Trump Presidency

[BGIF]

Trump rockin' the One China boat.

 

[BGIF]

"She's a grifter taking advantage of Democrats grief!"

"She's a grifter taking advantage of Democrats grief!"

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin responding to CNN's Erin Burnett's question to him, "Why is Jill Stein pursuing the recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennslyvania?"

Burnett stated that Trump held "razor thin" leads in these states. Toobin took issue with the razor thin characterization. He noted that in terms of the total vote, those margins are close. However in terms of a recount they are insurmountable. He pointed out that no recount has turned up a 10 or 20,0000 change in the count. He referenced Gore Bush in Florida turning up only about 500 votes.

Toobin claimed the suits by Stein are frivolous and a fund raising scheme on Stein's part "acting as a surrogate now for Clinton when her presence in the election might well have cost Clinton the election."

 

[IrishinSyria]

TAC's resident Progressive, Noah Millman, likes the pick:

Some are concerned about the fact that Mattis is a recently-retired general, and that his selection bodes ill for civil control of the military. In general, I would agree with those concerns. But I would make an exception now. At this point in history, I am acutely concerned about the alienation of the services from their civilian masters. We have been pushing the military incredibly hard on a mission of decreasing comprehensibility. Institutionally, the military needs to know that its civilian leadership understands the toll that has been taken.

There are civilian leaders who could provide that — Jim Webb comes to mind — and there are recently-retired military leaders who probably wouldn’t. But there are few individuals I can think of who would do a distinctly better job of that than Mattis. And at this moment in history, I just think that is more important than whether he’s a good bureaucratic in-fighter or the right guy to wring more efficiencies out of procurement.

A few thoughts:

This is the danger of endless low-level war. We've been at war with terror for (at least) 15 years, we'll be at war with it for (at least) 15 more. There's nothing particularly unique about "this moment in history." I'm worried about changing long standing norms due to unique circumstances when there's absolutely no reason to believe that the present unique circumstances will abate in the short or medium term.

The justification for civilian control of the military is not bureaucratic in-fighting and efficiency in procurement so I'm not sure why he would bring that up.

I don't think it's too much to ask that Trump find someone who is competent, sane, and legally qualified for the job, right?

 

[Bluto]

Castro's deeds are somehow comparable to Reagan's because...???

Because the discussion was whether or not the US should have engaged Castro. The reasons stated the US should not were

A. He was an ally of Russia.

B. He was an oppressive scumbag.

So, in regards to B, the Central American foreign policy during Reagan's presidency was to supply resources (money and military aid), military advisers and in general prop up a number of regimes much more brutal than Castor in places like Guatemala and El Salvador. The juntas in those places even went as far as assassinating Catholic clergy and raping nuns. Also, in Nicaragua the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran and the proceeds were then funneled back to the CIA manufactired resistence group the Contras, who are also heavily involved in the cocaine trade. Reagan's policies resulted in as much if not more suffering, death and oppression as did Castros. So there you have it. He is by far one of the most reviled of all foreign leaders in Central America.

 

[phgreek]

Because the discussion was whether or not the US should have engaged Castro. The reasons stated the US should not were

A. He was an ally of Russia.

B. He was an oppressive scumbag.

So, in regards to B, the Central American foreign policy during Reagan's presidency was to supply resources (money and military aid), military advisers and in general prop up a number of regimes much more brutal than Castor in places like Guatemala and El Salvador. The juntas in those places even went as far as assassinating Catholic clergy and raping nuns. Also, in Nicaragua the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran and the proceeds were then funneled back to the CIA manufactired resistence group the Contras, who are also heavily involved in the cocaine trade. Reagan's policies resulted in as much if not more suffering, death and oppression as did Castros. So there you have it. He is by far one of the most reviled of all foreign leaders in Central America.

So in your opinion, what was Mr. Reagan's purpose, goal, rationale???

 

[NorthDakota]

Not sure if the IE community is familiar with Epic Rap Battles of History. But some of their stuff is good.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kbryz0mxuMY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[pumpdog20]

The rap battle was a decent one, but I didn't appreciate the inequality message at the end. You know, where both candidates didn't get slapped. Don't ERBoH know woman can take a slap too?

