I don't know why you shoot the messenger like I'm the one doing Trump's deeds or supporting him. I'm not on Trump's side but simply interpret what he's doing and you guys hate me for it.

At the very least I'm wrong and in that case, you should be happy I'm wrong because it means things could be worse, but if I'm right, you should be happy I'm exposing his strategy. Either way, I don't get why you would direct vitriol towards me for analyzing what he says.

Its funny that some of you call me a troll but in reality you are being trolled by Trump and don't know it. He needs people to lash out at him because then he can say "look, they lash out at me about something every week, and never gave me a chance" that is why he takes every chance to generate responses. Theres no way he can lose if you don't even realize whats going on.

Quote :

"Lin-Manuel Miranda ? @Lin_Manuel She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You're going straight to hell. Fastest golf cart you ever took. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/914089003745468417 …"

Another Trump win

Quote :

"LeBron James ? @KingJames U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!"

This is all he wanted. A lot of people may not have been on his side but he's making people pick sides with a combination of dog whistles and inflammatory responses from liberals and minorities

[Edited on October 1, 2017 at 2:31 AM. Reason : broadway celebs and pro athletes have long been seen as a threat to conservative values]

10/1/2017 2:24:36 AM

Trump doesn’t really have any influence on my life at all.

I just feel sad for those less fortunate than me. That’s all. It’s not all a dumb game for them.

[Edited on October 1, 2017 at 7:45 AM. Reason : When people are suffering I don’t care what his “strategy is”.. ps- it’s poor impulse control]

10/1/2017 7:44:26 AM

Well so far, Trump hasn't had influence on anyones life here in terms of policy except sherriff joe and people in ISIS controled areas that he bombed the shit out of. Everything else has been words. Theres so much more nuance to it.

Quote :

"I just feel sad for those less fortunate than me."

Many of whom hate you and support trump. ~70% of non-degree whites voted for Trump. This is his base and also the people who you are losing by failing to recognize Trump's tactics.

Quote :

"When people are suffering I don’t care what his “strategy is”."

The suffering predates him and you could say that the suffering is what caused/allowed for his rise to power.

At worst, its an ethical delimma with which you cannot make progress until you understand the perspective of others. When you paint people with diffferent perspective as automatic trolls, racists, or morons, you're giving them reason to side with Trump which is important because there aren't many substantial reasons left to side with Trump on. (which is why he's creating these issues)

You could also argue that Trump has inspired positive change on the local level. Many municipalities have made real policy towards climate change being sanctuary cities.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/american-cities-climate-standards.html?mcubz=3
http://www.newsweek.com/california-lawmakers-just-voted-protect-immigrants-donald-trump-become-666334

Kap got fired for kneeling when Obama was president and now players are able to kneel with the same owners who wouldn't sign Kap. I don't think any of those things would have happened without Trump's rhetoric. At the same time, these very actions fire up his base and make him more powerful.
[image]https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hVFSh5.1rh5EdrArgpuUvQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/d3eaa9ebe8d25d1a6e94e8c01c8646b6[/image]

[Edited on October 1, 2017 at 6:34 PM. Reason : trumps dog whistles aren't law]

10/1/2017 6:33:37 PM

Quote :

"Well so far, Trump hasn't had influence on anyones life here in terms of policy except sherriff joe and people in ISIS controled areas that he bombed the shit out of. Everything else has been words. Theres so much more nuance to it. "

The Muslim ban through its various iterations have costed jobs, deportations of immigrants who’ve been here decades has torn apart families and businesses, DACA policy changes have gotten people deported to homes they don’t know and made planning for the future impossible for others, cutting back ACA payments to states and enrollment budget by 90% has caused insurance costs to rise for possibly millions and also thwarted others from gaining insurance.

Scientists working on government grants have had funding cuts for using the phrase “climate change” in their proposals. Emboldened white supremacists Killed a woman and injured more than a dozen more a few weeks ago.

Of course trump has hurt people.

