Neil is Ensign Boma and I am Commander Spock..

"Spock, I would insist on a burial, even if it was YOUR body back there!!"
"Mr Boma!!!!"
"Well, I am sick and tired of this Vulcan machines!!!"
"That's enough outta you!!! Mr Spock is a ranking Commander of the service!"

Hysterical emotionalism...

"Tis true, tis sad.. Tis sad, tis true"

Perhaps he could call it "Make America Great Again Socialism", but that is a bit long, and the term "American Socialism" has already been taken.

I've got an idea. What about "National Socialism"?

What do you think Michale, would you be a National Socialist if Treasonous Trump asked you to be?

1. Treasonous Trump runs around announcing tariffs.
2. EU and Japan agree to free trade agreement
3. EU agrees to free trade agreement talks with US

This is a win for Treasonous Trump Michale?

The EU are happy to have FTAs - they always have been, subject to protecting French farmers of course. We love free trade deals as well, like the TPP with S.E. Asia (which Treasonous Trump pulled us out of) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the EU (which Treasonous Trump also pulled us out of).

So, TT walks away from a FTA with the EU (TTIP), imposes tariffs that are matched by the EU, then agrees to FTA talks with the EU (who hand him the text of the TTIP) and this is a win.

You're right, I'm tired of "winning" when it means losing then getting back to where we started.

Don [56] If we can afford 12 billion for farmers to not grow crops then shouldn't we be able to afford 12 billion toward a basic minimum income?

Well of course. We've basically had socialism in America since the founding fathers established the postal service in the constitution. I get that.

But the 20th century taught us to be wary of avowed socialists because the term is vague enough to cover a raft of bad behaviors as well as some good ones.

So in terms of political platforms and party identification, I'd avoid the term 'socialist' like it was a meat fart.

It's already an outdated term anyway, nowadays akin to discussing the Whig party platform. Northern Europe and China each have their own versions, for better and worse, and Putin seems to be inventing a new version of his own, a sort of Nationalist Socialism - what could go wrong with that?

"your guy was once as unpopular as my guy is"

Yeah, that's something to be proud of.

Guffaw.

Once again, Trump makes the deal and comes thru for the American people. Gods it just must KILL ya'all.

They agreed to talk is all, and to suspend Trumps ridiculous tariffs. Essentially the same play as a guy who's been holding a gun to your head who puts the gun down, then congratulates himself for saving your life.

This is the way mob bosses operate.

OOOoooooooo That just KILLS ya'all, don't it..

No, I'm actually glad to see Trump back down a little bit. I hope he makes it a habit.

OOOoooooooo That just KILLS ya'all, don't it.. :D

Says the guy who refuses to accept the reality of President Trump and his Odumbo-esque approval numbers.. :D

Now, about that $12B of socialism ... maybe Treasonous Trump can form his own caucus, the "Republican Socialist Caucus".

His Top 5 Socialist Policies are:

1. Blowing a hole in the budget
2. Putting up trade barriers to protect businesses from competition
3. Protecting the little guy from the elites
4. Being pro-Russia and cozying up to communist leaders
5. A $12B welfare package for not growing crops

Stand aside Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Republican Socialist Treasonous Trump is already out socialisting you!

The official said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his top trade official Cecilia Malmström agreed to work with the U.S. administration to lower industrial tariffs on both sides, increase LNG exports and soy beans to Europe, and align regulatory standards to allow for medical devices to have better market access in Europe, the official said.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ahead-of-eu-meeting-trump-rails-at-domestic-critics-1532524795

SO much for ya'all's wishes of an EU/US Trade War....

Sorry, suckers.. No Trade War for you... :D

Once again.. Ya'all are ALWAYS wrong.. :D

The problem, Liz, is that the issues that we will face in 2020 are simply not known nor knowable...

It's entirely possible that by 2020, President Trump's genius will be appreciated and the Democrats will put up a token candidate realizing that President Trump is unstoppable...

Think 1984 or 1996...

I agree that it's too early to discuss individual democratic presidential candidates but, it's never too early to talk about the kind of candidate in terms of the requisite attributes and qualities that you would look for in a democratic presidential candidate.

I'm talking less about personalities than what the perfect candidate might bring to the table.

For instance, I would like to see a Democratic candidate in 2020 who has a full understanding of what the existential issues are and a clear vision for meeting the challenges they pose.

No, you promised us World War III...

And you think HELSINKI is comparable???

"If you think 6 minutes is forever, I feel sorry for your wife."
-Freddie Mercury, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Face the reality, Balthy.. Ya'all's hysterical fear-mongering has been exposed as nothing but hysterical fear-mongering... :D

Of course you do.. You are so enslaved by Party, you cannot see that THEY would come up with something so bad..

That's yer problem.. You can't think straight due to Party slavery...

If you're asking me, I think I covered that in [33] to some extent. As for who.. I like Joe, and think he'd be great (my brother disagrees because of Joe's age). But it's really to early to discuss that part - often the perfect candidate pops up out of nowhere, as was the case with both Obama and Bill Clinton. Never underestimate the power of a newbie.