 

[johnnycando]

Because the discussion was whether or not the US should have engaged Castro. The reasons stated the US should not were

A. He was an ally of Russia.

B. He was an oppressive scumbag.

So, in regards to B, the Central American foreign policy during Reagan's presidency was to supply resources (money and military aid), military advisers and in general prop up a number of regimes much more brutal than Castor in places like Guatemala and El Salvador. The juntas in those places even went as far as assassinating Catholic clergy and raping nuns. Also, in Nicaragua the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran and the proceeds were then funneled back to the CIA manufactired resistence group the Contras, who are also heavily involved in the cocaine trade. Reagan's policies resulted in as much if not more suffering, death and oppression as did Castros. So there you have it. He is by far one of the most reviled of all foreign leaders in Central America.

There are too many GD brain washed idiots on this board.

Do you agree?

 

[CrownRoyal]

There are too many GD brain washed idiots on this board.

Do you agree?

What did the liberals say about the public when putting together Obamacare?

The people are so ignorant we can pass anything and then laughed

Listening to some on this board always comparing good well meaning individuals to historical loser's is sad.

 

[NorthDakota]

The rap battle was a decent one, but I didn't appreciate the inequality message at the end. You know, where both candidates didn't get slapped. Don't ERBoH know woman can take a slap too?

Their liberal lean may have been showing!

 

[dshans]

There are too many GD brain washed idiots on this board.

Do you agree?

Perhaps.

But to which group of GD brain washed idiots do you intimate?

The group with a liberal bent or the group with conservative brain freeze?

 

[connor_in]

TRUMP HAS PICKED HIS CABINET

 

[Buster Bluth]

The discussion was specifically K-12 education, where the US keeps dumping millions of dollars yet we rank in the 20s and 30s globally in math and science. The argument that public education is working is a joke, hence the demand in the market for other options.

And how is that the federal Department of Education's fault?

Public education isn't working in part because we drew arbitrary political lines on a map that concentrated poverty in urban districts that had no chance of offering a decent education, which only compounded the social decay over generations.

And if you're complaining about math and science specifically, that's precisely why we need a degree of federal oversight. A child in the Bible Belt has a right to not be taught Creationist horseshit, which is what their state legislatures would too often mandate for their classrooms.

Plus is just pretty funny to complain about falling behind in science when the current Republican Party is the laughingstock of the developed world on matters of science.

I am somewhat in favor of the charter school approach, and do believe in vouchers so kids/families can make choices. But unfortunately the party that backs charter programs also loathes regulation so it's a wild wild west with urban charter schools taking advantage of ignorant parents and their children.

 

[IrishinSyria]

And how is that the federal Department of Education's fault?

Public education isn't working in part because we drew arbitrary political lines on a map that concentrated poverty in urban districts that had no chance of offering a decent education, which only compounded the social decay over generations.

And if you're complaining about math and science specifically, that's precisely why we need a degree of federal oversight. A child in the Bible Belt has a right to not be taught Creationist horseshit, which is what their state legislatures would too often mandate for their classrooms.

Plus is just pretty funny to complain about falling behind in science when the current Republican Party is the laughingstock of the developed world on matters of science.

I am somewhat in favor of the charter school approach, and do believe in vouchers so kids/families can make choices. But unfortunately the party that backs charter programs also loathes regulation so it's a wild wild west with urban charter schools taking advantage of ignorant parents and their children.

My concern with charter schools is that they only serve to exacerbate the impact of parenting.

Like kids already get better outcomes when their parents are involved in their educations. Allowing those involved parents to put their kids into better schools means that the kids who are left in the public schools won't be surrounded by good influences.

It's a form of triage I guess and I see the argument for it but it's also kind of horrifying to think that we're more or less giving up on a large number of kids who, through no fault of their own, are starting at a huge disadvantage already.

 

[phgreek]

My concern with charter schools is that they only serve to exacerbate the impact of parenting.

Like kids already get better outcomes when their parents are involved in their educations. Allowing those involved parents to put their kids into better schools means that the kids who are left in the public schools won't be surrounded by good influences.

