was more specific. He said it was the biggest win since Reagan.

He didn't mess up. He lied.

From the guy who says he values facts.

And the facts say something completely different..

Don't you find it fascinating that you switch from and two adherence to facts really REALLY fast.. :D

I sure do...

I'm a patriot; I signed my name on the dotted line, and I'd do it again. I'd die for this country; the idea that you would dare insult us with that charge because we DARE question a liar who stands in front of us and outright lies; No. I will not just sit here and pretend that's appropriate behavior from adults or Americans.

Quit the lying, quit the trolling, and stick to the facts.

I am saying in one context, President Trump is correct... Historic upset, Historic landslide, who cares?!?

Only the people who hate the President, that's who....

if you can accept the distinction, can you now drop the contention that the president calling his victory a "landslide" was somehow accurate? whether a lie or an error, it was not an accurate description of what occurred.

JL

If yer happy, I am happy..

It's not what I said, but as long as you're happy, I'm happy.. :D

or explain the bizarre reaction to the antisemitism question.

Anti-whatsawhosits???

Where did THAT come from...???

Well, it was fun while it lasted... :^/

I'll use forbearance for as long as I can..

I can accept that distinction..

But that isn't what 45 is saying - or do you think it is? If so, why?

Oh I know I'm a political bigot. Happy to accept that charge. But that doesn't explain why CW could write a whole article pointing out just one of 45's lies, or explain the bizarre reaction to the antisemitism question.

He's lying and trolling. Why are you so insistent on defending him, when it's clear what he's doing?

He's insulted all of us here, in a backhanded fashion, by calling us unpatriotic and basically traitors for questioning their lies.

He's a liar and a troll. I'll say it every single time I see it.

You want to keep it off these comments? Talk to your boy.

Once again, the FACTS say something COMPLETELY different...

Yes, he is also half-witted.

That you are suffering from extreme cognitive dissonance.

Heard of Hans Christian Andersen? He wrote a little story you need to read.

I can accept that distinction..

And when YOU get caught in political bigotry, you lash out to avoid answering the question.. :D

We all have our little foibles.. :D

Once again, the FACTS say something COMPLETELY different...

If someone constantly denigrates and castigates a guy with an -R after their name for doing something and then remains silent when a guy with a -D after their name does the EXACT SAME THING, what is the ONLY logical and rational conclusion???

The ONLY logical and rational conclusion is that LYING is not really a problem for said someone...

It's WHO is doing the lying that is the point..

A logical and rational conclusion, logically and rationally arrived at..

I always seem to get attacked when I ask questions that no one wants to answer.. :D