Of course I recognize the fallacy of turning hard left. I also recognize the fallacy of wearing diapers outside my pants. It's just not as useful or universally approved of as one thinks it would be.

If I were a more suspicious man, I'd think that the whole idea originated on the right, or in the Kremlin. It's that bad.

And yet, his poll numbers are Odumbo-poll numbers, and the country is humming right along.

Despite a small bump (measured before Helsinki), Trump's approval rating still hovers in the 45 percent range. Moreover, those that disapprove of Trump are now 52% of the electorate, and are more enthusiastic in their disapproval than their counterparts as well. I wouldn't have a party over that.

Where are all the catastrophes you promised us?

Puerto Rico, Helsinki, Singapore, Charlottesville, Brussels, Quebec and along the US border with Mexico, just to name a few...

I heard that the other day Republicans voted to water down the endangered species act. Trump will sign that. The catastrophes just keep coming.

What are you going to hang your hat on when the GOP makes huge gains in the House and Senate?

If such a thing were to happen, the first thing I'd do is advocate for the firing of the heads and principals of the DNC and DCCC for failure in the face of overwhelming opportunity. Our odds aren't great in the Senate (which is 'rigged' by fate this year to be not as target-rich as the House), so an outright win for Democrats there would come as a welcome surprise. We should be able to at least achieve parity in the House, which for practical purposes would be as good as taking it entirely, which would also be welcome. Those are my field markers.

And yet, I am doing a really bang-up job of doing just that.. :D

Like I said, ya want to pretend yer the adult but you are acting EXACTLY as you accuse Trump supporters of acting..

This is fact..

I'll play your game when you admit that your hero is an ignorant, overgrown child, in waaay over his head...

And yet, his poll numbers are Odumbo-poll numbers, and the country is humming right along.

Where are all the catastrophes you promised us??

Stock market crash, economic decimation, World War III

Where IS it all, Blathy???

It's only a figment of your hysterical and wishful imagination..

What are you going to hang your hat on when the GOP makes huge gains in the House and Senate???

What will you do then???

Serious question. I am curious..

Strangely, we agree on this. Renaming ourselves "socialists" is just a change of hats, replacing a worn one with a gaudy one. We're not playing dress-up. The stakes are real ones, goddamnit.

Kudos.. You recognize the fallacy of turning Hard Left.. Good for you..

Not be any definition I have ever heard of...

Oh stop it. A Trump supporter has no standing to lecture anyone about responsibility, decency, or marital infidelity. I'll play your game when you admit that your hero is an ignorant, overgrown child, in waaay over his head...

ACT LIKE IT!!!

Strangely, we agree on this. Renaming ourselves "socialists" is just a change of hats, replacing a worn one with a gaudy one. We're not playing dress-up. The stakes are real ones, goddamnit.

Tell me, Blathy...???

Is that "being the responsible adult"???

Not be any definition I have ever heard of...

Duh....

Of course, that "ya'all" was directed towards Democrats in general, not anyone specifically here.. :D

To the contrary: this is the best opportunity ever for the Democrats to stand up and take the role of Responsible Adults, and say,

"Get an angry mob together and start harassing anyone and everyone who doesn't agree with you!!!"

You see, Blathy... That is EXACTLY ya'all's problem..

You want to be as hateful and hurtful and bigoted and intolerant as you accuse Trump supporters of being..

But want to be CONSIDERED the "responsible adult"..

You can't have it both ways, sunshine..

If ya'all want to be the "responsible" adults??

Here's a wild thought...

ACT LIKE IT!!!

Duh....

To the contrary: this is the best opportunity ever for the Democrats to stand up and take the role of Responsible Adults, and say, "enough!" to the shenanigans of both far right and far left. We should say, "America is not your science fair experiment, and playing loose with national security isn't funny or cool. Put the country down, back away, and let's see then if we can fix it."

To put it differently: the only man to ever reduce Trump to a microbe publicly was Obama, who took Trump down in large part by poking at his legendary ego. "It's decisions like these that would keep me up at night," said Obama, while secretly in the middle of a tense mission to get America's top villain.

"Trump has gotten too big for his britches," a mother of four said to me recently, and given the surge in that demographic among Democratic voters, it's a motto worth considering.

"Nobody ever spanked [Trump]," she told me matter-of-factly. "Obama did", I answered. "I know", she replied, and gave me a little wistful smile. She'd get it - she'd come out and vote for us, but only if we don't try to lecture her like a guy at the dorm we just smoked a big spliff with.

Nothing, naturally.

Because the MSM won't say anything that could be used against Obama...

And while the claim as to WHY Obama gave billions to Iran is subjective, it IS factually accurate to say Obama DID give billions to Iran either immediately prior to the completion, or in the immediate aftermath of the JCPOA...

This is well documented...

And, what did the anchor say about that?

Nothing, naturally.

Of course, by that I meant not a compliment to the Trump administration but a warning to the people to search for the truth of what this administration is up to and that they won't find it in most of the American media.

And, that is the devolutionary media culture, obsessed as they are with shiny objects.

Yep.. And even worse.. The media is only obsessed with shiny objects that further a partisan agenda that is at odds with what every day patriotic Americans want..

