trumpolitics

Trumpolitics.

184

This page has been set up to comment on the election of Donald Trump and subsequent events.

Any quotes here from his administration are unedited.

Any quotes from him here are unedited

Key phrase here is "with mental disorders."

7:10 p.m.President Donald Trump has signed a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule that would have prevented an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from buying guns.

Clear background checks are essential.

The rule was part of former President Barack Obama's push to strengthen the federal background check system in the wake of the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shooting.

It required the Social Security Administration to send in the names of beneficiaries with mental impairments who also need a third-party to manage their benefits.

So, the right to bear arms is more important than to reduce killings?

But lawmakers, the National Rifle Association and even the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the rule, saying it unfairly stigmatized the disabled and infringed on their constitutional right to bear arms.

Feb 16th / 17th.

That "Press Conference" 17 untrue comments. Toronto Star.

His election.

He was helped by the DNC and the Superdelegates system leading to the selection of the weaker candidate, considering the over emphasis by the GOP on the infamous email server. The fact that Republicans had and hid more emails when they were in office was glossed over or simply ignored.

The last straw

The CIA intervention totally swung the polls against the Democrats. It was only two days before full voting began when that was withdrawn. The damage was done.

"I won by a landslide."

The actual margins in several critical states were tiny, especially taking the CIA intervention into consideration. The overall turnout was low, especially when compared with the UK referendum turnout he is so fond of referring to. Also, in popular vote terms he was in the minority by almost 3,000,000 votes.

InaugurationActual Turnout

Crowds were as big as for Obama. Er NOT!

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer: This was the largest audience to ever withness an inauguration - period.

Washington is not a Republican stronghold - and it showed.

Electoral College.

Curiously he has attacked this in the past. Now he calls the votes he got in that "a Landslide".
All things considered it is no wonder that so many are saying "Not my President"
Yes, the UK also has government voted for by a minority, esp so in some constituencies, but the latter is in hand. Not, incidentally in the way GOP has been drawing boundaries!

Feb 7th

Education Secretary. Betsy DeVos

Despite widespread resistance, today, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Education Secretary in a 51-to-50 vote. Though 48 Democrats and two Republican senators voted against her, ultimately, vice president Mike Pence broke the tie. For public school educators, and particularly science teachers, her confirmation is a nightmare realized.

While Devos has claimed she will be a “strong advocate for great public school,” her record suggests otherwise. In addition to having no actual classroom experience, Devos, a billionaire with myriad financial ties to education companies that could represent conflicts of interest, has long favored privatizing education through charter schools over bettering public education. In 1993, she worked to pass the first charter school bill in Michigan, and has since advocated to loosen restrictions on these schools in her home state, only to see students’ performance plummet. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Devos declined to support accountability rules for for-profit colleges, which have a long, controversial history. In addition to low employment rates for recent grads, these schools have been accused of encouraging students to lie about their FAFSA information. They’re widely regarded as scams.

To make matters worse, DeVos has repeatedly supported Republicans who have waged war against climate change and evidence-based education. Her family supports the notoriously anti-science evangelical group Focus on the Family, and other fundamentalist Christian organizations. Unsurprisingly, DeVos also supports vouchers that can carry taxpayer dollars to religious schools, which could be teaching creationism. In effect, taxpayers could be sending their children to school where evolution is regarded as—to quote Trump—“fake news.”

Source is here.

“The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education,” The American Teacher Federation wrote in a statement back in November. “In nominating DeVos, Trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America.”

Feb 6th

On addressing UK Parliament.

Feb 5th

On the Travel ban Executive order.

Source of this comment.

As the fierce legal battle over the order played out, thousands of people around the world, from London to Washington, demonstrated against the ban.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House but ahead of the ruling Trump had assured reporters his ban would be reinstated.
"We'll win. For the safety of the country, we'll win," he said.
Earlier, the Manhattan property mogul had unleashed a string of fiery tweets defending his policy and attacking federal judge James Robart who had on Friday blocked the ban nationwide pending a wider legal review.

My comment

If he is serious about threats etc, then countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan should also be included.

Trump tweet

"The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

My comment

To tweet demeaning a bona fide judge in this manner does not help his argument. Nor do I think it has taken law enforcement away from the country. He should think before he tweets.

As Republicans try to pressure Democrats to vote for Trump's Supreme Court nominee, they also face questions about Trump's tweets over the weekend criticizing a federal appeals court judge who suspended the president's travel ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

In tweets, Trump dismissed U.S. District Court Judge James Robart as a "so-called judge" and his decision "ridiculous."

"We don't have so-called judges," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

"We don't have so-called senators. We don't have so-called presidents. We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution," Sasse said.

False Flag?

On the Berkeley incident.

Fishy

According to a promotional Breitbart story that ran before the event, Yiannopoulos was going to “ call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies.”

On Executive Orders.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/24621-will-trump-rescind-obamas-executive-orders

Remember the cartoon above? Republicans mocking Obama?

