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    The Republican Party (5.00 / 3) (#1)
    by KeysDan on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 05:12:25 PM EST
    is becoming the most dangerous organization in the country. It controls the Congress and, now, the White House.  The executive branch is shaping up as an authoritarian nationalist administration as its way to respond to foreign and domestic affairs.

     The Congress is gearing up as if kids in a candy store, salivating at the prospects for realization of its long-held extremist dreams to dismantle the social safety net by warming up to what they apparently see as "the useful idiot."  And, too, the forecast for putting into place Supreme Court justices and federal judges from their Federalist lists to serve their goals for generations to come.

    The Democratic Party may, however, become even more dangerous if they see their new role as to go along so that they can get along.  To catch some crumbs.

     Obama and Biden have been saying all the right things (it will all be fine) so as to provide stability, at least, on their remaining watch.  The Democratic leadership, even Bernie and Elizabeth Warren, have said they will look for common ground--for those things they can support, but fight those bad ideas.

     A position that seems reasonable, but, in its process, normalizes the abnormal. It is not clear that the Democrats have determined that they need to make deals, not support those programs they like--such as working with Trump for an infrastructure program.  Yes, infrastructure is common ground, but its support should be part of a deal: for example, Democrats will support this program desired by Trump, but Trump will not permit the dismantling and phase-out of Medicare and Social Security.  

    Schumer may be to ready to compromise rather than deal.  Mrs. Pelsosi is more likely to strike a bargain, but she is being challenged by Tim Ryan, a new face (which is good) but a face with a claim to those "forgotten" white men.  Good to reach out to the WI, MI, PA, OH white men, but, maybe, the strategy should be to call for investigation of Comey's role and Russian hacking, before rushing to judgment as to what needs to be done differently.

    Maybe, a modification of Senator McConnell's strategy, seem to obstruct until you get something, rather than announce that you are anxious to work together.  Franz von Papen, vice chancellor of Germany in 1933, thought he could wokr with, if not control,  Adolph but he learned to his dismay that he was quickly marginalized.

    There are bipartisan (5.00 / 3) (#6)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 06:55:01 PM EST
    calls to look into Russian influence in the election. Now whether they actually do anything is another story. However what if they find evidence of Russian influence and Trump being a Putin stooge? What happens then?

    Parent
    Nothing will be looked into (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 07:35:29 PM EST
    Nothing will be done

    The only way anything is revealed about anything will require a deep throat. And Democrats in power in one of the houses. And that's it!

    Parent

    Gotta consider (none / 0) (#14)
    by NYShooter on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 09:47:01 PM EST
    our own NSA has been known to do a little snooping of its own.

    Touchy subject.

    Parent

    You think someone in the NSA is going (none / 0) (#20)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 09:16:14 AM EST
    To expose the Trump administration?

    Parent
    No, Tracy (5.00 / 1) (#58)
    by NYShooter on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 06:38:45 PM EST
    I mean whatever the Russians may, or, may not have done, our NSA is light years ahead of them in computer technology and surveillance capability.

    Remember how we were able to jam Saddam Hussein's radars at the start of Desert Storm, allowing our jets (especially the stealth ones, the F-117 Stealth Fighters) to fly in untouched?

    And, how we shut down some of Iran's nuclear centrifuges by sending the Stuxnet worm into their computers?

    How about eves dropping on Angela Merkel's phone conversations?

    Of course we know (know, not just suspect) whether Russia was involved in our election. And, guess what? Russia knows that we know. For obvious security reasons we can't ever disclose whether we know, or not.

    Anyway, Putin makes a perfectly good scapegoat for a failed political election performance, unless you believe Putin is a stupid man and would risk nuclear war with us over a freaken  election?

    Like so many other screw-ups in the campaign, didn't you think it was a really, really.......really strange coincidence (excuse) that the line, "Russia rigged our election" were, breathlessly, and simultaneously exclaimed, from 3 separate locations, and at the very same time by Hillary Clinton, Robby Mook, and Harry Reid?

    Parent

    Interesting theory (5.00 / 1) (#64)
    by Yman on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 09:03:20 PM EST
    Anyway, Putin makes a perfectly good scapegoat for a failed political election performance, unless you believe Putin is a stupid man and would risk nuclear war with us over a freaken  election?

    But you'll need to explain.  Some of us are hampered by annoying things ... like logic and evidence.

    Parent

    I just read the NewYorker piece (5.00 / 2) (#69)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:00:50 AM EST
    Where Obama says he can't talk about his first Trump meeting candidly at this time. That will have to take place over a beer and off the record. According to that coverage of Obama campaigning for Clinton, it was only Comey's actions that concerned Obama.

    I didn't read any of the Russian email leak. It was IMO stoopid to spend time on it because there wasn't any way to know if you were ingesting forged emails.

    Parent

    MT is Flynn terrifying (none / 0) (#21)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 09:42:00 AM EST
    To you/hubby as I suspect?
    He seems an absolute lunatic.
    And literally on Russian payroll.

    Parent
    He's a big leaker too (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 01:51:16 PM EST
    When he was at DIA he was who began leaking that the intelligence reports about ISIS were doctored. He did not feel that Obama was being honest with the American people about the strength of ISIS. It is our President's call though. It is his job to make those assessments. Flynn wanted public opinion to pressure Obama into allowing him change DIA in the ways Flynn wanted it changed.

    So he began leaking stories to the press about doctored intelligence reports.That doesn't go well, and it didn't go well.

    But someone leaked the Afghanistan assessment to the press too when Obama took office and was attempting to figure out his approach on Afghanistan. Guess who was in that assessment group? The Flynn guy. Stan McChrystal was devastated when the assessment was leaked and Dems and Libs to this day accuse him of leaking that assessment in an attempt to force Obama's hand using public pressure.

    I was no McChrystal fan when he was Iraq. But he was following orders. And under Obama, he respected his President then too and followed orders. To this day he wishes he knew who leaked that assessment because it destroyed President Obama's trust in him. And I was startled by the Rolling Stone story. It just didn't fit McChrystal. After digesting everything I thought the whole story was mostly a lie. Now that I've seen Flynn out there flying his freak flag though. We weren't told who said what in that story, we were just told they were aides. Flynn was there. So the whole Team America thing...can you see McChrystal going to the bathroom or taking a call, and then Flynn goes off on Team America to the Rolling Stone reporter? Because I sort of can right now.

    Parent

    I'm seeing different (none / 0) (#41)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 01:32:54 PM EST
    Peers that he has had on the tube expressing sorts of support. I just saw one say that Flynn didn't get fired at DIA, they just thought that a change was needed and asked him to leave ahead of schedule.  Bahahahahaha....I know, we are the peasants and you feel like you can talk down to us, but peasants call that fired!

    We seem to be surrounded by a group of white dudes who at some point in their younger lives had some poop in a group and they are using that credibility to pad their resume. But as they have aged they have sort of begun to lose it. (Except Jeff Sessions, he was just born that way) Not that Trump was ever anything stellar.  He was just saner before he needed boner pills. Mike Flynn, I dunno, he's coming out of Special Forces and they have always been just a little bit different, maybe he was always a little volatile and his peers helped guide and steer him. He was usually part of a close knit team and had an O-grade that outranked him hovering over him. I don't know. When he got out there on his own he did not do well. He was burning stuff down and defying everyone when he was at DIA. So they began to think they needed to do something different and they asked him to leave ahead of schedule :)

    Parent

    So, as a whole (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:13:03 PM EST
    Clapper was part of forcing Flynn out. Clapper just quit. He's gone. Flynn's going to do what he's going to do.

