And America Continues to Show it's True Colors. . .

[dwayne1115]

The "big picture" thing is something that was said after he was elected. Trump voters might not have anticipated these many issues, but the ones who didn't vote for him most certainly did and kept asking him about how he was going to accomplish any of it. Trump campaigned claiming to have secret plans about all of this. I didn't believe it, but a lot of folk did, I guess. Haha!

Well people where convinced that Trump was looking out for the little guy. That he would end corruption in Washington, cut spending, and create jobs.
That's what drew people to him. Not the hate, or the other issues it was all these other promises made.
Look at it now he has not been in office but four months and people want him impeached or even killed.
As far as taking the corruption out of Washington maybe he or some in his campaign did have ties to Russia. I don't think so now after whats happening in Syria, and possibly North Korea. Who really knows?
Like it's been said its easy to find fault in everything when you look hard enough.
I find that the best way to find the actual truth is not going by what anyone says though. I look at the evedince, because as any CSI fan will tell you the evedince never lies.

 

[Old Thunder]

People are either going to look at Trump positively or negatively. There just is no in-between with this president, except for a few people like myself who honestly couldn't give two $#!7s about him when all's said and done.

 

[D'Snowth]

So a shooter has been running around Fresno killing white people, but of course, it's all Obama's fault, because Obama's a racist and threatening White Privilege in America by emboldening and empowering black people to attack poor, innocent, white people who do no wrong because they're white.

Just like Bernie Sanders incited the vandalism of all those Jewish cemetaries and burning town Synagauges.

 

[MuppetsRule]

Just like Bernie Sanders incited the vandalism of all those Jewish cemetaries and burning town Synagauges.

What??? Look back to page 8 or 9 or especially page 12. It was all being blamed on President Trump and him emboldening his so-called racist and anti-Semitic supporters. It's in black and white in this very same thread. No blame for Sanders. The blame was being placed squarely on President Trump, again and again. Which, of course, was proved completely wrong. About 8 of them were done by an anti-Trump person in some bizarre plot to get back at his ex-girlfriend. The rest were done by a student with dual citizenship in Israel and the U.S. who happened to be Jewish himself. He also was anti-Trump. Pretty much confirms what 1000 Eyes said a few posts ago.

Some would say that you too are seeing what you want to see - Trump as something negative.

 

[jvcarroll]

People are either going to look at Trump positively or negatively. There just is no in-between with this president, except for a few people like myself who honestly couldn't give two $#!7s about him when all's said and done.

I truly believe that in the not so distant future and beyond, film and literature will look back at this time with a grotesque curiosity of how we could elect an inexperienced buffoon in a tacky trucker cap as the leader of the free world. Mark my words on that. Of course he won't be the president progressives want, but he's going to disappoint his supporters most of all. His hubris, and that of the people who continue to overlook his many conflicts and broken promises, will be his downfall. The part I'm hoping (that I can't definitively say will happen) is that the political pendulum will swing right back to more experienced leadership and progressive ideals much faster. Maybe somewhere in an alternate universe, Trump is like one of those Magic Eye paintings with the hidden dolphins that you have to cross your eyes in order to see, (that so many people never do) but I don't think so. Ha!

 

[Old Thunder]

I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

 

[D'Snowth]

Much like how Trump miscounted his first 11 weeks in Office as 13, now he and his Administration seem to think he's already completed his first 100 days.

This is incorrect on two different levels: 1. They're off by about ten days or so (today is Day 90), and 2. How many days has he actually been in the White House?

 

[jvcarroll]

From the conflicts of interest and the many flip flops already to the general lack of political intelligence and third grade vocabulary he uses, I don't understand the defense of him anymore.

No one was nastier to others than Donald Trump was during his campaign, yet his supporters treat him like some infant that must be protected from the smallest slight for fear he'll cry. What wusses.

Trump's campaign trademark was to bully people with stupid nicknames like Lying Ted, Crooked Hillary, Low Energy Jeb and he continued to do this bit about Obama spending more time on the golf course than Tiger Woods.

