Khan

Yup! I'm sure many from Trump Nation would read that Mother Jones article and insist they are not like "those people" who are placing fear and dread in the minds and hearts of POC from small towns. They are not racist, they would say, and they have no issue with POC who are living in the U.S. legally. But the problem is that, if you give them enough time, they WILL be like them. Give them enough time, and they, too, won't think twice about telling an African-American "you'll be [my slave] eventually," or a Hispanic that they're glad to see the government rounding up and deporting all the Hispanics (in many cases, separating parents and children), criminal record or no criminal record. When it comes to guarding the human heart against bigotry, even well-adjusted, well-meaning people rarely stay vigilant.

So, here's what I'm learning from reading the Steve Bannon stuff: 1) Steve Bannon sees this all as some sort of game ("Tear down more statues. Say the revolution is coming. I can't get enough of it.") and while that would be fine if this were a game of Risk.... 2) Trump's talk of "fire and fury" was, in fact, SOUND and fury, signifying that North Korea basically could've wiped us out, and still could. (I knew this already, but sometimes, the printed word hits hard.) It makes me think Kim Jong-un was falling dead with laughter (you know, like those "DEAD" gifs we post around these parts?) when he said he had decided to sit back and let Trump keep on bein' Trump. 3) Either Bannon is a gigantic moron ("How could you NOT know this could end up being published?") or a terrible liar ("Do you expect us to believe you didn't know?"). Either way, not smart. At the very least, this might be grounds for permanent exile from your favorite Risk Meetup group.

First of all, I want to say how delighted I was to see David Holt interviewed for the Peters/Martin/Healy NYT article. I've known David since we were in kindergarten. We served together in the Boy Scouts for a year. (I dropped out, because, c'mon, me in the Boy Scouts?) David is an incredibly astute individual, loving husband to Rachel, and father to George and Maggie. Although we might be on opposite sides of the political fence, I believe David is earnest, and honest, and takes seriously the needs and concerns of his constituents here in Oklahoma; and I hope that, in the years to come, he will be a tremendous asset to the Republican Party. Now, with that being said: if the GOP sees itself as being in a state of crisis, well, as I (and others) keep saying: they have themselves to blame. They were warned about the effects of a Trump presidency on this country. They were warned, and warned again. Nevertheless, they persisted. Even now, with voices from across the entire political spectrum condemning Trump's statements, and with so much at stake in terms of our security, our stability, and our reputation, they condemn racism, they condemn the Nazis who trade on it, but they will not condemn directly the elected leader who has now, with words spoken from the gilded tower that bears his name, sanctioned it. They won't condemn Trump outright, for fear of alienating his base supporters come next elections. Once again, they're placing party above country. Once again, they're sending the message to me and to people LIKE me they don't have our backs.

Cantwell must be some sort of prankster. I just cannot bring myself to believe a Nazi could be so...so...soft.

Well, Trump feels good about himself, and so do the white supremacists. All I can say is, stay safe, my fellow racial and ethnic minorities and POC. Because, Lord only knows what's gonna happen next.

ACK! The article won't appear in my browser!

Trump could care less what the rest of the world thinks of him. He's a racist and a misogynist, but so what? In his eyes, he is a winner, and everyone else is a loser. (Boy, did Papa Fred really do a number on his kid!) So, go ahead, call him whatever you like, pressure him however you want, but he's still the president and you're still...not. No, if Trump ever resigned, it'd be for one reason and one reason only: because doing so would mean the difference between remaining a free man or perhaps spending the rest of his life behind bars; and even then, I'm not so sure Trump wouldn't take his chances with the court.

You know, if and when Trump leaves the WH for the last time, I hope we can retire the term "fake news" to the bonfire with the Billie Jean souvenirs.

Wow. I think the ghost of George Lincoln Rockwell just said, "You ain't hard!"

Well, this isn't from the '90's, lol, but I'm sure this is what Trump meant by disbanding the Manufacturing Council and Strategy & Policy Forum:

Does this girl have her work cut out for her, OR WHAT? That is what's so deadly about racism: it doesn't always come out, draped in flags, giving hand salutes, telling everyone who is "an Other" to go back where they came from. Racism is like a weed that seeks to choke out the healthier plants that are tolerance, acceptance, enlightenment and love; and its seeds are carried in the hearts of all otherwise good men and women and their preconceptions and misconceptions of others who are not as they are.

To quote Oscar Hammerstein II, "you have to be taught to hate."

Good for the Black pundits, because, truthfully, this is about so much more than those damn statues. Trump opened that Pandora's box himself. Good, as well, for Wallace and Lemon. Being complicit to racism is as negligible as racism itself. No one working in the Trump administration can justify continuing to work for someone who is as prejudiced and intractable as that man. Not after yesterday. Stelter is right: if what happened was due to Trump's unhappiness with the media coverage over his initial remarks about Charlottesville, we can only imagine how he'll react to all of this. You know, I look at the footage from that press conference, and my mind can't help but recall that episode of "Good Times" where Penny's biological mother was busted for trying to make Willona appear to be a bad mother, via the very tape recorder she had bought for Penny as a present. Specifically, it's the one where Willona says, "That's you...ON TAPE!!". That's the truly funny/sad part: if Trump had achieved even half of what he vaguely promised to do during the election.... My own brother, an AFRICAN-AMERICAN, actually said, "Trump is my president!" He's going through a divorce, so I chose to let that slide.