    He's going to leak stuff on Trump though when he disagrees.

    So not necessarily a bad thing.

    What is going to happen to our forces in uniform though. I have no idea at this time.

    Parent

    Hmm. Thanks MT (none / 0) (#45)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:42:13 PM EST
    I know I'm reading that we have to stand and fight. But wow.

    I have a UK passport and I can just say Eff This.

    I know you've got Josh and health care to think about.

    I don't know what is the right thing to do, but every instinct I have right now is screaming LEAVE

    Parent

    Josh will be 18 soon (5.00 / 3) (#50)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 03:17:28 PM EST
    We are headed to a safer state. A place where he can become established and have access to the healthcare he needs and the gap insurance he will need.

    He will be on Tricare for Life for awhile, but longterm stability for Josh means being in a state that has accepted the healthcare for all challenge.

    Alabama is not such a state. It isn't even close.

    I drive to Atlanta for most of Josh's more complicated needs. It's a 4 hr drive. Imagine how wonderful it will be to have that care 30 mins away!!

    Parent

    As for leaving (none / 0) (#51)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 03:20:45 PM EST
    Jon Stewart said it, the Republicans are going to come to Jesus on governing now. We need to be here for each other. Take care of each other for now. I don't see how this administration doesn't unravel. What moral ethical core does it possess?

    Parent
    Wasn't Flynn (none / 0) (#85)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:29:07 PM EST
    The lone voice saying how Al Qaeda and ISIS were rising up,

    When the official word was "jv team"

    Parent

    Flynn (none / 0) (#93)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 01:19:53 PM EST
    http://tinyurl.com/pf55rys   Interview with Flynn right before his departure from DIA

    http://tinyurl.com/q456clf   2014 Annual threat assessment

    http://tinyurl.com/js7ac5a  Wash Post

    Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn is expected to end his tenure as DIA director this summer, about a year before he was scheduled to depart, according to officials who said Flynn faced pressure from Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. and others in recent months


    Parent
    And Trevor, James Clapper is a Conservative (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 02:42:32 PM EST
    He considered Flynn so toxic and unprincipled he forced him out of DIA

    Parent
    Things are perpetually changing (none / 0) (#97)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 02:29:58 PM EST
    On a battlefield. The complexity of being a United States leadership really isn't the place for a volatile lone wolf. But okay...I get it...lone wolf populism is the new black.

    There is leadership though and developing policy, and then there is toxic leadership and narcissism. Time will tell how this goes. I'm just going to eat my popcorn and watch.

    Parent

    Perhaps (none / 0) (#100)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 03:56:07 PM EST
    Those in charge took their orders from the President,

    And had intelligence culled to follow policy goals

    And the "lone wolf" didn't go along to get along

    Clapper lied to Congress on more than one occasion

    I am no fan of Clapper's.

    And if Flynn strays off the Trump reservation,

    The Donald will say  "You're fired"

    And then Flynn can badmouth The Donald, and the press will eat it up.

    Myself, I will wait and see what exactly they do

    Parent

    Once again, Clapper could not (none / 0) (#115)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:47:04 PM EST
    Would not abide Mike Flynn, who made up so much of his own "intel" that analysts at DIA called them "Flynn Facts". And James Clapper is a Conservative.

    Good luck with Flynn though Trevor. Best of luck.

    #IDidntDoThis

    Parent

    Flynn (none / 0) (#123)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 04:46:14 AM EST
    Was right about the Middle East, and Clapper and company either gave the President what he wanted to hear, or was just incompetent, either one makes him useless.
    I really don't care if Clapper is Conservative, he lied to Congress , proven himself untrustworthy and less than competent.
    National Security Advisor needs to be competent, so who cares if Flynn is a Democrat

    Parent
    Once again, James Clapper (none / 0) (#124)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 07:31:32 AM EST
    Is a Conservative principled servant to two Presidents, one a Republican and one a Democrat. He FORCED Mike Flynn out because he was volatile, unable to stay focused, and made up his own intel. He FORCED Mike Flynn.

    And once again good luck with Flynn

    And once again #IDidntDoThis

    Parent

    Lying to Congress about a classified program? (none / 0) (#125)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 07:34:58 AM EST
    Whatever Trev. There is lot to running the United States. If Clapper had been volatile, unable to maintain focus, made up facts to fit his mood for the day....h e would have been replaced long ago.

    It is sad that many people seem to believe the nation can be governed by playing games of Russian Roulette.

    And I didn't do any of this. When this all blows sky high, I didn't do it.

    Parent

    Yes, MT (none / 0) (#126)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 08:56:22 AM EST
    And I didn't do any of this. When this all blows sky high, I didn't do it.

    You are very much part of the culture/political world that has been rejected.

    Parent

    Yes Jim (5.00 / 2) (#129)
    by FlJoe on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 09:20:44 AM EST
    the part of the world that does not want to blow the world sky high have been "rejected", happy now?

    Revel in it now, we will all be paying dearly shortly. Trump is proving to be everything we "rejects" warned you about.

    Parent

    "Been rejected"??? (5.00 / 1) (#132)
    by Yman on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 10:29:10 AM EST
    By a minority that hasn't even gotten more votes?!?

    Hahahahahahahahaha ....

    Parent

    And if this happens (none / 0) (#131)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 09:56:19 AM EST
    had been volatile, unable to maintain focus, made up facts to fit his mood for the day..

    The Donald will tell him

    You're fired

    I will not lose sleep over announcements, perhaps if their actions in their new posts warrant it,

    then maybe.

    I managed to sleep through 8 years of the Obama administration, and I definitely think they made some horrendous decisions,

    Helped destabilize Europe by creating a refugee crisis (there were other options)
    Our historical allies in the Middle East are now dealing with Putin, our new ally, Iran, shoots missiles at our ships, and is already violating the newly signed agreement (who didn't see that coming) , the agreement itself, frontloading all Irans benefits, so when they violate the agreement, as they already have, there is no repercussions.

    I will wait to lose sleep till something actually happens, and seeing the way the world has changed over the last 8 years, it won't take long.

    Parent

    The refugee crisis was caused (5.00 / 1) (#133)
    by Yman on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 10:31:34 AM EST
    ... when your POTUS GW and his supporters decided they wanted a war, but your statement of the obvious was funny ("there were other options").

    Parent
    Check your time line (none / 0) (#135)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 10:49:16 AM EST
    Exactly when did the refugee crisis start?
    Who was President?
    And what did he do in that time period? Did he exacerbate the situation, or calm it down.

    In addition to

    O

    ur historical allies in the Middle East are now dealing with Putin, our new ally, Iran, shoots missiles at our ships, and is already violating the newly signed agreement (who didn't see that coming) , the agreement itself, frontloading all Irans benefits, so when they violate the agreement, as they already have, there is no repercussions.


    Parent
    Pfffttt ... (5.00 / 2) (#136)
    by Yman on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 10:57:09 AM EST
    Check your timeline.  The refugee crisis didn't start in a vacuum.  It began after your boy GW created a vacuum with the war you guys sold like a used Ford Pinto.

