U.S. Politics megathread (merged)

[Bindy Badgy]

9 hours ago, Dawnrazor said:

Do you think Trump will refuse to leave the Whitehouse?

 

If he is still there after 20th January he is tresspassing. White House security are perfectly capable of removing unwanted guests.

[DETTY29]

His 64 second press conference to announce the Dow had hit 30k points on his watch, along with taking credit for vaccine success.

 

Of course in 2016, when he won and same index hit a record high he claimed it was the bounce solely down to him winning the presidential race.

 

Brass (orange) neck, eh?

Edited November 26, 2020 by DETTY29

[John Gentleman]

9 hours ago, Mysterion said:

 

The important thing in all this - it implies that Flynn is and has accepted guilt.

 

The guy is a criminal.

Doesn't matter if he accepts guilt or not, he remains a convicted felon. Presidential pardons effectively only commute the sentence/punishment. The convictions still stick. Presidents cannot quash convictions.

Any federal authorities who have indictment designs on people (we can all guess the suspects) would do well to keep their tinder dry until after Biden has been sworn in.

[Horatio Caine]

9 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

I think he will squirm and whine up until the Electoral College vote in mid-December.  Once that vote elects Biden as President, Trump will have to face the fact that the gig is up.  But he won't ever concede, he won't invite Biden to come to the WH to meet him, and he will never acknowledge Biden as President.

 

I suspect that he will leave the White House in a huff sometime after mid-December, but before the Inauguration in January, and will not attend the Inauguration.

Suspect he will be playing golf that day.  Golf courses will be quiet!

[Beni]

Trump has retweeted Matt Gaetz calling for him to pardon himself and his entire administration. Once he's finished shredding incriminating documents in the Whitehouse, this will be the next thing on his to do list.

 

[ri Alban]

Can Biden not overturn these pardonings? The President giveth and the President taketh away. 

[I P Knightley]

8 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Can Biden not overturn these pardonings? The President giveth and the President taketh away. 

I believe not. But the pardon doesn't stop the pardonee from being prosecuted on other charges.

[Boston Jambo]

12 hours ago, trotter said:

Also, fun fact: because the Secret Service are a part of the Treasury Department and not a 'traditional' law enforcement agency, they are also responsible for investigating and prosecuting people concerned with counterfeit money.

From personal experience I can tell you that the Secret Service do not mess around when it comes to counterfeit money. I was working in a club in Boston's Combat Zone, the red light district, which is surrounded by Chinatown. One night we were taking in an unusual amount of one hundred dollar bills, so the manager on duty checked them and noticed that the serial numbers were all the same. He put in a call and a team of Secret Service agents arrived real fast. We had six cash registers on the go, after a quick word with the managers the agents fanned out and had us open our registers and step back. I can't remember if they took all the hundreds or just the fakes, they did a quick double check with us bartenders to confirm  the amount taken and issued us a receipt for the amount confiscated from each register. That's when I realized that I had one in my tip jar, I quickly slipped it into the register and grabbed five twenties. No way I was losing out on a hundred bucks, if you take a fake you don't get compensated. I called the agent back over and told him that he'd missed one, somewhat perplexed he issued me a new receipt while giving me the I'm not stupid, don't treat me stupid glare. We knew pretty quickly that the fakes were being passed by the Chinese and that meant that they were coming from the Ping On, the Chinese mafia so when we got interviewed we were smart enough not to remember who they came from. 

[Cade]

Pardons only excuse Federal crimes.

 

Trump and his immediate family are all facing serious State charges of fraud, tax evasion and other such stuff that will see them locked up for many years.

