RugbyRebels

Good article, pretty much what I've been saying all along:

As new details are coming out about what appears to have been a disastrous raid on an al-Qaida compound in Yemen last weekend that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL, the 8-year-old American daughter of deceased al-Qaida recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki, and a number of civilians, many liberals are condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to approve the first major counterterrorism operation of his administration.

I definitely don’t know whether it was wise to proceed with the operation or if more questions should have been asked. Though the plans for the raid were developed during the last days of the previous administration and postponed for operational reasons, it’s certainly possible that Barack Obama, as opposed to Trump, would have held off. I certainly also find it alarming that Trump, Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, and Michael Flynn are the ones in the position to make these calls. (It should be pointed out that Defense Secretary James Mattis, who many Trump critics hoped would be a check on the president’s worst impulses, was also at the meeting where the decision to proceed was made, according to the New York Times.)

But I also know that I didn’t see this level of outrage after Awlaki’s 16-year-old son was killed in a drone strike in 2011, or when Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs brushed aside criticism of that strike by saying that the boy “should have [had] a far more responsible father.” I wonder if those blaming Trump for the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens, felt Obama was equally responsible for the death of Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, killed after a U.S.-Kurdish raid on an ISIS prison in Iraq went haywire in 2015. I know that the previous administration approved raids based on what turned out to be faulty intelligence, including the failed attempt to rescue hostages James Foley and and Steven Sotloff in 2014.

I wonder if those who find it outrageous that the Trump administration wants to, as the Times puts it, “speed the decision-making when it comes to such strikes,” found it equally problematic when the same paper reported that Obama had “embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties” that “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants.”

I certainly heard relatively little outrage from the left about the drone strike on an al-Qaida compound in Pakistan in 2015 that killed an American and an Italian hostage, or the U.S. bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, that same year that arguably constituted a war crime, or the ongoing Obama administration support for Saudi Arabia’s brutal, civilian-targeting air campaign in Yemen.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/ ... _dt_tw_top

Meanwhile, back to the ban on migrants from certain middle eastern countries. It appears that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used the Bowling Green massacre as justification for the ban on muslims from these countries on entering the US. Just one problem, that massacre never happened.

So, this policy was never about protecting the US from a known threat (and sorry it isn't the same thing as Obama did a few years ago no matter how hard the Trump team try and spin it). Rather this is the giant Oompa Loompa using dog whistle politics to get votes and repaying those voters by stopping immigration. I dont think that anyone in the Trump team will come out and admit that they are just pandering to their racist voters but thats the nub of the matter.

Sandydragon wrote:Meanwhile, back to the ban on migrants from certain middle eastern countries. It appears that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used the Bowling Green massacre as justification for the ban on muslims from these countries on entering the US. Just one problem, that massacre never happened.

So, this policy was never about protecting the US from a known threat (and sorry it isn't the same thing as Obama did a few years ago no matter how hard the Trump team try and spin it). Rather this is the giant Oompa Loompa using dog whistle politics to get votes and repaying those voters by stopping immigration. I dont think that anyone in the Trump team will come out and admit that they are just pandering to their racist voters but thats the nub of the matter.

it's brazen to come out and make the stand so much about Islamic extremism, especially given the white shooter up in Canada that even the orange one must have heard about. or maybe the orange one went with the Fox reports that the shooter in Quebec was Moroccan rather than waiting for such trifling details as the facts

Interesting:

rowan wrote:Interesting:

Yeah, ex-Goldman Sachs employee decries social welfare and subsidized health care, extolls "Judeo-Christian" values, and promotes political incorrectness (the new PC) as a vehicle for change. That's really fascinating.

Not.

Digby wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:Meanwhile, back to the ban on migrants from certain middle eastern countries. It appears that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used the Bowling Green massacre as justification for the ban on muslims from these countries on entering the US. Just one problem, that massacre never happened.

So, this policy was never about protecting the US from a known threat (and sorry it isn't the same thing as Obama did a few years ago no matter how hard the Trump team try and spin it). Rather this is the giant Oompa Loompa using dog whistle politics to get votes and repaying those voters by stopping immigration. I dont think that anyone in the Trump team will come out and admit that they are just pandering to their racist voters but thats the nub of the matter.

it's brazen to come out and make the stand so much about Islamic extremism, especially given the white shooter up in Canada that even the orange one must have heard about. or maybe the orange one went with the Fox reports that the shooter in Quebec was Moroccan rather than waiting for such trifling details as the facts

I have no problem with a political leader making a hard call when there is evidence to support it, but Trumps approach (notwithstanding its inept implementation) is almost designed to create more harm than it does good. This is a sop to the useful idiots who voted for him, nothing more.