10/1/2017 10:34:30 PM

I agree with you that those are hurting people but item by item, none of those things are new under Trump or actually coming to fruition. Being deported with Obama saying its a nation of immigrants is not different from being deported with trump saying racist things. DACA was always a temporary status and is STILL effective. If you lived by the facts and not what you see on the news, you would have been angry about these things long before Trump. I beg you, everyone, to entertain the numbers.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/08/trump-deportations-behind-obama-levels-241420

Quote :

"The U.S. is deporting people more slowly than during the Obama administration despite President Donald Trump’s vast immigration crackdown, according to new data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From Feb. 1 to June 30, ICE officials removed 84,473 people — a rate of roughly 16,900 people per month. If deportations continue at the same clip until the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, federal immigration officials will have removed fewer people than they did during even the slowest years of Barack Obama's presidency."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/deportations-fall-under-trump-despite-increase-in-arrests-by-ice/2017/09/28/1648d4ee-a3ba-11e7-8c37-e1d99ad6aa22_story.html?utm_term=.8670f583b222

Quote :

" It may take years before immigrants arrested under Trump can be deported after exhausting their appeals."

Trump can circumvent laws but the courts still have the final say.

Quote :

" cutting back ACA payments to states and enrollment budget by 90% has caused insurance costs to rise for possibly millions and also thwarted others from gaining insurance."

Well you are talking about premium subsidies and not insurance costs. The problem with ACA is that actual costs have ballooned and its evident in the profits. I beg you to look beyond the premium costs (which is what most people are doing) because insurance is much more complicated than just a premium. That is where this turns into a long explanation.

There is no doubt that the ACA cut premium costs for millions but costs are more than made up for in high-deductible low premium plans. Plans can be viewed on the marketplace websites and I had some students do extensive research across 6 variables. A typical plan for a healthy low-income person would give them a premium of 100 per month with the state paying the other 100 per month and a deductible of 6300. No low-income person can afford to spend 6300 in a year(6800 out of pocket max), therefore, the entire plan is a waste and they are just giving away 1200 dollars and 1200 of the state's money for a plan they won't use but they count as an "insured person" anyway. All of this is very complicated and I feel like ACA was intentionally designed to seem good on the surface by "insuring" million more people.

In short, most of the money that was cut is going straight to insurance companies

Quote :

". Emboldened white supremacists Killed a woman and injured more than a dozen more a few weeks ago. Of course trump has hurt people."

This is a dangerous stretch and more evidence that suggests you didn't pay attention before Trump. If you didn't know, this country has had issues with white supremacist violence consistently throughout its entire history. The event in Charleston had nothing to do with Trump (until after it happened) and there have always been events like that without much resistance or outcry. Ever heard of Dylann Roof? I especially want to crush this notion that we had a peaceful tolerant nation before Trump.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/white_extremist_murders_killed_at_least_60_in_u_s_since_1995.html

yes they are up this year but they also spiked in 2009 which is what most liberal articles conveniently omit to try and paint the picture that trump inspired the racism in this country

3 so far 2017
6 in 2009

[Edited on October 1, 2017 at 11:38 PM. Reason : these entry level policies are a scam]

10/1/2017 11:31:53 PM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/09/30/trump-called-san-juans-mayor-a-weak-leader-heres-what-her-leadership-looks-like/

What an utterly nasty, mean, cruel, cold-hearted, egomaniacal, puerile, and absolutely horrible "human".

Still can't believe some hundred million people adore this guy, and still think he is doing a great job.

10/2/2017 1:09:02 AM

Quote :

" Its funny that some of you call me a troll but in reality you are being trolled by Trump and don't know it."

I mean, I think we all know it.

10/2/2017 1:19:23 AM

Quote :

"Many of whom hate you and support trump. ~70% of non-degree whites voted for Trump. This is his base and also the people who you are losing by failing to recognize Trump's tactics."

I’d rather not win their votes than lie to them and con them. And if they hate me so be it. Still don’t deserve to suffer.

10/2/2017 1:32:36 PM

Lol at his Puerto Rico comments. It really is all about him. Literally telling them he is doing a better job than during Katrina. What a small, small little man he is.