 

 

[The Real Maroonblood]

47 minutes ago, Boston Jambo said:

From personal experience I can tell you that the Secret Service do not mess around when it comes to counterfeit money. I was working in a club in Boston's Combat Zone, the red light district, which is surrounded by Chinatown. One night we were taking in an unusual amount of one hundred dollar bills, so the manager on duty checked them and noticed that the serial numbers were all the same. He put in a call and a team of Secret Service agents arrived real fast. We had six cash registers on the go, after a quick word with the managers the agents fanned out and had us open our registers and step back. I can't remember if they took all the hundreds or just the fakes, they did a quick double check with us bartenders to confirm  the amount taken and issued us a receipt for the amount confiscated from each register. That's when I realized that I had one in my tip jar, I quickly slipped it into the register and grabbed five twenties. No way I was losing out on a hundred bucks, if you take a fake you don't get compensated. I called the agent back over and told him that he'd missed one, somewhat perplexed he issued me a new receipt while giving me the I'm not stupid, don't treat me stupid glare. We knew pretty quickly that the fakes were being passed by the Chinese and that meant that they were coming from the Ping On, the Chinese mafia so when we got interviewed we were smart enough not to remember who they came from. 

Quick switch. 😀👍

[Beni]

56 minutes ago, Boston Jambo said:

From personal experience I can tell you that the Secret Service do not mess around when it comes to counterfeit money. I was working in a club in Boston's Combat Zone, the red light district, which is surrounded by Chinatown. One night we were taking in an unusual amount of one hundred dollar bills, so the manager on duty checked them and noticed that the serial numbers were all the same. He put in a call and a team of Secret Service agents arrived real fast. We had six cash registers on the go, after a quick word with the managers the agents fanned out and had us open our registers and step back. I can't remember if they took all the hundreds or just the fakes, they did a quick double check with us bartenders to confirm  the amount taken and issued us a receipt for the amount confiscated from each register. That's when I realized that I had one in my tip jar, I quickly slipped it into the register and grabbed five twenties. No way I was losing out on a hundred bucks, if you take a fake you don't get compensated. I called the agent back over and told him that he'd missed one, somewhat perplexed he issued me a new receipt while giving me the I'm not stupid, don't treat me stupid glare. We knew pretty quickly that the fakes were being passed by the Chinese and that meant that they were coming from the Ping On, the Chinese mafia so when we got interviewed we were smart enough not to remember who they came from. 

 

So you knowingly swapped a counterfeit note for financial gain.

 

Maybe you should ask Donnie to set you up with one of those preemptive pardons he's about to start chucking about like confetti!

[A Boy Named Crow]

I really hope Trump hasn't thought this through.  Accepting a pardon amounts to an admission of guilt.  The 5th Amendment therefore no longer applies in relation to that crime for the pardoned offender.

 

If they come after Trump, and call Flynn as a witness, Flynn'll have to testify...unless Trump's planning to pardon himself too I suppose...and Flynn seems to have issues with telling the truth to law enforcement anyway, maybe just a big nothing. 

 

https://time.com/4868418/donald-trump-presidential-pardons-backfire/

[Lovecraft]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55069040

 

Covid-19: US Supreme Court backs religious groups over New York caps

 

100% behind letting as many religious groups gather indoors as much as they like.   More the merrier I say.

 

Probably not for the same reason as the Judges though.

 

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Lovecraft

[Ulysses]

It would be ironic, to say the least, if Donald Trump were to pardon himself, because (so far) he has one of the lowest numbers of pardons of any U.S. president.  Only 5 presidents have pardoned fewer people than Trump, though that could change anyway as in the modern era there is a tendency for a lot of pardons to happen in the run up to a president's last day in office.

[John Gentleman]

3 hours ago, Barack said:

Here's the president at his big super duper desk. Writing important stuff. With no pen.

 

 

lol, and nae inkwell? Nae fountain pen?? Someone's taking the pi$$ and he doesn't get it. 

[Cade]

 

[PortyJambo]

4 hours ago, Barack said:

Here's the president at his big super duper desk. Writing important stuff. With no pen.

 

 

 

[John Gentleman]

13 minutes ago, Cade said:

 

...and nae lights nor baubles on the Xmas tree, presumably because their presence would distract from the real star of the show? Their absence just makes him look dafter.

[Lovecraft]

7 hours ago, Barack said:

Here's the president at his big super duper desk. Writing important stuff. With no pen.