The authors of the above-referenced lists believe that, as president, Donald Trump could use executive orders to undo much of the damage that has been done during Barack Obama's tenure in the White House.

Draining the swamp.

Well he does seem to be moving a few "gators"

On the CIA etc

See below on appointments.

Defeating ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups will be our highest priority. To defeat and destroy these groups, we will pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations when necessary. In addition, the Trump Administration will work with international partners to cut off funding for terrorist groups, to expand intelligence sharing, and to engage in cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable propaganda and recruiting.

On CNN

The Clinton News Network?

Breitbart

Is this really an objective News agency?

There is talk that the Berkely riot was engineered by this agency.

On Appointments

Many of these appear square pegs

Secretary of State.

Rex Tillerson

The vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was 11 to 10, along party lines, setting up a period of debate and a subsequent vote on an as-yet-undetermined day.

Tillerson received a major boost when Senator Marco Rubio, one of three Republicans who had expressed doubts about him, announced he would support him despite serious reservations.

Rubio said that given "uncertainty" about the direction of US foreign policy, "it would be against our national interests to have this confirmation unnecessarily delayed or embroiled in controversy."

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two other Republicans who had expressed reservations about Tillerson's dealings with Russia, gave their blessing on Sunday.

The committee's Democrats all voted against Tillerson.

CIA Head

Mike Pompero - A good fit.

The committee endorsement of Tillerson followed a 66-32 Senate vote confirming Mike Pompeo's CIA appointment.

Pompeo, 52, is a former Army captain who graduated first in his class from the US Military Academy at West Point. He later attended Harvard Law School and worked as an executive in the defence industry.

EPA

Scott Pruitt

Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency is Scott Pruitt, a fossil fuels advocate who was still voicing skepticism over the concept of man-made climate change as recently as his Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.

Energy restrictions.- statement.

For too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry. President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years. - White House Website.

Comment.

Trump is the only leader denying climate change and the need for action to try to control it. To revert more to finite fossil fuels, which will inevitably run out and get more costly is a bad plan. Also controlling rivers and other waterways cannot be left to states, since waterways do not work within state boundaries. A better approach is via whole river basins, as in the example of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Coal Energy - statement.

The Trump Administration is also committed to clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry, which has been hurting for too long. - White House Website.

Clean coal - comment.

Clean coal technology is expensive and will require millions in investment.

More mining.- comment

Surface coal mining is damaging and underground mining unhealthy. Also the best coals are even more expensive and in limited supply, as well as being more dangerous to work.

Environment

Lastly, our need for energy must go hand-in-hand with responsible stewardship of the environment. Protecting clean air and clean water, conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural reserves and resources will remain a high priority. President Trump will refocus the EPA on its essential mission of protecting our air and water. - White House Website.

Comment.

Again this cannot really be left to state by state legislation. A mistake in the headwaters of a river system passes all the way to the sea. There is nothing wrong with the current Federal approach, other than the fact it is Democrat legislation.

National security adviser

Michael Flynn.

This gentleman has close links with Moscow, suggested or known at the time of his appointment.

Decidedly dodgy. Not a good candidate for the post.

His departure comes after less than a month in office.

In a resignation letter, Mr Flynn said he held numerous calls with the Russian ambassador to the US during the transition and gave “incomplete information” about those discussions to Mr Pence.

The vice president, apparently relying on information from Mr Flynn, initially said the national security adviser had not discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy, though Mr Flynn later conceded the issue may have come up.

Acting national security adviser

Lt. General Keith Kellogg.

Mr Trump named retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as the acting national security adviser.

It seems to me that Kellogg is a better choice for the post.

Lt Gen Kellogg had previously been appointed the National Security Council chief of staff and advised Mr Trump on national security issues during the campaign.

The US Justice Department warned the Trump administration weeks ago that contradictions between the public depictions and the actual details of the calls could leave Mr Flynn in a compromised position, sources told The Associated Press.

The White House has been aware of the warnings for “weeks,” an administration official said, though it was unclear whether Mr Trump and Mr Pence had been alerted.

Ivan Kastev and Stephen Holmes In Washington Post, quoted in New Zealand

The last thing the Russian government expected was that 2017 would bring it face to face not with a revolution of the past but with a revolution of the present - the radical regime change taking place in the United States as a result of the electoral victory of Donald Trump. It is Trump's electoral revolution that has captured the imagination, and fanned the fears, of Russian elites today.

I find the last line of this most disturbing. He is dismantling for the sake of it, with less than half the electorate in favour of his Presidency.

The search for a key to Trump's mind-boggling and miscellaneous gusher of policy directives has tended to focus on his disturbingly erratic, vindictive, simplistic, narcissistic, insecure, and occasionally delusional personality, due exception being made for those conspiracy theorists who treat him as a kind of Manchurian candidate or sock puppet of the Kremlin. What most observers have been late to recognise is the extent to which, behind his mask as a showman, Trump views himself as a revolutionary insurgent with a mission to dismantle America's "old regime."