    Not sure who your last, linkless quote was supposed to impress.  Was it actually supposed to bolster your claims?

    Parent

    The Donald will tell them they are fired :) (5.00 / 1) (#138)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 12:32:22 PM EST
    Because running the Government of the United States is exactly like shooting an episode of Celebrity Apprentice....sigh

    Parent
    Totally agree (none / 0) (#3)
    by vicndabx on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 06:27:52 PM EST
    don't think all the we'll work together where we can stuff is the right approach now.  We will wait and see, sounds smarter IMO.

    We have a lot of so called allies doing this right now.  Not naming names.

    Parent

    Don't like the pundits on Hillary (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by sallywally on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:01:36 AM EST
    Saying Trump "shellaked" Clinton -- what ? She has well over a million more votes than he does. She won the people's vote. But they're all shutting the door to her and moving toward Bernie and Warren.

    Her message won the people's vote, despite numerous efforts to derail her. Now it's all about her tremendous loss and no one is giving her any credit for her strength and brilliance. Are they throwing her back under the bus?

    The Russians and the CIA both went after her, to put Trump in power. Presumably they both found her too formidable. And SHE WON.

    Warren and Sanders (5.00 / 4) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:22:21 AM EST
    are lying prostrate in front of Trump. Is that the way the party wants to go?

    Parent
    Prostrate? (5.00 / 3) (#46)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:43:39 PM EST
    Sanders is on both knees.
    Sickening.

    Parent
    Maybe not (none / 0) (#61)
    by FreakyBeaky on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 08:05:02 PM EST
    If you wanted to do scorched earth - and I do - you wouldn't just come out and say so to all and sundry, specially not as an elected official who has said that sort of behavior is shameful. The stated desire to cooperate is conditional; the condition seems unlikely to be met.

    It's up to those of us who are not elected officials to say loudly we want scorched earth because e.g., The Orange Guy proposes only things that will harm, or alt-right policies of registration and rounding up must not be normalized, or he'll only corrupt and screw up anything "good," or because GD-it he's a deeply unpopular minority-vote president and we're the majority. Take your pick, and don't let up. He is the most unpopular president elect in history. Don't let anyone forget it.

    Parent

    Warren (5.00 / 3) (#63)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 08:49:49 PM EST
    has tempered somewhat and put out a statement about Sessions. Bernie is doing rallies I guess to fluff his own ego. He's less than worthless when it comes to taking on Republicans.

    Parent
    Bernie (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by smott on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 07:38:21 AM EST
    Is, as they say in my old neighborhood, "a shonda for the goyem."

    Schmuck.

    Parent

    Elizabeth Warren (none / 0) (#120)
    by linea on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:56:40 PM EST
    is awesome!

    what is wrong with you !?

    just stop it !! progressives are what we WANT to be. you are are beating your own daughter!

    Parent

    What? (none / 0) (#121)
    by Yman on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 03:44:28 AM EST
    "Beating you're own daughter"???  No one was talking about "progressives" or attacking Warren.  If you don't like her statement defending HC, that's just too bad.

    Parent
    Medicare For None. (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by KeysDan on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:24:01 AM EST
    Paul Krugman (NYTimes, Nov 18) writes that all indications are that Trump, in concert with his Republicans, is getting ready to kill Medicare, replacing it with vouchers than can be applied to the purchase of private insurance.  And, to raise the age of eligibility for whatever this program turns out to be.

    Trump, during the campaign, said flat out: "I'm not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid."   Not Trump's first lie.

     And, while all seniors depend on Medicare, what with old-age being a pre-existing condition in obtaining private insurance, it is a critical program for working class people, including those "forgotten" white working class men--because their jobs require physical effort more so than educated workers, who can work longer at their jobs and benefit from the employer insurance that comes with their jobs.

     Medicare beneficiaries are whiter than the country as a whole, because they are older and reflect the demography of an earlier period.  Medicare for None would be a cruel joke on those white "poorly educated" rust belters, but no one is laughing.

    I believe it is inaccurate and a mistake to call this the "privatization of Medicare."  Or, "Medicare reform."  It is nothing of the sort.  It is the elimination of Medicare, replaced with premium support toward individual purchase of medical insurance on exchanges (not health care insurance).

      The premium support is to be given through vouchers, the amount of such support and the quality of the private insurance so purchased, is unknown--to the public.

      The threat to Medicare elimination is probably greater, at this point, than whatever the Republicans are up to on Obamacare replacement. Paul Ryan seems so arrogant at this point, his original plan to phase-out Medicare starting with age 55 seems to have vanished, starting at a much later date--for those not presently on Medicare.

      Krugman thinks elimination of Medicare will fail if the media wakes up and does its job. Which means seniors had better start applying for their vouchers.  I noticed that even those never-trump or sort of reasonable Republican TV guests, e.g. Steve Schmidt, have climbed on board the Trump express.

     And, if Tim Ryan, the Ohio moderate challenger to Mrs. Pelosi, is concerned about those forgotten white workers, he needs to set his ire against trade deals aside for the moment, and find his voice for a critical program that benefits all Americans, all of whom will soon be forgotten.

    The irony is (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:35:10 AM EST
    Republicans want to do away with Obamacare, then do away with Medicare, but put seniors on a form of ....Obamacare.

    Parent
    Hard to imagine (5.00 / 2) (#31)
    by Peter G on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:36:11 AM EST
    Medicare is a wildly popular program, and works relatively well. Not to mention the enormous lobbying power of AARP.

    Parent
    Oh, Peter, I think we all need (5.00 / 7) (#32)
    by caseyOR on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:44:10 AM EST
    to put aside the frame of "hard to imagine." In the Trump years, I fear, nothing will be beyond the pale.

    Parent
    Yes, it is hard to (none / 0) (#33)
    by KeysDan on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:53:50 AM EST
    imagine. Hard to imagine a lot of what is happening these past two weeks.  Dr. Krugman suggests that from the view of people like Paul Ryan, Medicare is in the cross-hairs because of its success--it is ideological.

     It would be helpful for opponents of government, Krugman posits, to do away with a program that demonstrates the power of government to improve lives. Perhaps, not mutually exclusive, is moving more dollars into private insurance profits at the expense of money spent on health care.  I, too, hope that AARP will ride to the rescue, but that organization has become a conduit for private insurance.

    Parent

    ... given Speaker Paul Ryan's well-known and longstanding opposition toward federal entitlements. The fact that "Medicare is a wildly popular program, and works relatively well" means absolutely nothing to people who reside in a parallel universe, where such otherwise inconvenient facts obviously don't matter to them.

    Congressional Republicans are merely emulating Trump's example, and grabbing America by the hoo-hah. There are no more boundaries, Peter, and old assumptions and paradigms no longer necessarily apply. Those all crumbled away with the Democrats' firewall in your home state of Pennsylvania. The GOP has the votes in Congress, and they now have the White House.

    "We the People," of course, can re-organize and vote them out of office in two to four years hence. But in the meantime, the Republicans are showing rich potential for inflicting an enormous amount of damage along a variety of fronts during the intervening period -- and the only thing that can restrain them, really, is their own failure of nerve.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    What it really is (none / 0) (#39)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 12:48:31 PM EST
    is an attempt to transfer 30% plus of the medicare budget to private insurers.  That's assuming that 30% overhead is the limit built into whatever citizen screwing legislation gets dreamed up.  30% was the limit in california.