 

 

No way is that real?

 

 

[Lovecraft]

Just now, Barack said:

Very.

But why?

 

Are they just trying to humiliate him now?

 

It does sum him up though.  Still ****ing clueless after 4 years.

 

 

 

 

[Lovecraft]

Just now, Barack said:

You didn't see his hissy fit then?

 

The "Do you know who I am?" shit...?

Nope.

 

Off to search for it now

 

 

[Lovecraft]

1 minute ago, Barack said:

Save you the bother...

 

(Flashing blue...incase anyone's got epilepsy.)

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

****ing idiot of a man.

 

Can't wait to see him launched and charged.

 

WTF is with the wee table though?  Bizarre.  To make his hands look bigger?

 

 

[The Real Maroonblood]

6 minutes ago, Barack said:

Save you the bother...

 

(Flashing blue...incase anyone's got epilepsy.)

 

 

 

As long as he Iives I hope every shite he has is a hedgehog.

[Kalamazoo Jambo]

53 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

As long as he Iives I hope every shite he has is a hedgehog.

Excuse me, but this is America.

 

It would be a porcupine.

[Lovecraft]

19 minutes ago, Barack said:

BBC News - Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55105934

 

 

Didn't take long for the Mike Pompeo Show to get going...

If it was the US, Trump will brag about it.

 

Edit just to add:   At the same time.  **** Iran.

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Lovecraft

[XB52]

23 minutes ago, Barack said:

BBC News - Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55105934

 

 

Didn't take long for the Mike Pompeo Show to get going...

Israel doing whatever it wants while it can. Not that I expect Biden to be much better when it comes to the Zionists but he surely can't be any worse

[The Real Maroonblood]

44 minutes ago, Kalamazoo Jambo said:

Excuse me, but this is America.

 

It would be a porcupine.

Better still.

[Lovecraft]

8 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Better still.

 A Pangolin.  Just for chuckles

 

Uncooked, obviously.

 

 

 

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Barack said:

Save you the bother...

 

(Flashing blue...incase anyone's got epilepsy.)

 

 

 

 

During the same presser, he still got a free run from the media, when he was going on about tremendous amounts of fraud like nobody's ever seen before.  He should have been pressed more about it, something like the following.

 

Trump - Tremendous fraud like nobody's ever seen before.

Media - Like what Mr. President, explain exactly what the tremendous amount of fraud actually is.

Trump - You'll see, you'll all see.

Media - When, Mr. President, when will we all see the evidence.

Trump - Soon, soon, you'll see.

Media - Mr. President with all due respect, but for the benefit of the country, either put up or shut up, if you have evidence put it in front of a court, otherwise STFU with your conspiracy crap.

 

It's always the same with these conspiracy nutjobs, they'll provide the evidence later, it's always later, it's always next week or next month with these fecked up heido's.

[The Real Maroonblood]

5 minutes ago, Lovecraft said:

 A Pangolin.  Just for chuckles

 

Uncooked, obviously.

 

 

 

 

👍

[ri Alban]

Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated. Is this Trump looking to provoke Iran, so he can attack. 

[Beni]

It's getting weirder every day.

 

 

[I P Knightley]

54 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated. Is this Trump looking to provoke Iran, so he can attack. 

Most fingers seem to be pointed at Israel on this one.

[ri Alban]

4 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

Most fingers seem to be pointed at Israel on this one.

Perfect for Trump. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

4 hours ago, fancy a brew said:

It's getting weirder every day.

 

 

[JFK-1]

On 24/11/2020 at 08:03, Lone Striker said:

Or does he actually believe that the election was "stolen" ? 

 

His psychologist niece who obviously knows him and his entire historic family dynamic very well indeed said that she thinks, when he initially spouts any of his countless, ludicrous, implausible lies, that he doesn't believe it. It's simply another lie in his life of sociopathic pathological lying.

But she also said that at this stage in his life, when he continues repeating a specific lie over and over, and no matter how ludicrous that lies is, he potentially does then come to actually believe it.