Page created 15th. January. 2017 Newest update 1st March 2017

Key phrase here is "with mental disorders."	7:10 p.m.President Donald Trump has signed a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule that would have prevented an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from buying guns.
Clear background checks are essential.	The rule was part of former President Barack Obama's push to strengthen the federal background check system in the wake of the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shooting. It required the Social Security Administration to send in the names of beneficiaries with mental impairments who also need a third-party to manage their benefits.
So, the right to bear arms is more important than to reduce killings?	But lawmakers, the National Rifle Association and even the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the rule, saying it unfairly stigmatized the disabled and infringed on their constitutional right to bear arms.
Feb 16th / 17th.	That "Press Conference" 17 untrue comments. Toronto Star.
His election.	He was helped by the DNC and the Superdelegates system leading to the selection of the weaker candidate, considering the over emphasis by the GOP on the infamous email server. The fact that Republicans had and hid more emails when they were in office was glossed over or simply ignored.
The last straw	The CIA intervention totally swung the polls against the Democrats. It was only two days before full voting began when that was withdrawn. The damage was done.

Feb 7th	Education Secretary. Betsy DeVos
	Despite widespread resistance, today, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Education Secretary in a 51-to-50 vote. Though 48 Democrats and two Republican senators voted against her, ultimately, vice president Mike Pence broke the tie. For public school educators, and particularly science teachers, her confirmation is a nightmare realized.
	While Devos has claimed she will be a “strong advocate for great public school,” her record suggests otherwise. In addition to having no actual classroom experience, Devos, a billionaire with myriad financial ties to education companies that could represent conflicts of interest, has long favored privatizing education through charter schools over bettering public education. In 1993, she worked to pass the first charter school bill in Michigan, and has since advocated to loosen restrictions on these schools in her home state, only to see students’ performance plummet. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Devos declined to support accountability rules for for-profit colleges, which have a long, controversial history. In addition to low employment rates for recent grads, these schools have been accused of encouraging students to lie about their FAFSA information. They’re widely regarded as scams.
	To make matters worse, DeVos has repeatedly supported Republicans who have waged war against climate change and evidence-based education. Her family supports the notoriously anti-science evangelical group Focus on the Family, and other fundamentalist Christian organizations. Unsurprisingly, DeVos also supports vouchers that can carry taxpayer dollars to religious schools, which could be teaching creationism. In effect, taxpayers could be sending their children to school where evolution is regarded as—to quote Trump—“fake news.”
Source is here.	“The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education,” The American Teacher Federation wrote in a statement back in November. “In nominating DeVos, Trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America.”

Feb 6th	On addressing UK Parliament.

Feb 5th	On the Travel ban Executive order.
Source of this comment.	As the fierce legal battle over the order played out, thousands of people around the world, from London to Washington, demonstrated against the ban. There was no immediate reaction from the White House but ahead of the ruling Trump had assured reporters his ban would be reinstated. "We'll win. For the safety of the country, we'll win," he said. Earlier, the Manhattan property mogul had unleashed a string of fiery tweets defending his policy and attacking federal judge James Robart who had on Friday blocked the ban nationwide pending a wider legal review.
My comment	If he is serious about threats etc, then countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan should also be included.
Trump tweet	"The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
My comment	To tweet demeaning a bona fide judge in this manner does not help his argument. Nor do I think it has taken law enforcement away from the country. He should think before he tweets.

False Flag?	On the Berkeley incident.
Fishy	According to a promotional Breitbart story that ran before the event, Yiannopoulos was going to “ call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies.”
On Executive Orders.	http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/24621-will-trump-rescind-obamas-executive-orders Remember the cartoon above? Republicans mocking Obama?
	The authors of the above-referenced lists believe that, as president, Donald Trump could use executive orders to undo much of the damage that has been done during Barack Obama's tenure in the White House.

Breitbart	Is this really an objective News agency?
	There is talk that the Berkely riot was engineered by this agency.

Coal Energy - statement.	The Trump Administration is also committed to clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry, which has been hurting for too long. - White House Website.
Clean coal - comment.	Clean coal technology is expensive and will require millions in investment.
More mining.- comment	Surface coal mining is damaging and underground mining unhealthy. Also the best coals are even more expensive and in limited supply, as well as being more dangerous to work.

Environment	Lastly, our need for energy must go hand-in-hand with responsible stewardship of the environment. Protecting clean air and clean water, conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural reserves and resources will remain a high priority. President Trump will refocus the EPA on its essential mission of protecting our air and water. - White House Website.
Comment.	Again this cannot really be left to state by state legislation. A mistake in the headwaters of a river system passes all the way to the sea. There is nothing wrong with the current Federal approach, other than the fact it is Democrat legislation.