When was the last time the news media focused on the policies that the Trump administration is implementing, across the board?

No, it's not the fake news, it's the asinine news.

I'de say the problem is both...

Trump was actually more right than many would like to think when he said that what you are seeing and hearing is not what's happening!

And THERE is the problem in a nutshell.. Those consumed by the Leftist HHPTDS don't like to THINK that President is actually correct about something..

So, they just ignore it..

No, it's not the fake news, it's the asinine news.

Americans should pay more attention to the media abroad like, for instance, the BBC - if they want to know what's going on in their own country, let alone the rest of the world.

Trump was actually more right than many would like to think when he said that what you are seeing and hearing is not what's happening!

And, that is the devolutionary media culture, obsessed as they are with shiny objects.

Gotta hand it to Democrats...

The Trump capitalist economy is roaring and the Democrats' response???

Socialism....

That's like bringing a wet spaghetti noodle to a gun fight.. :D

Feds: Portland ICE protesters spewed racist insults
https://tinyurl.com/yar5pzr3

Looks like ya'all Left Wingers are putting Mad Maxine's and Weigantia's advice into practice.

Go big on name-calling, angry mobs and violent harassment right before the mid-terms..

What could possibly go wrong for Democrats?? :^/

FORUM REPORT..

Wordpress pukes when you put oregonlive in a URL, IE www and oregonlive and dot com...

Just a heads up...

Please ignore all entries in the NNL Filter...

Oregonlive

http://www.theamericanmirror.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HillaryClintonlifealert1-e1532392391170.jpg

In her run up to her 2020 POTUS run, Hillary sports a muumuu...

Homer Simpson wore it better... :D

And what's up with the LIFE ALERT message?? Are her handlers abandoning her???

To think that worn out husk, rode hard and put away wet, shell of a person could have actually be our President..

I shudder at the thought..

Warren also promoted a 50% tax hike on American earners.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/07/fake-indian-elizabeth-warren-suggests-50-democrat-tax-rates-calls-trump-tax-bonuses-crumbs-video/

Oh yes.. yes definitely... Democrats need to full on embrace these ideas...

It will cause a voter turnout unparalleled in the annals of history..

Com'on. Demoncrats!!!! Get behind these ideas!!

"It's the only way to be sure."
-Ripley, ALIENS

:D

Along with going full on Socialism, Democrats ALSO need to fully embrace the Mad Maxine doctrine of getting up angry mobs and violently harass ANYONE that doesn't toe their Party line...

THAT is the ONLY way that Demcorats can convince American voters...

I am not joking.. I really think Democrats should go all in for this...

The GOP is nipping at yer heals, Democrats..

Republican challenger pulls even with anti-Trump Democrat in solid-blue Oregon's governor's race: poll
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/25/republican-challenger-pulls-even-with-anti-trump-democrat-in-solid-blue-oregons-governors-race-poll.html

Democrats need to go full-on socialism before it's too late!!!

I am ALL for the Democrat Party coalescing around socialism and I especially encourage Democrats to USE the Democrat Socialist Caucus as their moniker...

Please, Democrats.. Do this.. Get right on this and make it so...

I am not joking.. I really think Democrats should go all in for this...

Cortez's problem is she was a pretty big deal in her little pond.. She is like Trump in that regard, she could make grandiose pronouncements that the few (relatively) in her district overlooked because she was the new shiny...

Now that she is out in the big pond, her views and her pronouncements are actually being laughed at and questioned and she has had to back pedal furiously...

If you think Cortez is the future of the Democrat Party, then the Democrat Party has no future...

Once again... Pearls of wisdom..

But your Democrats won't listen.. They are hysterical, hateful and bigoted...

But you get points for spelling it out accurately.. 100 quatloos for you.. :D

Six, Liz... Six... :D

And that says it all..

Like I have said before ad nauseum...

Please, Democrats.. PLEASE go full on socialism..

It will guarantee a GOP Majority and a GOP POTUS for the rest of our life-times...

" Incrementalism is a dirty word to true believers of any ideology, but it is the way that things get done...."

I consider this a very important inclusion in your excellent post. The demographics favor progressives in that older white males will be disappearing and younger, darker voters will take our place. As things are now, the older demographic votes at a higher rate, and taking positions or using descriptors which are anathema to many of us in this 55+ community will risk failure.

This may not matter in 2018 if the current debacle which is the Trump administration brings the young out and lukewarm Republicans are repulsed enough to stay home. However, if self-described " Socialists" are adamant that, for example, "ICE" MUST be abolished", I think that many in my age group will read that as "Communists" want to "open our borders to terrorists", a step too far for them to negotiate. We need to recognize that turning the ship of state to the port will be a decades long endeavor. Incrementalism and good policy are the way to succeed.

If they can't unite around a winning message during the Trump era, then they are a lost cause.

The problem for Democrats is that they still don't have a winning message, let alone the ability to communicate it. Can we say Trump's second term?

That is the lesson they can learn from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. How to develop a strong and effective message and communicate it clearly and concisely. (They might want to watch Bill Maher's first show back when Cortez will be one of his guests.)

Trump’s need to please could work out well for the Dems if they take both houses.