10/3/2017 1:01:03 PM

Quote :

"Now I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack"

an awful, awful man

Quote :

"Trump to PR official: "So what’s your death count? Sixteen? You can be very proud, only sixteen instead of thousands in Katrina.""

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 1:07 PM. Reason : .]

10/3/2017 1:01:24 PM

How can people still defend this guy? It's almost guaranteed that he'll say something callous and stupid, everytime.

10/3/2017 2:09:36 PM

^^I literally thought you were making that up. I just saw the video of him saying that. Un fucking believable.

10/3/2017 3:40:28 PM

^^ would you ask david koresh's followers how they could defend and follow him?

well you could and should, but you know it is pointless.

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 3:44 PM. Reason : an awful, awful man very fine people]

10/3/2017 3:43:49 PM

Voted against un resolution against execution of gays

10/3/2017 3:46:46 PM

tbf, we have been under Middle East/Oil rule for decades..

10/3/2017 4:04:21 PM

the" budget out of whack" statement was bad but the way its being quoted is not in full context when you leave out the 2nd part. no need to distort things to make trump seem worse when hes already awful. this is how you end up helping him everytime.

what ever happened to "when they go low..."?

10/3/2017 6:22:58 PM

The clips of this motherfucker throwing out paper towels are infuriating

^ban this troll

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 7:54 PM. Reason : J]

10/3/2017 7:54:03 PM

Here is the full Quote

Quote :

"“I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack -- because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico and that’s fine, we’ve saved a lot of lives,” "

^I don't blame you if you didn't actually get to hear the full quote since only the first half of it made headlines.

Heres a few articles without the 2nd part
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/03/trump-puerto-rico-budget.html
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-10-03/trump-says-puerto-rico-has-thrown-budget-out-of-whack
TWW

Its not necessary because the whole quote is still bad but now Trump wins (again) because his supporters get to use the "dishonest media" narrative and that is unfortunate. The thing you guys continue to miss in this thread is the fact that we have to convert Trump supporters or this is going to be an 8-year deal instead of a 4-year deal. You don't accomplish that by doubling down on the things that got him elected

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 8:05 PM. Reason : Quoting half of a sentence is almost always a bad move]

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 8:06 PM. Reason : Did you honestly read that as a defense of trump?]

10/3/2017 8:03:43 PM

Who gives a shit about what the rest of the quote actually says? He's essentially told Puerto Rico that they're lucky we're even bothering to help them and their debt makes it a chore, and that they'd better pipe down and stop being dramatic about what happened to them.

Anyone with more than five brain cells can see what he's doing. It's a dog whistle to racists who hate Latinos saying, 'real' Americans will get help first, while Puerto Ricans are uncivilized and dysfunctional and we'll get around to helping them later, since they're brown and a drain on society.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish with your ridiculous posts in this thread anyway?

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 8:15 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 8:24 PM. Reason : he threw fucking paper towels at them today, and dedicated his golf trophy to Floridians FFS]

10/3/2017 8:14:52 PM

^^i watched the video...troll on

10/3/2017 8:30:37 PM

Quote :

"Who gives a shit about what the rest of the quote actually says? "

Any honest person cares about context. You lose some of the context when you leave off the "because" half of a sentence. Its not the proper way to quote someone regardless of the nature of the statement.

Quote :

"He's essentially told Puerto Rico that they're lucky we're even bothering to help them and their debt makes it a chore, and that they'd better pipe down and stop being dramatic about what happened to them. Anyone with more than five brain cells can see what he's doing. It's a dog whistle to racists who hate Latinos saying, 'real' Americans will get help first, while Puerto Ricans are uncivilized and dysfunctional and we'll get around to helping them later, since they're brown and a drain on society."

No one is debating this and it can still be portrayed with the full context of the quote. You lose that message when you intentionally omit the half of the sentence that makes it a little bit less ugly.

Quote :

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish with your ridiculous posts in this thread anyway?"

If you would take a minute to think critically about my posts, I think you would eventually be able to see what I'm trying to accomplish. Even if you are convinced that I am trolling, or backhandedly supporting Trump, if you would just suspend disbelief to read my posts, you could see that I'm trying to point out the flaws in the strategy for attacking Trump.

