What stupid shit has Trump done today?

[CRI]

It used to be like this before the ACA, and will be again if the GOP get away with it.

 

[CRI]

Sorry for the tweet, but I haven't found this clip elsewhere. It's pretty fucking stunning. Republicans in the Senate are going to steamroll through "Trumpcare," aren't they?

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Yes, they're sneaking things through while this circus is going on. They already got bank deregulation done this week. The last time we had rules like this, it built up into a bubble that caused the 2008 economic crisis.

The Republican-led House on Thursday voted to free Wall Street from many of the constraints put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, the opening salvo in what is likely to be a protracted battle over deregulation of the powerful banking industry.

Big banks, from Goldman Sachs to Bank of America, would face less scrutiny, and other large financial institutions, such as insurance giant MetLife, could escape tougher rules allaltogether under the legislation approved largely along party lines.

The Trump administration backed the bill, the Financial Choice Act, as part of a multipronged effort to ease banking regulations to spur economic growth. The legislation probably will face stiff resistance in the Senate, but it provides a road map of sorts for the policies the president plans to put in place as he appoints new regulators. Trump, who has complained about tight lending practices, has ordered three reviews of banking rules, the first of which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is set to deliver as soon as next week.

House passes sweeping legislation to roll back banking rules

This is a case of the foxes rewriting our banking laws.

 

[spring-peeper]

Yes, they're sneaking things through while this circus is going on. They already got bank deregulation done this week. The last time we had rules like this, it built up into a bubble that caused the 2008 economic crisis.




House passes sweeping legislation to roll back banking rules

This is a case of the foxes rewriting our banking laws.

I thought it still have to pass through congress first

 

[CRI]

I thought it still have to pass through congress first

Yes - it passed almost unnoticed through the House of Representatives with barely a whit of coverage in the press. The article does say:

The legislation probably will face stiff resistance in the Senate, but it provides a road map of sorts for the policies the president plans to put in place as he appoints new regulators. Trump, who has complained about tight lending practices, has ordered three reviews of banking rules, the first of which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is set to deliver as soon as next week.

However, I suspect after a wee bit of too-ing and fro-ing, it will get through the Senate as the GOP in the end will toe the party line, with the Vice President skipping down to cast the deciding vote if needed.

It's like whack a mole - you heat up your legislator's phones one one godawful bill, but then get wind there's another in the pipeline so shift to that one. Meanwhile you're picking your jaw off the floor at the latest revelations in the House Intelligence Committee proceedings, and what about that spate of hate crimes over there, and on and on it goes and whoops, missed that bill that's already headed to the Senate for a nod. It's infuriating

 

[CRI]

 

[CrabbedOne]

On FP Trump Discovers Article 5 After Disastrous NATO Visit

...
During the dinner, Trump went off-script to criticize allies again for not spending enough on defense. (The United States is one of only five members that meets NATO members’ pledge to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense.)

Several sources briefed extensively on the dinner say he said 2 percent wasn’t enough and allies should spend 3 percent of GDP on defense, and he even threatened to cut back U.S. defense spending and have Europeans dole out “back pay” to make up for their low defense spending if they didn’t pony up quickly enough. Two sources say Trump didn’t mention Russia once during the dinner.

“Oh, it was like a total shitshow,” said one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to discuss the closed-door dinner.

“The dinner was far worse than the speech,” said a former senior U.S. government official briefed on dinner. “It was a train wreck. It was awful.”

NATO headquarters declined to comment on the dinner. “This was a confidential dinner of allied leaders and we respect their confidence,” a NATO spokesperson said.

Trump’s actions during his Brussels visit, both in public and behind closed doors, shed light on how the transatlantic relationship has soured in just the few short months since Trump took office.

His decision to deliberately omit a line of his speech in which he pledged to honor NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause also showcases another example of Trump going off script — a move that blindsided his national security team, as Politico reported.

Jim Townsend, the former top Pentagon envoy to NATO during President Barack Obama’s administration, said the visit damaged Washington’s standing with its closest allies. “[Trump] has no self control,” Townsend said. “He made his point — rudely, I thought — so why not use the dinner behind closed doors to talk about anything: Russia, strategy, Afghanistan. He didn’t.”
...

Trump is just obsessed with NATO members not paying their back rent. Very grumpy, upping the rate and threatening to cut the Pentagon budget he promised his voter he'd lavishly spend on because: IS & China. I'm waiting until the greedy old bugger hears about the Marshall Plan. Think of the vig on that. So unfair!

 

[J Ed]

Yes, they're sneaking things through while this circus is going on. They already got bank deregulation done this week. The last time we had rules like this, it built up into a bubble that caused the 2008 economic crisis.