    The health care industrial complex will implode if deprived of the current revenue streams.  lol.  Thousands of corner drug stores will vanish as quickly as they appeared.

    Forget the b/s.  Follow the money.

    Will any of these schemes be enacted?  Dunno.  Are they mendacious enough to try it?  Yes.  Are they stupid enough?  Maybe not.  So there is a small hope.

    Parent

    Tr*mp agrees to settle (5.00 / 2) (#54)
    by Peter G on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 04:50:42 PM EST
    the Tr*mp "University" fraud cases for $25 million. Too bad; it was going to be fun watching him try not to get caught lying on the witness stand.

    The settlement (none / 0) (#79)
    by KeysDan on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:09:04 AM EST
    will put a strain on the Trump Foundation; may need a fund-raiser.

    Parent
    Wherever the $25 million comes from (none / 0) (#96)
    by Peter G on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 02:05:44 PM EST
    it cannot be the Foundation. Settling a fraud suit for a private company is not a charitable purpose, nor is paying a penalty imposed by a state government.

    Parent
    Maybe Trump (5.00 / 1) (#99)
    by KeysDan on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 02:46:04 PM EST
    is a reformed man when it comes to self-dealing.  David Fahrenhold has reported that Trump has used more than $250,000 from his charitable foundation to settle law suits and pay fines.  

    Parent
    Undoubtedly not reformed (none / 0) (#105)
    by Peter G on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 05:59:10 PM EST
    but exposed to the light. That should be enough, in this context.

    Parent
    Will Sessions Torpedo State Marijuana Laws? (5.00 / 2) (#67)
    by Michael Masinter on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:57:08 PM EST
    Marijuana remains a schedule one drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Although Colorado is one of a growing number of states to have legalized recreational marijuana, the incoming attorney general can effectively override those laws by renouncing Eric Holder's decision to refrain from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against businesses that comply with state laws respecting marijuana. If he announces that he is directing the enforcement of the act in those states, recreational marijuana is history.

    From the NY Times:

    A former prosecutor, Mr. Sessions has shown over two decades in the Senate that he believes the Justice Department should do more to crack down on illegal immigration. He has supported strict enforcement of drug laws and opposed the détente that Washington had reached with states that legalized marijuana.

    You're correct, but (none / 0) (#68)
    by NYShooter on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 11:27:03 PM EST
    I think I read that Holder "refrain[ed] from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against businesses that comply with state laws respecting marijuana" because of a request from President Obama. I also "heard" Holder was grateful for Obama's directive as he so overloaded investigating and prosecuting all those Wall Street bankers who blew up the world's economy, <snark>.

    Parent
    Snark (none / 0) (#70)
    by vicndabx on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 07:14:44 AM EST
    Link

    Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins announced today that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corporation and certain of its affiliates, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith f/k/a/ Banc of America Securities, LLC, Bank of America, N.A., and Banc of America Mortgages Securities, Inc. (collectively "Bank of America"). The complaint alleges that Bank of America lied to investors about the relative riskiness of the mortgage loans backing the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), made false statements after intentionally not performing proper due diligence and filled the securitization with a disproportionate amount of risky mortgages originated through third party mortgage brokers. 


    Parent
    And how many of them are in prison? (none / 0) (#72)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 09:41:53 AM EST
    Civil trial, prison isn't applicable (5.00 / 2) (#74)
    by vicndabx on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 10:01:05 AM EST
    If your argument is they should be, we would need laws that enable that to happen.  Congress. Your reps in TN all voted against Dodd-Frank.  ALL of them.

    Parent
    And you assume (none / 0) (#80)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:27:40 AM EST
    that I am always in agreement with my reps?

    Parent
    Sessions said, (none / 0) (#82)
    by KeysDan on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:34:04 AM EST
    at a hearing in April 2016, that "good people don't smoke marijuana."

    Parent
    But Merle (none / 0) (#87)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:32:38 PM EST
    Merle was blowing smoke (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by jondee on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:48:18 PM EST
    in that song in more ways than one.

    He was a pretty heavy pot smoker. Which a couple minutes of googling will verify.

    But the realm of fantasy and spin is where you're most at home, so maybe you should spare yourself the trauma of a collison with the factual world.

    Parent

    Gee Jondee (none / 0) (#108)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:13:46 PM EST
    thanks for telling me what I, and everyone else, knew.

    You just have to be nasty. I know you can't help it and wish you well.

    Parent

    OK (5.00 / 1) (#75)
    by FlJoe on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 10:19:19 AM EST
    so now Trump is demanding political correctness
    President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the cast of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" should apologize after they addressed Vice President-elect Mike Pence during his attendance at the show Friday night.


    That just shows how thin skinned he is. (5.00 / 2) (#76)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 10:34:33 AM EST
    Anybody who watched that saw that the cast calmly asked for respect from Pence. It seems Pence couldn't deem them worthy of an answer but they tried.

    Parent
    A functional President (5.00 / 1) (#77)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 10:41:16 AM EST
    Would begin drafting that speech were you go on the record as protecting all Americans.

    Parent
    The Tweeter in Chief (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 10:43:15 AM EST
    Demanding Sanctuary theaters.

    Parent
    Baa waa waa (none / 0) (#83)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:59:33 AM EST
    I know. It's almost like he's deliberately trying to blow up the GOP at times.

    Parent
    Watching you folks attack Trump (none / 0) (#84)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:20:27 PM EST
    for doing what you did for Obama is funny.

    Me? I am equal opportunity insulter.

    Parent

    Of course you are.. (none / 0) (#86)
    by jondee on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:30:13 PM EST
    you insult everyone to the left of Attila the Hun with equal fervor.

    Parent
    I think the imperial presidency (none / 0) (#89)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:42:57 PM EST
    started with JFK....and has continued its growth unfettered through the years.

    What we need is a modern version of the Roman slave whose job was to whisper in the Emperor's ear..

    Remember, you are not a God.

    Parent

    Of course it had to start (none / 0) (#91)
    by jondee on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:59:48 PM EST
    with a Democrat. Of course.

    Though, a lot of your fellow neoconfederates would probably insist it started with Lincoln's suspension of civil liberties during the Civil War, or going further back to the founding of the Alien and Sedition Acts..

    Parent

    "neoconfederates" (none / 0) (#109)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:16:04 PM EST
    Are you okay???

    Really, you appear to be losing control.

    Parent

    For those who still don't get it (5.00 / 1) (#146)
    by FreakyBeaky on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 02:56:04 PM EST
    This is what you and a MINORITY of Americans have put at the heart of our government:

    "America was, until this last generation, a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity," Mr. Spencer thundered. "It is our creation, it is our inheritance, and it belongs to us...To be white is to be a creator, an explorer, a conqueror," he said...More members of the audience were on their feet as Mr. Spencer described the choice facing white people as to "conquer or die."

    These aren't your values? This isn't what you stand for? Don't tell me about it.

    DO SOMETHING. Cos what comes next is on you.?

    Actually Trump won with a (1.00 / 1) (#147)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 07:38:25 PM EST
    plurality of the votes cast by the voters who voted.