Trump has manipulated MSM and each of you into being part of his nonstop marketing team. He needs you to attack him in this way. Everytime you misquote him, you are pushing his supporters further into his reach. He puts these quotes out there as bait almost daily and liberals just can't control themselves.

You can't just look at things through your initial perspectives. To really understand nuance, you need to be able to look at things from multiple perspectives, even if some of those other perspectives disgust you. Don't be intellectually lazy by dismissing every ounce of nuance as "trolling". Pay attention to how Trump supporters are responding to the backlash and adjust your backlash to reach them.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/10/04/trump-camp-slams-media-over-out-context-frenzy-on-ptsd-remarks.html
That foxnews segment is an example of what happens when you don't quote him accurately. It helps his "fake news" narrative, your whole point is loss, and he gets away with the bad thing he said in a +

[Edited on October 3, 2017 at 8:43 PM. Reason : why trump won]

10/3/2017 8:36:31 PM

You're being an annoying contrarian anarchist and trying to pretend like you actually want a meaningful conversation, when you just want to troll.

It's irritating, and all of us wish you'd just stop.

10/3/2017 8:43:01 PM

^this but also

Quote :

"we have to convert Trump supporters"

Is this true? I know he gained the most votes for a republican candidate ever, but there's a solid chance he could lose votes because he's pulling in 35% approval rating which will have a decreased voter turnout. That and we can run a candidate that will attract more democratic voters.

10/4/2017 8:43:45 AM

no, its not true, trump had fewer votes than romney

you just need a candidate that can get people to go out and vote (it would help if maybe they weren't an establishment candidate under an FBI investigation)

10/4/2017 9:01:13 AM

Wikipedia says Trump received 62,984,825 votes while Romney received 60,933,504. Not sure if this is the right place to have this discussion but I figured its better then arguing over Tulsi's last post.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016

[Edited on October 4, 2017 at 9:14 AM. Reason : .]

10/4/2017 9:14:21 AM

Earl is a troll. He's always been a troll.

10/4/2017 9:17:05 AM

lol, defending even this. He’s basically the “leftist” JCE

10/4/2017 10:24:36 AM

I mean as long as the democrats can throw anyone up there who isnt Clinton if there arent enough people to overtake Trump's base at this point then its probably time to leave the country. I don't even think its realistic for the GOP to run Trump again for a second term. If they haven't already committed political suicide that would be the nail in the coffin for anyone that was even remotely towards the middle.

10/4/2017 11:20:36 AM

Quote :

"You're being an annoying contrarian anarchist and trying to pretend like you actually want a meaningful conversation, when you just want to troll. It's irritating, and all of us wish you'd just stop. "

Just because something irritates or annoys YOU, doesn't mean its trolling. I'm advocating for a way of quoting people that is taught to kids in school. If that form of quoting is contrary to your beliefs, fine but dismissing any nuance outside of the binary you anticipate is just lazy.
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/quotations/
The type of quoting the MSM and thegoodlife did to Trump is used as a negative example. Why is it so absurd to suggest the press be held to an academic standard?

Quote :

"Is this true? I know he gained the most votes for a republican candidate ever, but there's a solid chance he could lose votes because he's pulling in 35% approval rating which will have a decreased voter turnout. That and we can run a candidate that will attract more democratic voters."

Do you really want to count on that? Trump's was at 36% favorability before the election and won...


Trump is making the election a referendum on the press and I think he should be fought on all fronts. If his key strategy is to build distrust in the press, would it really be such a bad idea to hold the press to a higher standard of honesty?

Why continue to create bulletin board material for a guy who doesn't have much else to rely on?

Quote :

"lol, defending even this. He’s basically the “leftist” JCE"

I'm convinced you aren't even reading my posts. I clearly stated that the entire quote would still be bad. That is why I think this was such a blunder in the first place.

The general attitude here is that "theres no wrong way to criticize trump" and you guys think you can just press replay on the last election and win as long as you prevent russians from spending another 100k on facebook ads.