House passes sweeping legislation to roll back banking rules

This is a case of the foxes rewriting our banking laws.

Surprisingly little focus on this compared to the Russia stuff. Wonder why.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Politico Week 3: The President Raves About the ‘Nut Job’s’ Notes

...
For students of Trump’s history, the current drama resembles a grander remake of his previous housing, tax, sex, “university,” charity and loan intrigues, one with higher production values but the same basic plot: Trump plunging Trump into trouble. Inside his head, the president has got to be replotting the usual escape plan that has saved him when he’s found himself cornered. He’ll offer to buy his way out of trouble by paying a large fine but admit no wrongdoing.

Watch this place for his future plea bargains.

The aptly named Swamp Diary guesses what's going on under Trump's hair piece.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Slate Trump Hands Comey a New Weapon

The big twit now says Comey is lying about their conversations. Trump says he's willing to repeat that under oath. This is the fella who tried to intimidate Comey by tweeting he had recordings of their meetings. Comey was very comfortable with that. Getting caught committing perjury does not seem that unlikely to me. It's just the sort of impulsive thing he'd do.

 

[CRI]

In Trump's America . . .

Alleged neo-Nazi bomb-maker gets bond

Last month, cops found bomb-making material, weapons, and ammo in the garage of his Tampa Palms apartment. On his bedroom dresser, a framed picture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. On his computer, Nazi and white supremacist propaganda.

The 21-year-old, who is a member of the Florida National Guard, admitted to being a neo-Nazi sympathizer, and to making explosives materials.

In federal court Thursday, we learned while cops were discovering all of this disturbing evidence, Brandon Russell went shopping to buy more guns and 500 rounds of ammo. This time he took a buddy along who shares the same neo-Nazi beliefs.

Russell's dangerous plot came to light after his roommate, Devon Arthurs was arrested and charged with the murder of their two other roommates. Arthurs led police to the bodies and to Russell's bombs.

Arthurs says all of the roommates, Jeremy Himmelman, Andrew Oneshuk, and Brandon Russell were neo-Nazi believers, but recently Arthurs converted to the Islamic faith and turned on his roommates. Especially, he says, they disrespected his new Muslim beliefs.

Arthurs told cops Brandon Russell often threatened, on white supremacist websites, to blow up buildings and kill people.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On TNI Is James Comey Baiting Donald Trump into Making a Mistake?

Nothing really new in this but the headline is an interesting question.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Politico Trump publicly commits to NATO mutual-defense provision

Weeks after omitting any mention of NATO’s collective defense provisions during a speech at the treaty organization’s headquarters, President Donald Trump on Friday explicitly recommitted the U.S. to its Article 5 obligations.

“Well, I'm committing the United States, and have committed, but I'm committing the United States to Article 5,” the president said in response to a question from a Romanian reporter. “Yes, absolutely I'd be committed to Article 5.”
...

The jittery old poop perhaps should be committed.

 

[Lord Camomile]

It's as stupid as it is sad

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

It's as stupid as it is sad

ROFL

It's The Simpsons isn't it?
What a slap stick plastic noodle of an orange head....

 

[bimble]

His muslim ban's just been binned again.
9th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to reinstate Trump's travel ban
so much winning.

 

[Lord Camomile]

so much winning.

ARE YOU TIRED OF WINNING YET?! ARE YOU?!

 

[bimble]

I hope he does that thing again of saying 'see you in court!' to the court.

 

[gosub]

It's as stupid as it is sad

but he doesnt expect loyalty

 

[spring-peeper]

Trump is going to Wisconsin to give a speech at a local college.
I wonder if he is going to offer an opinion on a GE plant closing and all 350 workers are out of a job. GE is reopening in Ontario, giving us more than 150 jobs.

 

[bimble]

It's all fine because look! A new coalmine!

 

[Lord Camomile]

It's as stupid as it is sad

I can't watch it all, I can't.

 

[CRI]

Christ Almighty, look at this display at Trump's first full cabinet meeting. You can almost see the gears turning in their heads as each tries to think of more elaborate ways to lick his orange ass when it comes their turn.

 

[mather]

Christ Almighty, look at this display at Trump's first full cabinet meeting. You can almost see the gears turning in their heads as each tries to think of more elaborate ways to lick his orange ass when it comes their turn.

Why are they having their first cabinet meeting now, six months after getting into office?

In the UK, the prime minister usually holds the first cabinet within days of being elected. Same with your elections, what takes us six weeks to do takes you Yanks a whole year. It seems you lot like to do politics in the slow lane.