• Lying Ted: I don't like one thing about Ted Cruz. I literally went to high school with that icky man. In full disclosure, he was a few grades in front of me at Second Baptist High School in Houston Texas. You get a darn good education there, so I know he's intelligent. That's the only compliment I can really pay him He, like every modern republican, cites slanted facts to suit them, but outright lying is not a particular trait of his. Trump lies daily. That's fact. His supporters try to twist it as if he somehow misspoke or something, but a lie is a lie and it's happened too often to single one or two statements out as random mistakes. Why people never shouted Lying Trump, I'll never know.
• Crooked Hillary: Republicans have targeted Hillary Clinton since she campaigned for single-payer healthcare as first lady. No person's life has been under the microscope like her life has and it was clearly out of a conservative vendetta. That said, I won't defend any of her scandals except to say she got through them without name-calling or theatrics. One of Trump's greatest claims was pay-for-play through the Clinton Foundation There was accusation without evidence and the charity that gave her no money at all and did wonderful things around the world. That's what Trump does. Once you accuse someone of a crime, whether true or not, that stink tends to stick to them. That's a form of branding and it's sleazy. Now, if we're talking about pay for play, there's much substance to the stacks of accusations made toward Trump and his family. He also had to settle a case for cheating students out of money for Trump University. He brags about cheating the system by not paying taxes (and still hasn't released his like he said he would). There are the creepy connections with the Russians, their hacking and more substantial rumors about collusion than there's been with any other candidate in history, yet Hillary is the only person to get the Crooked brand. Everyone should be shouting Crooked Trump right now. In fact, I think these conflicts of interest and pay for play scandals might become enough to ultimately boot him from the White House.
• Low Energy Jeb: That one's completely true, but have you seen Donald Trump? He's not a fit man. He'd get winded from a flight of stairs. He can't seem to remember simple things beyond his own slogans and the flop sweat in his debates was rather unsettling. I think of a narcissistic motormouth when I think of Trump, but energy? No. He's an elderly man who should definitely be on a diet rather than eating fast food and chocolate cake on a daily basis. Low Energy Trump.
• Tiger Woods-Obama: No president in history has spent as much time on the golf course or spent nearly this amount of taxpayer dollars on lavish vacations at this point in the presidency than Trump. This is probably the most inexcusable item on this list. He claimed he's barely see a golf course, yet he spends nearly one third of his days in office golfing and on vacation. People should call him Arnold Palmer-Trump. Actually, no. Marie Antoinette-Trump would be more appropriate after he added a description of the cake he was eating while bombing Syria. Trumpers keep saying that it's just his first 100 days. Give him a chance! Sure, that's not a lot of time, but how many of those days has Trump been off golfing, vacationing and eating cake?

The way that fans of Trump turn a blind eye to hypocrisy is outrageous. And for what? Because he's some sort of great president? Aside from bombing a country with no real strategy behind it, he's accomplished nothing. Well, he's taken environmental protections away and removed protections for LGBT people. I guess there's that. So homophobic people who don't care about the world their children will inherit have a lot to crow about. Insanity.

 

[D'Snowth]

The way that fans of Trump turn a blind eye to hypocrisy is outrageous. And for what? Because he's some sort of great president? Aside from bombing a country with no real strategy behind it, he's accomplished nothing.

That's what I don't understand: what are his supporters and fans seeing that we're not? I keep seeing them talk about what a "great job he's doing so far." Great job doing what? Those Executive Orders he pulls out of hammerspace and scribbles his signature on for the sake of undoing something Obama did? The travel ban? Putting black people and Jews back in their place? Trying to get another war started? How is all of that supposed to, "Make America Great Again"? And again, Obama was attacked everytime he's gone on vacation . . . Trump's gone on vacation every single froggin' weekend since he's been in Office, and it's okay because, "it's all a part of being president." Nobody said that about Obama. And Elmo, every time he does something crooked, hap-hazardly, or even dangerous, the fans and supporters always praise God for sending him to us. I honestly can't imagine that kinds of prayers God must have been getting from months now from people thanking Him that Trump is approving death and destruction . . . that sounds more like something radical Muslims would pray to Allah about.

And there's Melania: again, the fans and supporters keep gushing about what a beautiful and glamorous First Lady she is and for "bringing class back to the White House." Ugh, aside from the Easter egg roll (where she had to remind Dumb Donald to place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem), when has she ever been in the White House? When has she ever acted like a First Lady? Whatever happened to that platform of hers that her first order of business as First Lady would be to personally tackle (cyber) bullying? And she wasn't even born in this country . . . which is kind of awkward when you think about it.

 

[jvcarroll]

That's what I don't understand: what are his supporters and fans seeing that we're not? I keep seeing them talk about what a "great job he's doing so far." Great job doing what? Those Executive Orders he pulls out of hammerspace and scribbles his signature on for the sake of undoing something Obama did? The travel ban? Putting black people and Jews back in their place? Trying to get another war started? How is all of that supposed to, "Make America Great Again"? And again, Obama was attacked everytime he's gone on vacation . . . Trump's gone on vacation every single froggin' weekend since he's been in Office, and it's okay because, "it's all a part of being president." Nobody said that about Obama. And Elmo, every time he does something crooked, hap-hazardly, or even dangerous, the fans and supporters always praise God for sending him to us. I honestly can't imagine that kinds of prayers God must have been getting from months now from people thanking Him that Trump is approving death and destruction . . . that sounds more like something radical Muslims would pray to Allah about.

And there's Melania: again, the fans and supporters keep gushing about what a beautiful and glamorous First Lady she is and for "bringing class back to the White House." Ugh, aside from the Easter egg roll (where she had to remind Dumb Donald to place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem), when has she ever been in the White House? When has she ever acted like a First Lady? Whatever happened to that platform of hers that her first order of business as First Lady would be to personally tackle (cyber) bullying? And she wasn't even born in this country . . . which is kind of awkward when you think about it.