    Hillary lost with a larger plurality of 1.2%.

    And Trump actually won a higher percentage than Clinton the First did, who only received 43% of the votes cast.

    What we had was 200 million registered voters.

    Only 126 million (approx) voted.

    So when you start throwing around what people will do...

    Neither of us have any way of knowing what would have happened if 100% of the registered voters voted.

    Parent

    BTW - Trump didn't have a "plurality" (5.00 / 1) (#150)
    by Yman on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 08:17:42 PM EST
    A "plurality" can mean several things.  The only definition which would make your claim arguably correct is if you use it in the broadest possible  sense - "a usually large number of things".  This makes no sense, because every candidate received a "plurality" - a large number of votes - including Stein and Johnson.

    "Plurality" in votes means "a number of votes that is more than the number of votes for any other candidate or party but that is not more than half of the total number of votes"  Trump did not get a "plurality" of votes.

    Parent

    That's simply not true, Jim. (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 08:50:30 PM EST
    jimakaPPJ: "Actually Trump won with a plurality of the votes cast by the voters who voted. Hillary lost with a larger plurality of 1.2%. And Trump actually won a higher percentage than Clinton the First did, who only received 43% of the votes cast. What we had was 200 million registered voters. Only 126 million (approx) voted."

    First of all, you conveniently ignore the fact that the 1992 presidential election had a very viable 3rd party candidate in Ross Perot, who ultimately received nearly 20% of the vote nationwide. You also just as conveniently ignore the fact that the GOP incumbent, George W. Bush, received only 37.8% of the vote, which was the lowest percentage for an incumbent president running for re-election since President William H. Taft in 1912.

    Now, per the rest of your post, as of 9:00 p.m. EST tonight, Hillary Clinton has received 63,712,321 votes, or 48.0% of the nationwide total. Trump has 61,979,986 votes, or 46.7% of the total. Therefore, these facts as they exist would strongly suggest that Mrs. Clinton, and not Mr. Trump, has won a decided plurality of the nationwide popular vote.

    plu·ral·i·ty [plo͝oˈralədē] n., (1) the fact or state of being plural; (2) the number of votes cast for a candidate who receives more than any other but does not receive an absolute majority.

    That differential of 1,732,245 in the nationwide popular vote in Mrs. Clinton's favor is hardly insubstantial, Jim -- and further, it's still climbing because as of this writing, only eight states and the District of Columbia have finalized and certified their electoral tallies for 2016.

    Further, the total number of ballots cast nationwide, as of 9:00 p.m. EST tonight, is 132,779,712. That actually represents a 2.9% increase in ballots cast from the 2012 election. And again, there are still several more million ballots yet to be tallied.

    We understand and accept that the Electoral College is the true and designated determinant of a president election, and not the popular vote. However, there is no question that not only is Donald Trump on track to lose that popular vote, he's likely to do so by a rather decisive margin of close to 3 million votes and perhaps 2 percentage points at least.

    So, please don't misrepresent fact by suggesting that Trump has won a plurality, when that is definitely not the case. He's not even close.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Funny stuff (none / 0) (#148)
    by Yman on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 08:03:15 PM EST
    And Trump actually won a higher percentage than Clinton the First did, who only received 43% of the votes cast.

    Do tell?  It's almost like there was a reason for that, which you completely "forgot".

    Oops.

    Parent

    Trump is probably (none / 0) (#152)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 09:13:53 PM EST
    going to lose the popular vote by who knows how much. Probably over 2 million. He's going to be a minority president. This is the worst election ever and it has exposed all the flaws in our electoral system. The EC was designed specifically to keep someone like Trump from becoming president. It failed spectacularly. Not only did it fail we've got Neo Nazis marching for a minority president with a Neo Nazi who has the ear of this would be president. We have spineless Republicans in control of government who can't even issue a statement saying Nazism is wrong. Pathetic.  

    Parent
    Office Depot stores (none / 0) (#7)
    by linea on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 07:17:09 PM EST
    suspended "free pc checkup" nationwide after seattle news investigation in oregon and washington state using new out-of-box computers. the "diagnostic software" is a fraud and malware is always found (and low paid employees who would not participate in the fraud were fired for not making sales goals just like WellsFargo).

    unfettered business and unfettered capitolism always devolves into fraud and theft. sorry utopianists.

    Is there an unfettered business that you (none / 0) (#9)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 07:38:04 PM EST
    are referring too?

    Parent
    The very acceptence of the word (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by jondee on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 08:20:02 PM EST
    "fettered" into common usage strongly implies that any kind of regulation is some sort of outrage akin to slavery..

    Competitive games need unbiased referees.

    Parent

    Hey, thank you, jondee (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by NYShooter on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 09:42:59 PM EST
    finally, a comment I feel safe discussing.

    Right, "regulations." But, even here we have to be careful and clarify some things. It's somewhat analogous to, "taxes." I believe cutting taxes would be a good thing. But, I would restrict it to those for whom it would be most beneficial, to themselves, and the country. Cutting taxes for small businesses and folks living paycheck to paycheck would be an immediate boost to the economy. Cutting taxes for the very rich do absolutely nothing for the country. As we've seen, thanks to our FED and a corrupt Congress, most profits from Corporations (not paid out in dividends) go to "buybacks," that is, buying the corporation's own stock on the open market. This, of course, reduces the amount of stocks in circulation, reducing supply, and increasing the per-share price of the company's stock. So, profits these days go to increase the CEO'S obscene bonuses, not to research & development, growth, new plant & equipment, expansion, higher wages, or creating more jobs.

    The same goes for regulations. We've already gotten rid of regulations, de facto. In what sane world, what world that, supposedly enjoys anti-trust regulations, would a government allow the merging of the two largest, most powerful oil companies on earth to merge? Exxon/Mobil. So, a huge benefit for our country and economy would be to, simply, enforce the rules we've already got. In case you ever wondered what the 15,000 Lobbyists in D.C. do, the answer is, bribe our Congressmen and Senators. "Tweaking" regulations is a favorite tool-of-the-trade. Since most Lobbyists are former politicians a college degree is not required to understand why Washington has been dubbed, "The Swamp."

    Finally, there is a case to be made for some intelligent "pruning" of some regulations. That just makes common sense. Unfortunately, in our current, bought & paid for Government, it's the Corporations themselves that get to do the pruning. It's kind of like having the pharmaceutical companies writing the ACA regs. That worked out great!

    Thanks, jondee.

    Parent

    "Fettered" is commonly used? Really. (none / 0) (#12)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 09:27:49 PM EST
    Must be among people I've never met.

    Anyway, still inquiring as to what unfettered business linea is talking about.

    Parent

    i used a word that means (none / 0) (#62)
    by linea on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 08:10:15 PM EST
    "release from restraint or inhibition." i dont know unfettered means free from all restraint or inhibition as i believe you are implying. it is a synonym of unchecked: not examined. perhaps that would have been a better word?

    Parent
    Fair enough. (5.00 / 1) (#73)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 09:56:38 AM EST
    thank you! (none / 0) (#104)
    by linea on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 05:40:51 PM EST
    Seattle News? (none / 0) (#15)
    by Towanda on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 10:59:33 PM EST
    I found a story on this about an investigation by CBS News.  And most of it sound similar . . . but some other -- more minor -- elements of that story about that investigation do not quite jibe with your post.  