 

[CRI]

Why are they having their first cabinet meeting now, six months after getting into office?

In the UK, the prime minister usually holds the first cabinet within days of being elected. Same with your elections, what takes us six weeks to do takes you Yanks a whole year. It seems you lot like to do politics in the slow lane.

It's not quite the same as a parliamentary system, where the leader of the Government already has a pool of MPs he or she already knows to choose from, and where usually, there are already "shadow ministers" for most roles ready to hit the ground running. The US President has to "pick from fresh" people he or she thinks can do the job - usually folks who've held office at national or state level, but sometimes people with less political experience, like from business. Most of the time though, they'll have already been drawing up a list and talking to prospective appointees as soon as they get the party nomination. Once picked, they have to go through approval hearings in the Senate, ethical clearance, etc., and that can take time - especially if the majority in the Senate is the opposite party (well, if they're Republicans actually) as they tend to give nominees a hard ride or block the appointment of those they don't like.

Clearly, Trump didn't give this a minute's thought to his cabinet until after the election, and still only filled a few slots before the inauguration. They skipped ethical approval for most of them and the GOP majority Senate changed rules to get some of them through. Still hundreds of very senior posts empty at the moment.

I found a clip from the first meeting of Obama's cabinet at the start of his first term. It happened on 20th April 2009, and it was the President praising his cabinet, not the other way round, oh, and discussing how to start fixing the clusterfuck of an economy the Bush administration left as a parting gift.

 

[CrabbedOne]

Why are they having their first cabinet meeting now, six months after getting into office?

In the UK, the prime minister usually holds the first cabinet within days of being elected. Same with your elections, what takes us six weeks to do takes you Yanks a whole year. It seems you lot like to do politics in the slow lane.

Judge ye not lest ye be judged innit.

After a year (a fucking year!) there's really no coherent British policy on severing their most important trade relationship in the name of sovereignty. A Labour leader who seemed to be snoozing on his allotment during the referendum proves to be able enough to scare but not beat the Tories. No 10 is contemplating hanging on in a humiliating CON-DUP pact. The Tories are in La La Land about their negotiation position with the EU. Viewed from abroad this looks pretty dysfunctional even in comparison with Trump.

 

[mather]

Judge ye not lest ye be judged innit.

After a year (a fucking year!) there's really no coherent British policy on severing their most important trade relationship in the name of sovereignty. A Labour leader who seemed to be snoozing on his allotment during the referendum proves to be able enough to scare but not beat the Tories. No 10 is contemplating hanging on in a humiliating CON-DUP pact. The Tories are in La La Land about their negotiation position with the EU. Viewed from abroad this looks pretty dysfunctional even in comparison with Trump.

I'm a Leave voter, so for me Brexit is one of the few good things to come out British politics recently. The only scandal with Corbyn's position during the EU referendum was that he was a lifelong Eurosceptic who saw what the EU was really all about but because of all the metropolitan middle class liberals in the party, the very same people who were making his life hell when he became leader and constantly stabbing him in the back at every opportunity they got, he had to conform to their wishes and campaign for something he did not, in his heart, believe in. Imagine how much better a position Labour would be in had it taken the views and interests of working class base and campaigned for a socialist alternative to both the official Leave and Remain campaigns.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the Tories lasting another full parliamentary term, the DUP-Tory deal hasn't even been finalised yet and it already looks like it could all fall apart and the possibility of new elections sometime this year is a very real one. Current polling now has Labour ahead of the Tories which means when there are new elections, they are out.

I will agree with you that the Tories are in no good position to deliver Brexit, but then again that could be said of anything else they have promised, the Tories have broken every single one of the recent promises from immigration, reducing the deficit to housing. Honestly, if Theresa May told me the sky was blue, I'd still want a second opinion.

 

[CRI]

A friend of President Trump said Monday that Trump is considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the FBI investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“I think he’s considering perhaps terminating the special counsel,” Chris Ruddy told PBS’ Judy Woodruff on “PBS NewsHour.”

“I think he’s weighing that option.”

Nothing to see here . . .

 

[Gromit]

Why are they having their first cabinet meeting now, six months after getting into office?

In the UK, the prime minister usually holds the first cabinet within days of being elected. Same with your elections, what takes us six weeks to do takes you Yanks a whole year. It seems you lot like to do politics in the slow lane.

Is it because he keeps sacking people or they resign before the cabinet is completed and they can meet?

 

[Gromit]

Ivanka condemns Donald Trump's 'vicious critics' - BBC News

Ivanka winging that people are being vicious towards her da.

How many vicious tweets by Trump do we have dig up to underline the irony of this?