The latest executive order signed by the tiny handed tyrant orders a review of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

Some fuckers on Wall Street believe the regulations to be too restrictive. I thought that was the whole point???

I wonder how Trump and his cronies and their companies/ties stand to benefit from this decision?

WaspInWales wrote:The latest executive order signed by the tiny handed tyrant orders a review of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

Some fuckers on Wall Street believe the regulations to be too restrictive. I thought that was the whole point???

I wonder how Trump and his cronies and their companies/ties stand to benefit from this decision?

THIS is what he is in there to do. Hang to your pensions muthafukers because JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are riding into town to snatch them away and gamble.


"A second directive he signed will effectively halt an Obama-era Labor Department rule that requires brokers to act in a client’s best interest, rather than seek the highest profits for themselves, when providing retirement advice." EXCELLENT IDEA THESE PEOPLE CAN BE TRUSTED COMPLETELY

"The meeting underscored the degree to which the architects of Mr. Trump’s economic strategy are now some of the people he denounced in his campaign, which ended with a commercial that described “a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations.”

The advertisement included an image of the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has become a virtual feeder for top Trump administration officials. Steven Mnuchin, his nominee for Treasury secretary, is a former Goldman Sachs trader and a hedge fund manager. Gary Cohn, the chairman of his national economic council, was Goldman’s No. 2 executive, and Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, is a former Goldman banker." WELL BLOW ME DOWN WITH A FEATHER. THOSE NICE FINANCIAL PEOPLE ARE RALLYING FOR THE WORKING MAN

There's more in there, including efforts to make oil company dealings with foreign governments more opaque.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/busi ... tions.html


It's like someone took the corpse of trickle down economics, shot it up with adrenaline and crack, and is taking it for one last spin on the dance floor. People are going to get so fucked over.

morepork wrote:

WaspInWales wrote:The latest executive order signed by the tiny handed tyrant orders a review of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

Some fuckers on Wall Street believe the regulations to be too restrictive. I thought that was the whole point???

I wonder how Trump and his cronies and their companies/ties stand to benefit from this decision?

THIS is what he is in there to do. Hang to your pensions muthafukers because JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are riding into town to snatch them away and gamble.


"A second directive he signed will effectively halt an Obama-era Labor Department rule that requires brokers to act in a client’s best interest, rather than seek the highest profits for themselves, when providing retirement advice." EXCELLENT IDEA THESE PEOPLE CAN BE TRUSTED COMPLETELY

"The meeting underscored the degree to which the architects of Mr. Trump’s economic strategy are now some of the people he denounced in his campaign, which ended with a commercial that described “a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations.”

The advertisement included an image of the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has become a virtual feeder for top Trump administration officials. Steven Mnuchin, his nominee for Treasury secretary, is a former Goldman Sachs trader and a hedge fund manager. Gary Cohn, the chairman of his national economic council, was Goldman’s No. 2 executive, and Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, is a former Goldman banker." WELL BLOW ME DOWN WITH A FEATHER. THOSE NICE FINANCIAL PEOPLE ARE RALLYING FOR THE WORKING MAN

There's more in there, including efforts to make oil company dealings with foreign governments more opaque.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/busi ... tions.html


It's like someone took the corpse of trickle down economics, shot it up with adrenaline and crack, and is taking it for one last spin on the dance floor. People are going to get so fucked over.

Fucking hell!!!

As funny as the commercial sounds, it's this kinda alt-shit that is influencing the right masses and is no doubt going to be turned into a meme at some point by the left masses.

So, basically, we're gonna see another boom and bust right?

G-S will run a few more cities into the ground with shit investment advice and come away with vast sums of money. The public will pick up the tab. Again.

morepork wrote:G-S will run a few more cities into the ground with shit investment advice and come away with vast sums of money. The public will pick up the tab. Again.

Good. Will teach them for voting for somebody who is quite obviously a cunt.

Len wrote:

morepork wrote:G-S will run a few more cities into the ground with shit investment advice and come away with vast sums of money. The public will pick up the tab. Again.

Good. Will teach them for voting for somebody who is quite obviously a cunt.

Will it teach them a lesson, or will they simply become angrier and listen to a still stronger self-serving nationalist voice?

Digby wrote:

Len wrote:

morepork wrote:G-S will run a few more cities into the ground with shit investment advice and come away with vast sums of money. The public will pick up the tab. Again.

Good. Will teach them for voting for somebody who is quite obviously a cunt.

