I've said it once, and I'll say it once again: if and when Trump finally goes down, it won't be for anything connected to Russia.  I realize that seems impossible at the moment, but my gut instinct tells me it'll be over something that, when compared to the ongoing Mueller investigation, will seem banal and mind-numbingly stupid.  (That's why I think people are too quick to dismiss and/or ignore the Stormy Daniels situation.  Not that that could lead to anything, but...well...you just never know.)

 

It'll be one of those "not with a bang, but with a whimper" kind of deals.  Trust.  Watch.

Edited February 1, 20187 yr by Khan

To be honest I don't really care if he goes down with a bang, a whimper or a marching band. As long as he goes down. He's a menace, and as long as he's in the White House the whole world is in peril. It may sound dramatic, but he's so volatile and unpredictable it genuinely scares me.

15 minutes ago, I Am A Swede said:

To be honest I don't really care if he goes down with a bang, a whimper or a marching band. As long as he goes down. He's a menace, and as long as he's in the White House the whole world is in peril. It may sound dramatic, but he's so volatile and unpredictable it genuinely scares me.

It doesn't sound dramatic at all.  We are in serious trouble here on multiple fronts.  The possibility that he will nuke North Korea is real.  45 is unstable, stupid and evil.

 

The possibility that American democracy is going down the tubes is real as well.  How surprised would any of us be if the 2020 elections were "delayed"?  Maybe they'll say they need more time to protect against Russian hacking. Nothing would surprise me.

 

Look at the way ICE is operating. Rounding a woman up when she was testifying against a domestic abuser. Going after a little girl at the hospital. People are being arrested for leaving water bottles and other supplies in the desert. None of this is normal, but I bet they would say they are following orders.   It wouldn't be that hard to turn them into secret police, imo.

1 hour ago, Khan said:

I've said it once, and I'll say it once again: if and when Trump finally goes down, it won't be for anything connected to Russia.  I realize that seems impossible at the moment, but my gut instinct tells me it'll be over something that, when compared to the ongoing Mueller investigation, will seem banal and mind-numbingly stupid.  (That's why I think people are too quick to dismiss and/or ignore the Stormy Daniels situation.  Not that that could lead to anything, but...well...you just never know.)

 

It'll be one of those "not with a bang, but with a whimper" kind of deals.  Trust.  Watch.

it's never the crime......it's always the cover-up. 

22 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

It doesn't sound dramatic at all.  We are in serious trouble here on multiple fronts.  The possibility that he will nuke North Korea is real.  45 is unstable, stupid and evil.

 

The possibility that American democracy is going down the tubes is real as well.  How surprised would any of us be if the 2020 elections were "delayed"?  Maybe they'll say they need more time to protect against Russian hacking. Nothing would surprise me.

 

Look at the way ICE is operating. Rounding a woman up when she was testifying against a domestic abuser. Going after a little girl at the hospital. People are being arrested for leaving water bottles and other supplies in the desert. None of this is normal, but I bet they would say they are following orders.   It wouldn't be that hard to turn them into secret police, imo.

I admit it's scarier than any time I can remember. But there have been abuses of power for years. Johnson used the FBI to infiltrate the Black Panthers and the Anti War movement and jailed people and demonized them. It worked and it led to the entire law and order mantra that's been going on for years even as crime continues to drop. And I do recall many people saying under GWB there would be no elections in 2004. I get this is not the same, but many of it is a long time coming. I find myself wondering how we are now counting on the FBI and Intelligence agencies to save us when they have both been behind some of the worst abuses and overreach over the past how many years. 

 

The difference is we had what we perceived to be morally decent people over time who actually did some good things. Johnson was an SOB and he was the one who ordered the FBI to infiltrate and portray those groups as traitors but then he also got the civil rights, voting rights, and medicare passed. he also falsified info to get us deeper into Vietnam, failed to report Nixon for deliberately getting the peace talks dropped in 1968 which Nixon did to win the election, all IMO related to his hatred for Bobby Kennedy and how he felt the democrats abandoned him.