Fortified by the whooping of the empty heads at those rallies and the encouragement from the enablers of the inner circle.

And speaking of those enablers they don't for a moment believe the absurd utter shite he spouts. Or at least the vast majority don't. They simply go along with it because if they don't then they're out. You have to at least appear to be as crazy/dishonest as Trump is to remain in that circle.

And that's just another of the problems with Trump. He has quickly banished any common sense around him. There can be no reasoning from anyone who actually knows what they're talking about to dissuade him from a crazy course.

Which is contrary to the methods of great leaders of the past who weeded out yes men not surrounded themselves with the breed. Because they knew that they weren't infallible and had to have different points of view lucidly presented before deciding on the best course of action.

There will be no concession. The man is a cancer on the society who couldn't care less about the damage he's causing to the society and it's future coherence. Possibly doesn't even have the intellectual capacity to understand the immense damage he's doing. And worse, wouldn't care even if he did understand it.

I live in hope that there are people in positions of power who see it as I do and grasp that this sociopathic nut has to be extirpated to the greatest degree possible in a civil democratic society. 

[JFK-1]

8 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

Most fingers seem to be pointed at Israel on this one.

 

One of those fingers would be mine. Has to be Mossad. They already whacked various other Iranian nuclear scientists over the years.

[Lovecraft]

13 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

 

One of those fingers would be mine. Has to be Mossad. They already whacked various other Iranian nuclear scientists over the years.

Yeah.  They will be getting their hits in before Biden takes over.

 

Most probably advised to by the Trump Administration.

 

 

[ri Alban]

9 hours ago, fancy a brew said:

It's getting weirder every day.

 

 

Fecking Brilliant! 🤣

[Tennant's 6's]

2 hours ago, Lovecraft said:

Yeah.  They will be getting their hits in before Biden takes over.

 

Most probably advised to by the Trump Administration.

 

 

Why would it make any difference to them whether its trump or biden? 

They own both, don't they.. 

 

Biden's team is full of lobbyists & neo liberal war mongering arseholes who already destroyed Iraq, Libya & Syria based on lies & supported the genocide in Yemen,  oppression on the Palestinians & staged right wing coups in Venezuela  & Bolivia.

 

Biden might have more women of colour, or even better a trans gender person in his team, but the policies will no doubt be the same as the same banks & weapons contractors & oligarchs own both parties

 

 

 

[Lone Striker]

9 hours ago, JFK-1 said:

 

His psychologist niece who obviously knows him and his entire historic family dynamic very well indeed said that she thinks, when he initially spouts any of his countless, ludicrous, implausible lies, that he doesn't believe it. It's simply another lie in his life of sociopathic pathological lying.

But she also said that at this stage in his life, when he continues repeating a specific lie over and over, and no matter how ludicrous that lies is, he potentially does then come to actually believe it.

Fortified by the whooping of the empty heads at those rallies and the encouragement from the enablers of the inner circle.

And speaking of those enablers they don't for a moment believe the absurd utter shite he spouts. Or at least the vast majority don't. They simply go along with it because if they don't then they're out. You have to at least appear to be as crazy/dishonest as Trump is to remain in that circle.

And that's just another of the problems with Trump. He has quickly banished any common sense around him. There can be no reasoning from anyone who actually knows what they're talking about to dissuade him from a crazy course.

Which is contrary to the methods of great leaders of the past who weeded out yes men not surrounded themselves with the breed. Because they knew that they weren't infallible and had to have different points of view lucidly presented before deciding on the best course of action.

There will be no concession. The man is a cancer on the society who couldn't care less about the damage he's causing to the society and it's future coherence. Possibly doesn't even have the intellectual capacity to understand the immense damage he's doing. And worse, wouldn't care even if he did understand it.

I live in hope that there are people in positions of power who see it as I do and grasp that this sociopathic nut has to be extirpated to the greatest degree possible in a civil democratic society. 

Very good analysis JFK.    Scary similarities with how this other guy started out .......  