One word: PRIDE.
I'm not talking about the pride in one's self that we all should feel for a job well done or a life well lived according to our values. I'm talking about the unwillingness to admit mistakes. That's how Trump is and that's how his supporters behave. Facts be darned. They don't matter anymore and if a fact arises that makes Trump look bad, it's just sour grapes or "fake" news.

The only talent Trump has is in branding. He took every weakness he had as a candidate and labeled his competitors with it. It's so transparent, but angry people who feel marginalized have a willingness to overlook many things if they feel they're being valued. That's advertising!

The truth is that, even through this madness, the other candidates failed to connect with voters the same way that Trump did. His connection is based on a bunch of malarkey, but elections are won and lost on feelings, not facts. Trump's team recognized that and, with the worst candidate in history, squeaked out a win. There's definitely shared blame for that. Hillary knows the game of politics well, but focused grouped more than just authentically winged it. She was too planned, poised and careful in her demeanor. She misread the country. The hacking is on the Russians and probably the Trump campaign, but that lack of connection is entirely on her.

My hope is that the pendulum of accountability might be swinging the other way now that Bill O'Reilly has been fired by Fox News. Whether or not the O'Reilly accusations are true (I think they mostly are), it didn't matter. He was notoriously awful and vindictive toward his underlings and coworkers. Nobody liked him. They feared him and when it counted - nobody had his back! He has himself to blame for that. The main reason for his ousting is because he was hemorrhaging advertisers and his solid ratings could no longer be monetized. The reason why he was losing them is because no one, aside from Trump, was standing by O'Reilly's side.

I hope this emboldens Trump's accusers, from those he screwed out of money to the line of ladies he allegedly abused, that nobody is unreachable. Both Trump and O'Reilly act with a great deal of hubris. There's that old adage - be kind to people on your way up because you will meet them on your way down. I see this recent firing as a model for what could happen to Trump. I think that's partly why Trump has begun to surround himself with family as staff and pushed out others like Bannon. It's smart, but a half-measure considering Trump's history of treating others poorly.

I sometimes want to shake his supporters and say, "He doesn't care about you! You're better than this!" like Tory Spelling would tell an abused girlfriend in a Lifetime original movie. Haha!

But that's impossible. People have to take their own time to realize their own mistakes. That often happens once those trying to convince them leave. So that's what I'm going to do with this conversation - leave while I'm ahead. I'll be around facebook for people who want to share about Trump, but here...I just don't see any forward movement or wisdom from the Trump camp. It's arrogant, but it's honest. I see a painful moment coming in their future when the fit finally hits the shan, but I'm not going to be here saying, "I told you so." I'm done with that and I really don't like pushing someone while they're down. Something that Trump does to other people.

I've lived over four decades on this earth. I come from a very politically involved family, participated in 7 presidential elections, seen my father argue a case before the Supreme Court, and have lived in four major US cities - including DC. I had the privilege of being surrounded by many different elements to feed my point of view.

But this presidency doesn't belong to folk with well-rounded points of view, nuance or the intellectual crowd. That's clear. It belongs to people who are angry beyond reason. That anger is entirely understandable!!! It's no exaggeration to say that I've seen a lot and this is one thing I know for certain - - Continuing conversations like these is as futile as trying to convince a toddler that there is no Santa Claus. The little tyke will figure it out in his own time. The only difference is that Santa isn't a threat, but Trump most definitely is.

I'm not entirely convinced that many of those commenting here are of voting age. I'm not even convinced that the ones who are have a history of being politically involved or even vote, for that matter. I'm not here to be right. I'm here for knowledgeable debate. There's so much repetition of carefully branded talking points, but not much critical analysis behind them.

I have many faults, but I learned at an early age to use my own words and to cull analysis from many points of view, particularly from opposing sides, in order to form an educated opinion. When Trump actually has a valid point, which is rare, I'm honest about it. I don't see much of that sort of thing happening in the world right now and it makes me sad. Instead, I see people defending the indefensible or deceptively using outliers to prove a rule.

I've sometimes fallen to that passion here. I admit that. I think our environments help shape our behavior and I don't like that kind of stuff rubbing off on me as it has. I apologize for none of it, but I most certainly apologize if what I said seemed personal or made an individual feel bad. There's nothing I said that isn't true or just. My issue is that it isn't helpful and the Scooter in me can't abide being unhelpful. This is a personal decision for me. I'm someone who likes to be his best and to lift up those around me. That's an impossible thing to do in this thread.

Today, I take the O'Reilly ousting as a win for women in the workplace and for a nation that seems not to care about how we treat other people. With that win, I'm leaving this thread on a high note that America hasn't entirely lost her humanity.

For those who want to respond to me about statements here - Please do not. It's not honorable to personally argue with someone who isn't present.

As for you, Snowth. I appreciate your tireless efforts here and on social media. You're a friend and you'll see me in other threads and on Facebook. I hope you'll be able to keep the peace and rational thinking in this runaway thread. Haha!


Peace all. I mean that.

See y'all in the muppet sections. However, if you defend Kermit Swamp Years or Muppets From Space, I will come for you. Hahaha. Kidding (not kidding).