Will it teach them a lesson, or will they simply become angrier and listen to a still stronger self-serving nationalist voice?

Of course not. First rule of modern politics, it's always someone else's fault.

Sandydragon wrote:

Digby wrote:

Len wrote:
Good. Will teach them for voting for somebody who is quite obviously a cunt.

Will it teach them a lesson, or will they simply become angrier and listen to a still stronger self-serving nationalist voice?

Of course not. First rule of modern politics, it's always someone else's fault.

I used to wonder how people voted so happily for Hitler, and now we've some practical demonstrations in our lifetime of how society progresses down just that road.

Digby wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:

Digby wrote:
Will it teach them a lesson, or will they simply become angrier and listen to a still stronger self-serving nationalist voice?

Of course not. First rule of modern politics, it's always someone else's fault.

I used to wonder how people voted so happily for Hitler, and now we've some practical demonstrations in our lifetime of how society progresses down just that road.

Well, as long as we learn from history...

What a fucking bitching baby!

My mum used to put E! television on in the background when I was younger. Trump was often on it. Always knew he was a self interested cunt. Greedy and insecure. He'll do what he said he would to get into office and then he'll start feathering his bed for his own good and he won't give a fuck who loses out on the way. If you can't see what type of bloke he is you deserve to lose what you hold dear.

Harsh but fair.

Len wrote:My mum used to put E! television on in the background when I was younger. Trump was often on it. Always knew he was a self interested cunt. Greedy and insecure. He'll do what he said he would to get into office and then he'll start feathering his bed for his own good and he won't give a fuck who loses out on the way. If you can't see what type of bloke he is you deserve to lose what you hold dear.

Harsh but fair.

Fuck off. I'd rather not have my retirement money raped by some coked-up hedge fund manager on a jolly, thanks. For a recent example, see Peter Thiel in NZ.

WaspInWales wrote:What a fucking bitching baby!

It's worrying too, is he really saying it's okay to disregard judges if you don't like the sentence? It certainly sounds like disrespect for the law and one would have thought there are problems enough in that area without the President weighing in and making it worse. The man is an idiot, and sadly a dangerous one

morepork wrote:

Len wrote:My mum used to put E! television on in the background when I was younger. Trump was often on it. Always knew he was a self interested cunt. Greedy and insecure. He'll do what he said he would to get into office and then he'll start feathering his bed for his own good and he won't give a fuck who loses out on the way. If you can't see what type of bloke he is you deserve to lose what you hold dear.

Harsh but fair.

Fuck off. I'd rather not have my retirement money raped by some coked-up hedge fund manager on a jolly, thanks. For a recent example, see Peter Thiel in NZ.

So get out now and head to the land of the long white cloud.

Len wrote:

morepork wrote:

Len wrote:My mum used to put E! television on in the background when I was younger. Trump was often on it. Always knew he was a self interested cunt. Greedy and insecure. He'll do what he said he would to get into office and then he'll start feathering his bed for his own good and he won't give a fuck who loses out on the way. If you can't see what type of bloke he is you deserve to lose what you hold dear.

Harsh but fair.

Fuck off. I'd rather not have my retirement money raped by some coked-up hedge fund manager on a jolly, thanks. For a recent example, see Peter Thiel in NZ.

So get out now and head to the land of the long white cloud.

I've built a life here. Have a house, partner, career etc. My career would die on the spot in NZ, and the government down there are total fuckwits also.

Digby wrote:

WaspInWales wrote:What a fucking bitching baby!

It's worrying too, is he really saying it's okay to disregard judges if you don't like the sentence? It certainly sounds like disrespect for the law and one would have thought there are problems enough in that area without the President weighing in and making it worse. The man is an idiot, and sadly a dangerous one

It just sums him up when he doesn't get his own way. In the boardroom or taking over another company when he has the clout, he can probably get away with it, but he isn't going to get it all his way now and I was looking forward to this type of resistance. Tbh, I can't wait till he starts negotiating trade and other types deals with other leaders/representatives who are more savvy, know the laws and are not impressed with his financial portfoilio....which lets me honest, isn't that impressive.

Fuck he is thick.

Digby wrote:

WaspInWales wrote:What a fucking bitching baby!

It's worrying too, is he really saying it's okay to disregard judges if you don't like the sentence? It certainly sounds like disrespect for the law and one would have thought there are problems enough in that area without the President weighing in and making it worse. The man is an idiot, and sadly a dangerous one

He is learning that there are limits on his power and this is probably the first time someone has stood up to him in such a public manner and had some influence. In response he undermines the authority of the judge involved.