It's a form of triage I guess and I see the argument for it but it's also kind of horrifying to think that we're more or less giving up on a large number of kids who, through no fault of their own, are starting at a huge disadvantage already.

I hear what you are saying...but instead of holding others back, shouldn't we address the real issue here. If you have parents who aren't involved in their kids' education, how do you fix THAT problem. Holding other families hostage because their neighbors make poor choices is not the answer IMHO.

Many communities have after school help for kids, and those actually receive some funding. There are productive ways to handle the issue while moving education outcomes forward. We should be focused on unleashing communities to seek the best educational outcomes, and trying to assess and help those who fail to take flight.

 

[IrishinSyria]

I hear what you are saying...but instead of holding others back, shouldn't we address the real issue here. If you have parents who aren't involved in their kids' education, how do you fix THAT problem. Holding other families hostage because their neighbors make poor choices is not the answer IMHO.

Many communities have after school help for kids, and those actually receive some funding. There are productive ways to handle the issue while moving education outcomes forward. We should be focused on unleashing communities to seek the best educational outcomes, and trying to assess and help those who fail to take flight.

Yeah, I'm not 100% opposed to vouchers as long as they're not sold as cure-alls.

 

[phgreek]

And how is that the federal Department of Education's fault?

Public education isn't working in part because we drew arbitrary political lines on a map that concentrated poverty in urban districts that had no chance of offering a decent education, which only compounded the social decay over generations.

And if you're complaining about math and science specifically, that's precisely why we need a degree of federal oversight. A child in the Bible Belt has a right to not be taught Creationist horseshit, which is what their state legislatures would too often mandate for their classrooms.

Plus is just pretty funny to complain about falling behind in science when the current Republican Party is the laughingstock of the developed world on matters of science.

I am somewhat in favor of the charter school approach, and do believe in vouchers so kids/families can make choices. But unfortunately the party that backs charter programs also loathes regulation so it's a wild wild west with urban charter schools taking advantage of ignorant parents and their children.

How many employees in the Department of Education does it take to track outcomes and develop and disseminate best practices...This shit of the DOE having enforcement type offices is a giant...NOPE! Congress can define methods for disseminating block grants, and the DOE doesn't even need a funding branch. Just because it is relatively small compared to other branches, it is still Bloated...and does not drive the educational mission.

 

[phgreek]

Yeah, I'm not 100% opposed to vouchers as long as they're not sold as cure-alls.

agreed...

 

[IrishinSyria]

agreed...

Common ground!

YES WE DID!

 

[phgreek]

Common ground!

YES WE DID!

Angels Sing!

 

[BGIF]

Angels Sing!

Actually the angels are stunned, speechless, singless.

 

[phgreek]

Actually the angels are stunned, speechless, singless.

...Or that. Either way... An event!

 

[BGIF]

So much for "integrity". Millions $$$ for recounts but not one for a bond.

So much for "integrity". Millions $$$ for recounts but not one for a bond.

Green Party's Stein drops Pennsylvania presidential recount bid | Reuters
Sat Dec 3, 2016 | 7:57pm EST

Green Party candidate Jill Stein abruptly dropped her bid to seek a recount of the presidential election vote in Pennsylvania after a judge ordered her campaign to post a $1 million bond, a spokesman said on Saturday.

"Petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means. They cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the court," an attorney for the Stein campaign wrote in court papers, according to an email from spokesman Sam Scarrow.

"How odd is it that we must jump through bureaucratic hoops and raise millions of dollars so we can trust our election results?" Stein said on Twitter.

The campaign of Republican President-elect Donald Trump had requested a $10 million bond, court papers showed.

Stein, who garnered only about 1 percent of the vote, has also sought recounts in Michigan and Wisconsin, saying that she wants to ensure the integrity of the U.S. voting system.

Trump, who beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election, has called the recount effort a "scam."

Clinton's campaign has said it would take part in the recounts.

Even if all of the recounts were to take place, they are extremely unlikely to change the overall outcome of the election.

The presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, or a tally of wins from the state-by-state contests, rather than by the popular national vote.

Trump surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win, with 306 electoral votes, and the recount would have to flip the result to Clinton in all three states to change the overall result.

