Juliajms

This is how I see it too. The upside to Pence is that he probably won't nuke anyone or get us nuked. Not sure what his stance on immigration is, but I doubt it's as harsh as Trump/Bannon. I'm seeing talk of sending ground troops to Syria. As much as I enjoy this WH making every mistake possible, I hope they avoid this one. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/15/politics/pentagon-considering-recommending-combat-troops-in-syria/index.html

Keeping up with this insane administration is a full time job.

I think it's hard to know what really happened. Either way he is their Dad and it's clear he's pretty manipulative. The way Ivanka brags about the fact the 45 always took her calls is just sad. As if that isn't the absolute bare minimum a parent could do. Remember how during the campaign all his children were asked who the favorite was and they all said Ivanka? I'm sure it was great for 10 year old Barron to hear that. Plus children should not have to protect their mother, it's the parent's job to protect them. No one will convince me that Ivana is some hero in all this, she choose that POS to procreate with. And yeah, there are a lot of people I feel a lot more sorry for then the Trump kids, but being rich does not protect people from the damage done by awful parents.

Yep. I feel sorry for all of his children on some level. Being raised by a narcissist is deeply damaging. As far as looks go I think Ivanka was a very pretty little girl, but she's had enough surgery to wipe all the character from her face at this point. People losing fingers trying to get from the US to Canada. This is just tragic. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/increasing-numbers-of-muslim-migrants-trek-north-to-canada-sometimes-through-freezing-temperatures-and-snow/ar-AAmSMEd?li=BBnbcA1

Not sure if I think this guy's on the right track about Trump or paranoid. https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/ive-got-a-little-list-9acf9129f5a5#.9exz9qg5f

I agree. There isn't any will among the Republican establishment to deal with immigration reform. They get cheaper labor on both the low end and the high end front (H1 Visas) with the added bonus that these workers are dependent on their employers and have no right to vote. What's not to love? So then here comes Trump (well, Bannon) who does want to deal with immigration in what appears to be the most inhumane and destructive way possible. How odd that what little hope their is lies in the fat cats and their minions reigning him in? I agree. There would be a lot of unintended consequences to this, of course, but maybe it's time to face up to them and see where we go from that point on. Meat packing is a prime example. It's a terrible job and I don't think anyone should have to do it for anything less the the true market value of that work.

This has always made sense to me for a number of reasons. Mostly because it's true that an unlimited supply of unskilled workers lowers wages. We're always hearing that Americans don't want to be farm workers or elder care workers but this is an argument that really pisses me off when Republicans make it. If citizens don't want to work for your company or for the wages you are offering doesn't that mean that your business model isn't working? Republicans are always telling us about market economics, but they don't want to live by that when it comes to paying people or providing good working conditions. My answer to all this would be either a guest worker program or one more amnesty and then finally using e-verify. Having 11 million people living without papers is not a good plan. Not only does it lead to exploitation, but to the kind of random round ups and deportations that seem to be coming.

And what if they don't? How many people carry citizenship papers around with them? I agreed with Obama's policy of deporting people with a violent history, but rounding up good people isn't right. I imagine he won't get away with it long term. He's going to face a lot of push back from this. His own party is divided on immigration, so I don't think he's going to have such an easy time passing new legislation either. And I'm sorry that your mother is afraid. President Bannon is definitely enjoying his moment and trying to turn us into a police state, but I don't believe he has the will of the people on his side.

Wow. I had no idea that the percentage of kids who have all of their vaccinations by 35 months is so low. That is crazy.

If the police were to come across a violent felon in the course of their duties and that person were deported, I'm for that. I'm also for sending people back right after they complete their prison sentence. Raiding people's homes though, that's some creepy Gestapo like measures. I'm not for that, especially since they seem to be taking people who aren't felons. That's just traumatizing people when they should just focus on the most dangerous, imo. And yes, I know we have plenty of criminals here, but since the age of the penal colony is over we're stuck with our own.

I feel bad for people who have to retire soon or are already retired, especially if they don't know enough to get out. For people who are going to retire in 20 years this could be more of an opportunity, as the 2008 crisis was. I'm not sure what I plan to do yet. Probably double down on my son's college fund once there is a downturn, expecting that there will be a recovery sometime in the next 16 years. All I know is I'm grateful to have many years before retirement.

I agree with you. Of course, it's hugely disappointing that Trump's hate-mongering wasn't a deal beaker for more people. I was truly stunned that more people weren't outraged by the Access Hollywood tape. They might have disapproved, but they didn't care enough about women (even a lot of women didn't) to change their vote. Just like they didn't care enough about minorities or immigrants to change their vote. That doesn't mean hate was the primary reason for all of those voters or that Dems can't win them back. I'm not really confident that we can do that right now though. I think we're just hoping Trump will screw up enough to turn their votes, which isn't the greatest strategy, imo.

I was just reading that story about the farmers. I tend to be pretty sympathetic, even to people who cause their own problems, but for the love of God! Making life hard for the undocumented was one of his major promises, of course he meant it.

Here's an article that supports this idea. The two kinds of Trump voters, one of which Dems could get back. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/trump-voters-white-working-class-214754

Totally agree. They aren't perfect, but they're what we have. They made the mistake of initially underestimating Trump and his campaign, but I have a hard time blaming them for that. There are days I still can't believe he won and that over 60 million people fell for this hate mongering con artist.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/elizabeth-warren-coretta-scott-king-jeff-sessions If Democrats have anything to be thankful for it's that Republicans keep screwing up like this. Silencing Elizabeth Warren makes them looks so weak and pathetic. Plus it shows that they are afraid of the simple truth about some of their nominees.

Also, I've read that Alaska is too rural to benefit much from a voucher system, so her constituents probably weren't clamoring for it. This development really makes me sad. I just feel like our country is in such a state of chaos and upheaval. I guess that's what some people wanted.

And Christian because let's be honest, a lot of Syrians are white.

Germany trying to figure out the right course due to Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/world/europe/germany-prepares-for-turbulence-in-the-trump-era.html?smid=tw-share

Yeah, that's bad. We're headed into a time where you don't want to be a poor woman of childbearing age. Not that I think that was ever an easy thing to be, but there are people in charge who are determined to make it harder. Overall, I don't know what's going to happen. I think we are lucky that Trump wasn't able (or didn't have the sense) to appoint a bunch of judges before he hatched some of these EO's. Aren't there a ton of federal judges waiting to be appointed because Obama was blocked from making them? I'm talking about the lower courts here not SCOTUS. I could have sworn I read that, but I can't remember for sure. ETA: Found an article on it. There are 100 spaces for Trump to fill. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-elect-donald-trump-could-make-over-100-judicial-appointments/

Thanks for explaining OzFrog.

^ Frankly, I'm having a hard time giving him the benefit of the doubt right now was well.

That was my attempt to be polite. I do believe even the most repugnant among us have the right to free speech, but he's spending quite a bit of effort to defend hate speech right now. Unless you are in a court of law or a classroom that gets the side eye from me.

Doug Davidson certainly has an interesting thread on twitter right now. It amazes me how many people mistake the right to free speech for the right to be heard and given a platform.

^ You two Really though, the way he is talking to these leaders is pretty scary. Threatening to send troops into Mexico? Heaven help us all.