Quote :

"if there arent enough people to overtake Trump's base at this point"

My argument is that the distrust towards the media will push a lot of conservatives who aren't in his base to vote for him. These elections have been "lesser of the two evils" for a long time and supreme court nominations are the most important thing to these people anyway.

10/4/2017 11:35:40 AM

I guess this is a book every American should read

10/4/2017 3:35:01 PM

https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/videos/10156380329352908/

10/4/2017 4:34:14 PM

Economy lost 33,000 jobs. Thanks Obama.

10/6/2017 8:47:14 AM

maybe its the calm before the storm

10/6/2017 11:26:29 AM

He'll tell us what his vague, ominous statement means..... after we return from this commercial break!


(yuuuuge ratings)

10/6/2017 12:34:55 PM

The calm before the storm statement means we are going to war, right?

10/6/2017 12:38:21 PM

Tune in later to find out!

(N Korea is obvious, but maybe it's Iran. Or a new front against ISIS in Syria? Or maybe against Assad? Or boots on the ground in Venezuela?)

[Edited on October 6, 2017 at 12:50 PM. Reason : ]

10/6/2017 12:47:38 PM

Or he's bout to fire somebody, it's a "pick'em" on who it might be. (In order of likeliness: Tillerson, Sessions, Mattis, Mueller, Kelly).

10/6/2017 1:42:27 PM

I just saw this joke on another site:

Rex T will soon go the way of the T Rex

10/6/2017 1:52:00 PM

maybe the storm is the next hurricane

10/6/2017 3:56:16 PM

https://twitter.com/profcanderson/status/916334863971692545

Is Warren Harding a good template for trump?

10/6/2017 9:34:18 PM

Uh, I think we're about to get into a shooting war with a nuclear power

10/7/2017 6:32:02 PM

I know these laws don't matter anymore but can Trump legally strike North Korea without congressional approval?

10/7/2017 6:42:20 PM

yep

Quote :

"Declaring War The United States has not formally declared war since World War II. Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has sole power "to declare war [and] grant letters of marque and reprisal." But Article II, Section 2 provides that "The president shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States." While it's clear that the Framers intended for Congress alone to declare war, presidents don't always check with Congress before acting. After President Harry Truman bypassed Congress to go to war in Korea, presidents have paid almost no attention to the constitutional requirements. "

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2001/09/what_war_powers_does_the_president_have.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution

Quote :

"The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding the veto of the bill from President Nixon. It has been alleged that the War Powers Resolution has been violated in the past – for example, by President Bill Clinton in 1999, during the bombing campaign in Kosovo. Congress has disapproved all such incidents, but none has resulted in any successful legal actions being taken against the president for alleged violations.[2]"

We all give a lot of shit to the various Presidents but it is the truly awful representation in Congress that enables this.

[Edited on October 7, 2017 at 7:13 PM. Reason : a]

10/7/2017 7:10:44 PM

We are all gonna die

https://twitter.com/votevets/status/916754554594742272

10/7/2017 8:40:48 PM

The author of this letter is really economically anxious,



http://www.mcall.com/news/local/whitehall/mc-nws-whitehall-daycare-racist-letter-20171006-story.html

[Edited on October 8, 2017 at 12:00 PM. Reason : .]

10/8/2017 11:59:05 AM

The real tragedy here is the choice of typeface. Might as well use Comic Sans or Wingdings.

10/8/2017 1:10:46 PM

I mean, that has to be a joke right. Its just too much to believe its genuine. The part at the end kinda gives it away.

10/8/2017 1:15:49 PM

Not Trump, but Pence just pulled an all-timer political nonsense move and wasting of taxpayer money. What a bunch of clowns..

[Edited on October 8, 2017 at 1:50 PM. Reason : Mother probably is mad at him with another woman being near him]

10/8/2017 1:46:34 PM

Vice President Snowflake.

10/8/2017 2:02:32 PM

"From now on, you're VP Snowflake. Do you like that name?!"

10/8/2017 2:52:14 PM