 

[NorthDakota]

Green Party's Stein drops Pennsylvania presidential recount bid | Reuters
Sat Dec 3, 2016 | 7:57pm EST

I thought she raised a bunch of money for this??

 

[johnnycando]

I thought she raised a bunch of money for this??

Money in the bank.

 

[BGIF]

I thought she raised a bunch of money for this??

Jill Stein's recount fundraising: What happens to leftover money? - CBS News
EMILY SCHULTHEIS CBS NEWS December 1, 2016, 6:06 AM

First, Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s campaign said it needed $2.5 million to fund its three-state recount effort in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Then it was $4.5 million. Then it was $7 million. Now it’s $9.5 million.

As Stein brings in millions of dollars in campaign contributions -- in the last week, she’s already raised almost twice what she raised during the entire 2016 campaign -- her fundraising success raises a big question: where is that money going, and what happens to it if there are leftover funds after the recount?

President-elect Donald Trump has slammed the recount efforts, saying in a statement Saturday that it’s a “scam” that will allow Stein “to fill her coffers with money, most of which she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount.”

But Stein’s campaign has since actually filed for recounts in all three states -- and does not expect to have money left over at the end of the process.

CBS News spoke with both the Stein campaign and campaign finance experts about recount fundraising. Here’s what we found:

How much money has Stein raised?
As of Wednesday, Stein’s website indicated she had raised $6.7 million toward the recount effort.

This is effectively twice what Stein’s campaign raised during the entire 2016 campaign: through Oct. 19, the date of the final filing period of the 2016 cycle, Stein had brought in about $3.5 million.

She would need just $300,000 more for the recount effort to double that amount.

Is that money going directly to her campaign?
No -- the money Stein is raising for the recount goes into a completely separate account that’s specifically designated for the recount campaign, not into a general campaign fund.

How much can people donate?
Up to $2,700 per person.

Because this is a fund that’s totally separate from Stein’s campaign fund, the maximum individual contributions are reset since the 2016 election -- meaning if someone donated the maximum $2,700 to her general election campaign, they could give an additional $2,700 to the recount campaign.

However, at least thus far it seems like most of the donations are considerably smaller. Stein campaign manager David Cobb told OpenSecrets that of the 140,000 donations that had come in by Wednesday, they averaged $46 -- and that just 414 donors gave more than $1,000.

What costs are associated with a recount?
Initially, Stein’s campaign estimated (according to its fundraising page) that the Wisconsin recount would cost $1.1 million, Pennsylvania would cost $500,000 and Michigan would cost $600,000. To cover those costs, the campaign’s original stated goal was to raise $2.5 million.

Once they quickly blew past that goal, though, the fundraising page on Stein’s website included a line saying that there were more costs involved than just the fees owed to each state: they’d also need money for attorneys’ fees (which they estimated to be $2 to 3 million) as well as money to pay the statewide recount observers. That new estimate, they said, brought their fundraising goal up to $7 million.

Stein’s campaign has explained the growing fundraising benchmarks by saying that they are updating the explanatory text as more information from each state becomes available.

That happened on Tuesday, when Wisconsin came back to the Stein campaign after consulting with each county about costs, and said the recount there would actually cost $3.5 million -- considerably more than initially expected. Stein campaign spokeswoman Jordan Brueckner said that Wisconsin increase is the reason Stein’s fundraising goal jumped from $7 million to $9.5 million this week.

Stein’s campaign wired the $3.5 million to Wisconsin’s Elections Commission on Tuesday afternoon.

What happens to leftover funds?
When the fundraising plea was first posted to Stein’s website, it included a short message to say the campaign was “raising money to demand recounts in Wisconsin, MIchigan, and Pennsylvania.” That language was updated late last week to include a line about what would happen to unused funds.

“If we raise more than what’s needed, the surplus will also go toward election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform,” the new line on the website said.

At this point, Stein’s campaign does not anticipate that it’ll have money leftover. However, Brueckner said unused funds would either be returned to donors or put toward “voting reform.” She did not specify exactly what form the reform efforts would take.