    Link to a Seattle News story?

    Parent

    My thoughts exactly (none / 0) (#11)
    by vicndabx on Thu Nov 17, 2016 at 08:57:43 PM EST


    that comment was deleted (none / 0) (#16)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:18:13 AM EST
    you may not call anyone a fascist or racist here. Take your name-calling elsewhere. I will not host potentially libelous comments.

    Parent
    please use asterisks (none / 0) (#17)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:21:57 AM EST
    in objectionable words that attract spammers. I'm surprised some long time commenters are ignoring our comment rules.

    Jeff Sessions for AG (none / 0) (#24)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:35:02 AM EST
    Someone please check on Jeralyn.

    Lots (none / 0) (#25)
    by FlJoe on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:38:44 AM EST
    of spinning in a lot of graves.

    Parent
    Kdog won't be happy either (none / 0) (#26)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:45:18 AM EST
    Sessions once said, "I'm  big fan of the DEA."

    So all those places that just legalized pot better watch out - I bet the raids start back up.

    Parent

    Sessions (none / 0) (#28)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:51:43 AM EST
    was turned down for a federal judgeship in the 1980's due to serious problems. Let's see the GOP vote to confirm a neo confederate. I bet they will all vote for him.

    Parent
    Welp. (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:44:31 PM EST
    The Bern it Downers got their wish.

    Parent
    What a freak show. (none / 0) (#27)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 10:50:27 AM EST
    But the GOP owns it.

    Parent
    Yes, a show of freaks. (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by KeysDan on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 12:12:28 PM EST
    Hard to imagine a prominent surrogate of a President-elect legally defending the idea of a federal registry of all Muslims on the "precedent" set by Korematsu v United States, in 1944.

    In this ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of President Roosevelt's order to round up and place Japanese-Americans into detention camps, torn from their communities, homes and jobs and locked in barbed wire camps for three years. (if the war did not end until 1950, it might have been longer).

    The ruling has never been overturned because the issue has not come up again. The Supreme Court ruling has long been regarded as being the Court's most shameful. Justice Breyer wrote that "it is hard to conceive of any future Court referring to it favorably or relying on it."   Yes, hard to imagine.

    Parent

    Dear Millennials who did not vote (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by Towanda on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 01:34:33 PM EST
    or did not vote the top of the ballot or voted third party: Look up the history of the eventual Congressional reparations to Japanese Americans.

    This is going to cost you a lot, too, a couple of decades from now.

    Or you can take comfort, of course, in knowing that the costs were incalculable to the Nisei and Issei.

    Parent

    Not all Millenials (none / 0) (#49)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:46:10 PM EST
    Just privileged ones

    White male well off

    Parent

    No, I'll stick with my qualifiers (5.00 / 6) (#53)
    by Towanda on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 03:57:26 PM EST
    of those who didn't vote at all, didn't vote the top of the ticket, did vote third-party -- no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, gender orientation, income level, etc.  

    They have in common their purity and petulance.  But it's past time that they get past their navel-gazing, too, and see their impact upon others.    

    Parent

    What about those of us who voted (none / 0) (#92)
    by jondee on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 01:16:15 PM EST
    for Clinton, but still continue to reserve the right to outrage the "clears" from the Church of Clintonology here by applying and expressing the same critical thinking and moral standards to all candidates across the board?

    Was-is that an untimely intrusion of "purity" on the purity and righteousness of the singular moment of 2016?

    Parent

    I have no idea (none / 0) (#95)
    by Towanda on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 01:59:52 PM EST
    what you mean by your air quotes, your word within them -- you seem to be using some other language in a conversation with yourself, about a group of voters I did not discuss but whom you want to discuss.  Don't let me stop you . . . but if you really want a conversation, you may wish to provide a translator.

    Parent
    While SCOTUS's 1944 Korematsu decision ... (5.00 / 3) (#56)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 05:46:55 PM EST
    "Korematsu v. United States represents a compelling lesson in law but an untaught tragedy in history."
    - Susan Kiyomi Serrano and David Minami, "Korematsu v. United States: A Constant Caution in a Time of Crisis," Asian American Law Journal, Volume 10, Issue 1 (January 2003)

    ... has not been explicitly overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court itself and thus remains on the books as case law, its potential impact as a legal precedent has since likely been mitigated and even blunted by subsequent legal decisions and actions in the federal courts.

    In December 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court originally ruled by a 6-3 decision in Korematsu v. United States that the plaintiff's conviction for evading internment in expressed violation of Executive Order 9066 was perfectly valid, and in full accordance with the military necessity faced by the United States along the Pacific coast during the Second World War.

    However, in November 1983 Fred Korematsu once again challenged the original lower court decision by filing a writ of coram nobis, which requested that the Court void his original conviction on the grounds that the federal government both omitted exculpatory evidence and submitted fabricated evidence in its case before the U.S. Supreme Court, regarding the actual reality of the threat which Japanese-Americans then purportedly posed to national security -- which, of course, was none at all.

    In April 1984, Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel granted the writ in full, noting that a "manifest injustice" had been done to the plaintiff and other internees in 1944. The Solicitor General's willful actions in Korematsu v. United States, Judge Patel ruled, had knowingly and intentionally misled the High Court, and thus had a material effect on its subsequent decision by the justices to uphold the plaintiff's original conviction under Executive Order 9066. She concluded:

    "Korematsu remains on the pages of our legal and political history. As a legal precedent it is now recognized as having very limited application. As historical precedent it stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity our institutions must be vigilant in protecting constitutional guarantees. It stands as a caution that in times of distress the shield of military necessity and national security must not be used to protect governmental actions from close scrutiny and accountability. It stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive and judicial, must be prepared to exercise their authority to protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused." (Emphasis is mine.)

    Further, in 2011 then-Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal filed an official notice with the Court conceding that his earlier predecessor's original defense of Executive Order 9066 before the Supreme Court in October 1944 had been in rather egregious error and further constituted gross misconduct:

    "Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States uprooted more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent, most of them American citizens, and confined them in internment camps. The Solicitor General was largely responsible for the defense of those policies.

    "By the time the cases of Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu reached the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General had learned of a key intelligence report that undermined the rationale behind the internment. The Ringle Report, from the Office of Naval Intelligence, found that only a small percentage of Japanese Americans posed a potential security threat, and that the most dangerous were already known or in custody.

    "But the Solicitor General did not inform the Court of the report, despite warnings from Department of Justice attorneys that failing to alert the Court 'might approximate the suppression of evidence.'  Instead, he argued that it was impossible to segregate loyal Japanese Americans from disloyal ones.

    "Nor did he inform the Court that a key set of allegations used to justify the internment, that Japanese Americans were using radio transmitters to communicate with enemy submarines off the West Coast, had been discredited by the FBI and FCC.  And to make matters worse, he relied on gross generalizations about Japanese Americans, such as that they were disloyal and motivated by 'racial solidarity.'

    "The Supreme Court upheld Hirabayashi's and Korematsu's convictions.  And it took nearly a half century for courts to overturn these decisions.  One court decision in the 1980s that did so highlighted the role played by the Solicitor General, emphasizing that the Supreme Court gave 'special credence' to the Solicitor General’s representations. The court thought it unlikely that the Supreme Court would have ruled the same way had the Solicitor General exhibited complete candor.