Once upon a time, I said that we weren't ready for a Black president; that Barack Obama came too soon; and that we would suffer a backlash for rushing progress. But, that was then, as they say, and this is now. Since uttering those words, I have realized that it wouldn't have mattered whether someone like Obama came along in 2009 or 2059. What is happening to us now would still happen to us if we had waited another fifty or so years to elect a Black or other non-White man as our leader; and really, that's beside the point. What IS the point is that if we were to wait for what Dr. King so eloquently called "a more convenient season" to effect real progress in America, we would be waiting indefinitely, with no guarantees that that moment would ever arrive. Progress does not happen unless you and I MAKE it happen, and NOW. The lines of bigotry and ignorance that divide us will not be erased unless we stop RIGHT NOW and ask why they remain and what we can do to eradicate them. I've always believed that each of us is an instrument for God's use, and that He has his reasons for allowing even the most unconscionable things to occur. I think God used Donald Trump yesterday afternoon, not to ridicule Americans or White people, or to defend the white supremacists' repugnant ideology, but to show White America -- not just the white nationalists, the white supremacists, and the Nazis who persist with their filth, but every Caucasian man and woman in this country -- what racism TRULY resembles and why it is so necessary that we keep striving, no matter how long it takes or how many times we have to stop and regroup, toward change. Racism is not dead just because we managed to place a Black man in the ultimate position of power...and racism won't BE dead until we drive a stake through its heart, see it collapse into dust and dissipate into the air.

Baltimore should be used to [!@#$%^&*] being done in the middle of the night. Am I right, Colts fans?

Right now, a White woman cutting off a non-White woman on television might look, well, not smart? Maybe that's why she let her speak. He's 1000% right. White supremacy isn't just thugs in uniforms, going around town, chanting disgusting things and beating down anyone who isn't "like them" with clubs and chains. There are other, far more insidious forms of racism happening everyday in this country; and it's past time for Americans to get their collective heads out of the sand (or somewhere else) and start asking themselves the tough questions that need to be asked. Frankly, it isn't enough to say you voted for Trump because "he wasn't Hillary." (Just as it isn't enough -- again, if I could be perfectly frank -- for people like me to say they didn't vote at all because they couldn't trust either him OR her. IMO, those who stayed home on Election Day, including yours truly, are as much to blame for the nightmare as the ones who DID vote for Trump.) Even if we all agreed that voting third-party would be like throwing your vote away, nevertheless, you and I still had the option to do so. And yet, a frightening lot of you still voted for a man who never concealed the fact that he was, at best, someone willing to pander to the most despicable people in this country to garner votes; and at worst, someone whose line of thinking was not dissimilar from theirs. Why?

Exactly. You know, I'm not a fan of Ana's. However, she makes some salient points, especially in regards to the Republicans who are expressing outrage and dismay over Trump's remarks. As Ana says in the clip, "WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG??". I almost feel like the GOP is not entitled to be outraged by Trump. I feel like they're not entitled to go on social media and on TV and denounce him as several have. As I keep saying, they knew he was a snake when they brought him in. So now, they're hoping to do what's necessary in order to salvage their own careers and their party. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think so. If Trump goes down for this, so, too, should they. And now, they must live with the fact that, in the eyes of the REST of this nation, and possibly even the rest of the world, they are no different from the David Dukeses, and the Richard Spencers, and the James Alan Fields Jr's. Sleep well, WWC. Really? Jesus. I'd hate to guess what he DIDN'T say. In other news: Texas 'bathroom bill' dies in special legislative session

Yes, it was obvious, but they (meaning, of course, the majority of those who voted for him) chose not to believe or accept it. They chose not to believe it, because they were just so desperate to reclaim something they thought they had lost; something that, if we're being truthful here, they never really had; or, if they had had it at one time, they were never going to have again. What it really comes down to, I think, is people's steadfast refusal to adapt to the changing of the world mixed with one man's ability to appeal to their basest instincts and convince them that whatever was wrong with their lives was somebody else's fault. Ladies and gentlemen, that IS a white supremacist.

No offense, but that's almost exactly what Trump Nation said and continues to say about Trump. Another, even MORE improbable theory of mine: TrumpCo. effectively gave the man enough rope to hang himself. Why? Two reasons: 1) They were sick of hearing him complain about how the Monday Statement didn't achieve the results he'd wanted (although, it got people to stop talking about Russia for a moment, so...) and figured it was better just to let him do the damn thing and get it over with. 2) Many from within have had it with him and his constant hot messes and felt they needed to create for themselves the perfect opportunity to bail out. (IOW, they sabotaged him.) Because, the truth is, even before Charlottesville had happened, people were talking about TrumpCo. devolving into total chaos. [!@#$%^&*], for all we know, this could all be Bannon's revenge against Kelly, McMaster and Kushner.

LOL!! I just posted a picture of an old "Archie Bunker For President" button ("I guess we know now how this might have turned out...") on my FB page.

It's possible Trump DID prepare those talking points -- perhaps w/ Bannon and/or Miller? -- but the rest of his staff, including Kelly, warned him just to stick to the script, as it were. Granted, the folks at TrumpCo. tend to be a rather clueless bunch, but even they had to know the sort of backlash that would come from his remarks. Hence, all the denials. They knew, or might have suspected, but either way, they wanted nothing to do with it.

Oh, Clay. I thought you were a [!@#$%^&*] dumbass long ago. But I'm glad to see you admit it.

IKR? If Roger Ailes had been around, I doubt we would have had anyone on Fox News express their disgust. It would've been just wall-to-wall "Right on, Nazis are people, too!" garbage. It's like what J.K. Rowling said on Twitter: one good thing to come out of this is that no longer can anyone in this country pretend they don't know what kind of person is Donald Trump. We all know now who belongs in his America and who doesn't.

That is, if he doesn't resign himself first.

One of the tweeters to that thread said it best: "Who brought the car to the street fight?"