“It’s very highly unlikely that there will be any left over,” Brueckner said. “But if the case there is, we will consult with FEC guidelines we will either return the donations according to those guidelines, or put it toward voting reform.”

What do campaign finance rules say about this?
Technically, recount funds are supposed to be used solely for expenses related to a recount -- including the things like lawyers’ fees and recount observers that Stein’s campaign has described.

But as for where the additional money can go, FEC guidelines are unclear -- if Stein’s campaign wants to use the money for yet-to-be-determined voting integrity or “voting reform” efforts, it would likely need to transfer that to another fund or account.

“There haven’t been that many instances where this has really come up and the FEC has really looked” at the issue, said Brendan Fischer, an associate counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.

Usually, FEC guidelines say campaigns need to go back to their donors and ask if they would be willing to have their donations transferred to a different fund. In this case, since Stein’s campaign has indicated on its site that it planned to use the additional funds for “election integrity efforts,” that could give them more of an argument to transfer funds without going back to donors and asking for permission.

“There’s limited guidance from the FEC on how these funds need to be spent,” Fischer said. “What the FEC has said very clearly is if the campaign has leftover funds in its recount account after the recount is done, they are allowed to refund those contributions to donors. They can also … go back to the donors and ask that the contributions be redesignated to their general election fund or to remain for future recounts.”

 

[BGIF]

Judge orders immediate start of Michigan recount
Paul Egan and Tresa Baldas , Detroit Free Press 1:09 a.m. EST December 5, 2016

A federal judge early Monday morning ordered a recount of Michigan's presidential ballots to begin at noon on Monday, and for the state to "assemble necessary staff to work sufficient hours" to complete the recount by a Dec. 13 federal deadline.

Lawyers for Green Party candidate Jill Stein urged the action in an emergency request, and U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith held a rare Sunday hearing in federal court. It lasted three hours, and Goldsmith issued a written opinion just after midnight on Monday morning.

Goldsmith said a state law requiring a two business day waiting period to start the recount likely violates voting rights. Stein has shown "a credible threat that the recount, if delayed, would not be completed" by Dec. 13 -- the federal "safe harbor" deadline to guarantee Michigan's electoral votes are counted when the electoral college meets on Dec. 19.

"With the perceived integrity of the presidential election as it was conducted in Michigan at stake, concerns with cost pale in comparison," Goldsmith said in his opinion.

In ordering the recount to begin at noon Monday, rather than Wednesday morning under the two-day waiting period the state planned to observe, Goldsmirh ordered the recount, once started, "must continue until further order of this court."

...

 

[BGIF]

Green Party's Stein To Pursue Pennsylvania Recount Petition In Federal Court | The Huffington Post

Green Party candidate Jill Stein late Saturday vowed to bring her fight for a recount of votes cast in Pennsylvania in the U.S. presidential election to federal court, after a state judge ordered her campaign to post a $1 million bond.

“The Stein campaign will continue to fight for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania,” Jonathan Abady, lead counsel to Stein’s recount efforts, said in a statement.

Saying it has become clear that “the state court system is so ill-equipped to address this problem,” the statement said “we must seek federal court intervention.”

The Stein campaign said it will file for emergency relief in the Pennsylvania effort in federal court on Monday, “demanding a statewide recount on constitutional grounds.”

The bond was set by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania a day after representatives of President-elect Donald Trump requested a $10 million bond, according to court papers.

The court gave the petitioners until 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Monday to post the bond, but said it could modify the amount if shown good cause. Instead, Stein’s campaign withdrew.

“Petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means. They cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the court,” wrote attorney Lawrence Otter, informing the court of the decision to withdraw.

...

 

[BGIF]

Ben Carson tapped by Trump for HUD secretary - CNNPolitics.com
By David Wright

Ben Carson will be nominated as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Trump transition team announced Monday.

"I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development," President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement. "Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities."


...

 

[drayer54]

Ben Carson tapped by Trump for HUD secretary - CNNPolitics.com
By David Wright

Ben Carson will be nominated as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Trump transition team announced Monday.

"I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development," President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement. "Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities."


...

I was thrilled with the cabinet, especially with Mattis, then this....

Ahwell, hopefully HUD doesn't do much anyways.