    (NOTE: That court decision referenced here by the Acting Solicitor General was the aforementioned 1983 decision authored by Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patal, which had granted Fred Korematsu's writ of coram nobis and vacated his original conviction.)  

    "Yet those decisions still stand today as a reminder of the mistakes of that era. Today, our Office takes this history as an important reminder that the 'special credence' the Solicitor General enjoys before the Supreme Court requires great responsibility and a duty of absolute candor in our representations to the Court. Only then can we fulfill our responsibility to defend the United States and its Constitution, and to protect the rights of all Americans."

    Finally, lest we allow ourselves to let this argument about the applicability of Korematsu as legal precedent devolve thoroughly into partisan rancor, we ought to consider thoughtfully the late Justice Antonin Scalia's observations about that case, which he offered a year ago at the University of Santa Clara.

    When asked by a law student to cite a particular SCOTUS ruling he most admired, Scalia surprised everyone in the audience by instead referencing Justice Robert Jackson's principled dissent in the original 1944 Korematsu case. "It was nice to know that at least somebody on the court realized that [the wartime internment of Japanese Americans] was wrong," he said.

    "Much is said of the danger to liberty from the Army program for deporting and detaining these citizens of Japanese extraction. But a judicial construction of the due process clause that will sustain this order is a far more subtle blow to liberty than the promulgation of the order itself. A military order, however unconstitutional, is not apt to last longer than the military emergency. Even during that period, a succeeding commander may revoke it all. But once a judicial opinion rationalizes such an order to show that it conforms to the Constitution, or rather rationalizes the Constitution to show that the Constitution sanctions such an order, the Court for all time has validated the principle of racial discrimination in criminal procedure and of transplanting American citizens. The principle then lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need. Every repetition imbeds that principle more deeply in our law and thinking and expands it to new purposes. All who observe the work of courts are familiar with what Judge Cardozo described as 'the tendency of a principle to expand itself to the limit of its logic.' A military commander may overstep the bounds of constitutionality, and it is an incident. But if we review and approve, that passing incident becomes the doctrine of the Constitution. There it has a generative power of its own, and all that it creates will be in its own image. Nothing better illustrates this danger than does the Court's opinion in this case." (Emphasis is mine.)
    - Associate Justice Robert Jackson, in dissent, Korematsu v. United States (323 U.S. 214), December 18, 1944

    Aloha.

    Parent

    No (5.00 / 3) (#48)
    by smott on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 02:45:21 PM EST
    Sanders Snowflakes own it.

    Parent
    Yeah, (5.00 / 2) (#52)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 03:36:41 PM EST
    they are a part of how we got here.

    Parent
    Rumor (none / 0) (#35)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 12:20:09 PM EST
    Take it FWIW...

    Huckabee to possibly be next Ambassador to Israel. The Jerusalem Post is reporting it.   (Trump.pledged to move embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem).

    Trump Administration: (none / 0) (#40)
    by KeysDan on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 01:08:25 PM EST
    A team of evils.

    Parent
    Rumor (none / 0) (#36)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 12:21:48 PM EST
    Take it FWIW...

    Huckabee to possibly be next Ambassador to Israel. The Jerusalem Post is reporting it, and Yahoo News has it too.(Trump.pledged to move embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem).

    Double post, sorry (none / 0) (#37)
    by jbindc on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 12:22:21 PM EST
    Jeralyn please delete

    Parent
    Berlusconi Trump Parallels (none / 0) (#55)
    by RickyJim on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 05:21:54 PM EST
    Luigi Zingales, who warned about the serious possibility of a Trump presidency, 5 years ago, now tells us how to counter Trump as president.
    Mr. Berlusconi was able to govern Italy for as long as he did mostly thanks to the incompetence of his opposition. It was so rabidly obsessed with his personality that any substantive political debate disappeared; it focused only on personal attacks, the effect of which was to increase Mr. Berlusconi's popularity. His secret was an ability to set off a Pavlovian reaction among his leftist opponents, which engendered instantaneous sympathy in most moderate voters. Mr. Trump is no different.

    We saw this dynamic during the presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton was so focused on explaining how bad Mr. Trump was that she too often didn't promote her own ideas, to make the positive case for voting for her. The news media was so intent on ridiculing Mr. Trump's behavior that it ended up providing him with free advertising.

    Unfortunately, the dynamic has not ended with the election. Shortly after Mr. Trump gave his acceptance speech, protests sprang up all over America. What are these people protesting against? Whether we like it or not, Mr. Trump won legitimately. Denying that only feeds the perception that there are "legitimate" candidates and "illegitimate" ones, and a small elite decides which is which. If that's true, elections are just a beauty contest among candidates blessed by the Guardian Council of clerics, just like in Iran.

    He is right on.

    Is it possible (5.00 / 1) (#65)
    by FreakyBeaky on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 09:04:27 PM EST
    That an election decided at the last post by FBI intervention is not regarded by all as "legitimate?"

    Or that protestors are protesting because the president-elect thinks they are second-class citizens at best and has promised to rule accordingly? (And I do think we are promised rule, not governance.)

    Our Italian friend isn't all wrong, but there are some big misses here.

    Parent

    Is it possible that Hillary's people (none / 0) (#57)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 06:09:24 PM EST
    did not look to the Burlusconi saga for insight?

    Parent
    So Trump embarassed (none / 0) (#59)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 06:58:20 PM EST
    himself in Japan today. I guess we can expect a lot more of this.

    Trump's not in Japan. (none / 0) (#66)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Nov 18, 2016 at 09:10:05 PM EST
    Rather, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe traveled to New York to meet Trump, and see for himself whether he meant all the crazy stuff he said about encouraging Japan and South Korea to develop nuclear weapons programs. Because nothing will go over so well with Japan's neighbors in Asia, quite like the prospect of a reconstituted and remilitarized Empire of the Sun.

    Parent
    A very interesting read (none / 0) (#81)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 11:28:27 AM EST
    The Donald (none / 0) (#88)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 12:35:02 PM EST
    Has a serious problem in front of him,

    But he also has time to solve it, but I don't think he will, not to anyones satisfaction.

    He is walking into the same minefield Madame Sec walked into, combining private business and government policy decisions.
    And a definite quid pro quo need not be found, all it has to do is look bad.

    He really should put his business holdings in a blind trust, or his kids cannot be around the White House. The best approach would be the blind trust, but I don't see The Donald adopting that.

    He will give the press more ammo to sling away at him, and they are certainly wanting payback


    A private charity (5.00 / 2) (#102)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 04:19:04 PM EST
    where someone receives no pay is the same as a for profit business? You just can't quit trying to drag Hillary down to your level can you? I guess you want an opposition leader for the banana Republic and you're going to get it.

    Parent
    The expression is (none / 0) (#111)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:35:53 PM EST
    "something of value."

    Like travel expenses and jobs for staff who will be needed later.

    Parent

    It has to be (5.00 / 1) (#114)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:46:45 PM EST
    tangible not intangible like you are proffering. Goodwill is considered an intangible. And a job would be hard to prove. Besides all the Clinton stuff is based on conspiracy theories from the alt right.

    Parent
    It has to be what a jury thinks (none / 0) (#127)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 09:01:04 AM EST
    it is.