 

 

Loads of ordinary people feel inspired by the unconventional leader ..... start to believe he's  the messiah .... start to influence other more reluctant folk.    Unconventional leader surrounds himself with like-minded maniacs ..... make examples of any who show signs of dissent .....develop plans to enforce major changes to society.

 

 

[Cade]

The re-count that Trump demanded in Michigan ended up giving another couple of hundred votes to Biden.

 

Federal judges in PA laughed his lawsuit out of court, saying the case had no specific allegations or evidence of those allegations and amounted to little more than wild conspiracy theories.

 

Trump's also now allegedly planning to launch his 2024 election campaign during Biden's inauguration.

 

[Captain Slog]

12 hours ago, Tennant's 6's said:

Why would it make any difference to them whether its trump or biden? 

They own both, don't they.. 

 

Biden's team is full of lobbyists & neo liberal war mongering arseholes who already destroyed Iraq, Libya & Syria based on lies & supported the genocide in Yemen,  oppression on the Palestinians & staged right wing coups in Venezuela  & Bolivia.

 

Biden might have more women of colour, or even better a trans gender person in his team, but the policies will no doubt be the same as the same banks & weapons contractors & oligarchs own both parties

 

 

 

From the BBC

 

Joe Biden has pledged to re-engage with Iran when he becomes US president in January, despite long-standing opposition from Israel.

 

So it looks like Israel has sent in Sayeret Matkal to ensure the above doesn't happen

[Cade]

Bloke that donated $2.5million to Trump's bonkers "sue everybody for everything" election defeat response is wanting his money back.

 

[Justin Z]

Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of your own actions.

 

RNC Chair Struggles to Energize Georgia Republicans to Vote in Runoffs They See as Rigged

 

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel faced some pushback from skeptical voters at an event in Marietta, Georgia who questioned whether it wasn’t pointless to get involved in the [voting] process.

 

 

 

Some more:

 

  

 

Quite the corner they've painted themselves into, with no idea how to both keep pushing the “rigged election” angle while somehow also encouraging their base, convinced of this, that their votes will count this time in the runoff election.

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by Justin Z

[Sharpie]

17 minutes ago, Justin Z said:

Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of your own actions.

 

RNC Chair Struggles to Energize Georgia Republicans to Vote in Runoffs They See as Rigged

 

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel faced some pushback from skeptical voters at an event in Marietta, Georgia who questioned whether it wasn’t pointless to get involved in the [voting] process.

 

 

 

Some more:

 

  

 

Quite the corner they've painted themselves into, with no idea how to both keep pushing the “rigged election” angle while somehow also encouraging their base, convinced of this, that their votes will count this time in the runoff election.

 

 

You had me really worried there JZ its 5'18am here, and I was thinking goodness Justins up and writing already in Arizona, fortunately before getting too stressed I remembered you had changed address,😃

[The Real Maroonblood]

2 hours ago, Justin Z said:

Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of your own actions.

 

RNC Chair Struggles to Energize Georgia Republicans to Vote in Runoffs They See as Rigged

 

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel faced some pushback from skeptical voters at an event in Marietta, Georgia who questioned whether it wasn’t pointless to get involved in the [voting] process.

 

 

 

Some more:

 

  

 

Quite the corner they've painted themselves into, with no idea how to both keep pushing the “rigged election” angle while somehow also encouraging their base, convinced of this, that their votes will count this time in the runoff election.

 

 

[Unknown user]

Larfed

 

[Cade]

His FOX interview was something else.

 

"It was rigged!"

"The FBI, every State and every county official and all the federal courts are in on it!"

"The machines were changing the votes!"

"People were voting after election day!"

"I WON BY A LOT!"

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by Cade

[The Real Maroonblood]

11 minutes ago, Cade said:

His FOX interview was something else.

 

"It was rigged!"

"The FBI, every State and every county official and all the federal courts are in on it!"

"The machines were changing the votes!"

"People were voting after election day!"

"I WON BY A LOT!"

 

I cannot believe he has not been certified.