    Parent
    No, it doesn't (none / 0) (#134)
    by Yman on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 10:33:29 AM EST
    Because despite all the orange, whiner-in-chief's statements to the contrary, it will never get to a jury.

    You like to gamble, right?

    I'll put any amount you want on it.

    Parent

    Nope (5.00 / 1) (#103)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 04:25:04 PM EST
    Trumps big problem is taking gifts from foreign agents and his associations with Putin. Whatever is going on with his business is the least of his problems right now.

    Parent
    Bannon on Bannon (none / 0) (#94)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 01:33:22 PM EST
    Might as well get it from the horses mouth,

    Sounds a awful lot like a Bernista

    http://tinyurl.com/zpqmgwg

    "The Clinton strength," he says, "was to play to people without a college education. High school people. That's how you win elections." And, likewise, the Republican party would come to betray its working-man constituency forged under Reagan. In sum, the working man was betrayed by the establishment, or what he dismisses as the "donor class."

    "The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia.......
    That's what the Democrats missed. They were talking to these people with companies with a $9 billion market cap employing nine people. It's not reality. They lost sight of what the world is about."

    "It's everything related to jobs. The conservatives are going to go crazy. I'm the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it's the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Ship yards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We're just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution -- conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement."


    This is why (5.00 / 2) (#101)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 04:17:37 PM EST
    Bernie has been giving Trump a blow job. The alt left is now fusing with the alt right. Both are big time nihilists. It seems though that they are going to blow up the GOP.

    Parent
    i cant follow you (sorry) (none / 0) (#106)
    by linea on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 06:57:10 PM EST
    maybe some of the words dont mean what you think they mean?

    alt-right
    wiki says they are found on 4chan and 8chan. they are white-supremacist, antifeminist, antigay, and associated with the "neoreactionary movement" which is an anti-democratic movement rejecting egalitarianism and desiring a return to "traditional gender roles."

     - 4chan wankers! LoL

    nilhilim
    argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived.

     - neither liberals nor progressives are nihilsts.

    bjs
    i dont know what to do with the multiple posts of Bernie "on his knees" or "giving a bj." it seems intended as a gay slur.

    - should we open a wider feminist discussion of whether "giviing a bj" is intrinsically demeaning?

    Parent

    No, it's not (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 07:20:54 PM EST
    a feminist slur. It's basically saying that Bernie is going to be Trump's play toy.

    The alt-left while not stating as being anti-gay etc. is pretty much about people subsuming those issues in favor of the same economic goals as the alt-right.

    Nihilism in the way the Russian nihilism went after the tsar and other "elites" in Russia of the time.

    Parent

    the alt-left ? (none / 0) (#112)
    by linea on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:41:44 PM EST
    progressives are not the same as the alt-right. that's just silly. everybody needs to stop blaming bernie for hillary losimg.

    i dont know anything about tzarist russland. sorry.

    Parent

    Bernie had (5.00 / 3) (#116)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:48:41 PM EST
    a part in it. He wouldn't accept that he lost until way past voting was done. He acted like a petulant child and encouraged that behavior in his supporters much like Trump has encouraged bad behavior.

    However this was about Bernie licking Trump's boots not the general election.

    Parent

    This is what the elites never understood and (none / 0) (#110)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:32:08 PM EST
    and still don't.

    "The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f--ed over. If we deliver" -- by "we" he means the Trump White House -- "we'll get 60 percent of the white vote, and 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote and we'll govern for 50 years. That's what the Democrats missed. They were talking to these people with companies with a $9 billion market cap employing nine people. It's not reality. They lost sight of what the world is about."


    Parent
    Only 50 years? (5.00 / 3) (#113)
    by Peter G on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:45:58 PM EST
    Not a thousand years, as promised in the original German?

    Parent
    Peter, bringing in the Nazis (none / 0) (#128)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 09:09:01 AM EST
    is way beneath you. The "we'll rule forever" has been said after ever election by partisans.

    Just toss out the bragging and hold on to the real truth:

    "The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f--ed over.

    That's why Hillary lost. She may not be 100% the cause of it but she didn't offer anything but more of the same.

    Parent

    Lol (none / 0) (#130)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 09:56:16 AM EST
    The "we'll rule forever" has been said after ever election by partisans.

    The Brain, Karl Rove pronounced the ultimate Republican majority in 2004,

    And in 2008, Democrats returned the favor.

    Both parties rush headlong into passing legislation craved for by their base, but always fail to realize that the reason they were elected was for change, not radical change, but a more moderate government willing to work to get things done.

    I don't see this election being any different, unless they actuality can jumpstart growth up to 4%

    Parent

    Yeah, Jim, you're right (none / 0) (#137)
    by Peter G on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 11:13:09 AM EST
    Just because Bannon's use of that expression rang that bell rather loudly, I should have adhered to my strong policy that Nazi analogies are always inappropriate, even (or perhaps especially) with tongue in cheek.

    Parent
    trump (none / 0) (#117)
    by linea on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:50:13 PM EST
    is not going to implement what would essentually be a democratic-socialist overhauling of the economy to favor the economic interests of labourers and the industrial working class. that is not going to happen.

    experts created trump's blue-collar platform to get him elected. that's all.

    Parent

    I guess their plan is (none / 0) (#122)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 04:40:39 AM EST
    Between massive government infrastructure spending,
    Loosening the regulatory shackles imposed om industry to fuel private investment,
    Growth of the economy will once again approach 4%

    And it had better, or the national debt will accelerate just as it did the past 8 years.

    Another problem, even if they get the growth , politicians usually like to spend the additional tax receipts instead of paring down the debt, they just can't help themselves

    Parent

    "Accelerate" - -heh (none / 0) (#149)
    by Yman on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 08:08:55 PM EST
    And it had better, or the national debt will accelerate just as it did the past 8 years.

    Words shouldn't be misused like that.

    Parent

    So that fool Trump (none / 0) (#118)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 08:52:27 PM EST
    has Pakistan now saying India's "no 1st use" nuke policy 'ambiguous' as Trump flaunts $ ties to politically-tied Indians.

    Jesus effing Christ (5.00 / 2) (#119)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Nov 19, 2016 at 09:21:14 PM EST
    We will be lucky to not have a nuclear event at this rate.

    Parent
    Having daughter Ivana (none / 0) (#139)
    by KeysDan on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 04:32:24 PM EST
    and son-in-law, Jared, in the room with Trump at all times will be our only hope. While obviously wrong on so many counts, this curious confection may be needed to attenuate labile affects. Something that may not be able to occur in the absence of trusted family members.

     And, secondarily, as a counter-balance to what seems, to me, to be Trump's administrative proclivity to be persuaded by the last person to whom he spoke.    

    Parent

    Daughter, (none / 0) (#140)
    by KeysDan on Sun Nov 20, 2016 at 04:33:16 PM EST
    Ivanka.

    Parent
    I hear you Dan (none / 0) (#141)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 09:00:47 AM EST
    They all three lack the professional boundaries that IMO diplomacatic actors must possess in today's world.

    Parent
    And it doesn't help discovering (none / 0) (#142)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Nov 21, 2016 at 09:03:32 AM EST
    That Jared's entry into Harvard wasn't merit based if you count out the 2.5 million his parents gifted Harvard.

    Parent