 

I could list the things GWB;s administration is. Difference is it's not longer in the shadows., Trump is crude, ugly, morally vapid, and hateful and is the front for what the GOP is. But because people think GVMT is so inept promises of what gvmt can do for people are so beyond some because they never see anything getting done. Democracy dies when people don't pay attention and step in.. Let's hope enough are that will be able to help pull us back.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN just now that White House Officials decided not to release the Nunes memo as they feared that FBI Director Christopher Wray would have resigned.

1 hour ago, JaneAusten said:

I admit it's scarier than any time I can remember. But there have been abuses of power for years.

No doubt, there have been abuses of power since the beginning.  I'm more worried about the way Trump undermines institutions and the way Republicans are allowing it with little push back.  The way he attacks the press, courts, FBI, DOJ. The way he discounts science. The idea that there are "alternate facts". The countless number of lies, the open white supremacy, support for Nazis and nationalism.  The way 45 demands loyalty and gets rid of anyone who doesn't give it.  We may have seen some of this before, but I don't think any president has undermined our core values to this extent.

 

I'm not saying their won't be elections in 2020, just that I won't be that surprised if there weren't. Also, I'm not so sure people were wrong to be worried about it in 2004.  GWB looks benign now, but the degree of surveillance going on in his administration was pretty disturbing.  I can see why people would be wary.

 

 

The lawyers for ex-Trump aide Rick Gates, indicted alongside Paul Manafort, have asked for permission to withdraw from the case "effective immediately." pic.twitter.com/iEG4X41TKd

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) February 1, 2018

8 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Britain Was a Pioneer in Outsourcing Services. Now, the Model Is ‘Broken.’

 

I can easily see this situation happening in the U.S. for several reasons.

 

1. Britain, which uses a high rate of outsourcing, is second to the U.S., which uses the highest rate of outsourcing in the world.

 

2. The Republicans, like the Tories in England, are prone to austerity measures, which end up starving the public sector, which often helps to fund services for vulnerable people (even within the private sector).  Think of nursing homes that use a mix of personal and state funding.

 

3. Both Britain and the U.S. rely heavily on foreign labor, particularly in their personal care industries like nursing homes (or Care Homes, as they are referred to in the U.K.).  "Brexit" is currently exacerbating an already bad situation as staffs are depleted with workers leaving Great Britain for other E.U. destinations and these contractors are forced to rely on temporary labor, which are often undertrained.  As the U.S. immigration policy begins to restrict even legal immigration, I can easily imagine the nursing homes falling into this same circumstance.

 

This article struck me because of the parallels between Great Britain and the U.S.  It's shocking how easily many of their worst crises can often translate to tenuous situations in the U.S. without missing a beat!

 

The Tories are also adept at eating their own, and care more about a vision of purity for their party and the UK than about anything else. Just like the GOP. And just like the GOP they always manage to cling onto power anyway. 

"Retiring Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) likened the party’s efforts to avoid discussing difficult issues to 'a dysfunctional family. Dad’s drunk again but we don’t talk about it.'" https://t.co/9uKkqJFHLD

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 2, 2018

Apparently the memo that the GOP was going on about turned out to be the Capitol Hill/West Wing version of the beer bottle in Al Capone's vault that Geraldo "unveiled". 

Edited February 2, 20187 yr by DramatistDreamer

and what did this accomplish? Trump has now turned the entire intel. community against him. if he thought they were going after him before......

13 minutes ago, Roman said:

and what did this accomplish? Trump has now turned the entire intel. community against him. if he thought they were going after him before......

 

But that's the best part! This was a REAL nothingburger that backfired spectacularly in his fat orange face. And now Intel HATES him.

5 minutes ago, Wendy said:

 

But that's the best part! This was a REAL nothingburger that backfired spectacularly in his fat orange face. And now Intel HATES him.

Hates his guts my dear. I believe this is the day that will end him. I had been out, and when I got back I saw them talking about the memo. then they moved on to two other stories, one of which is the stock market plunging 700 points. which told me "they spent an entire week for this BS." Nunes......what a damn fool. he has cost himself his seat this November. 

28 minutes ago, Roman said:

and what did this accomplish? Trump has now turned the entire intel. community against him. if he thought they were going after him before......

 

This is what it accomplished:

 

Some are missing a plot piece in memogate - Carter Page was under surveillance in 2013. Hired by Trump after that. The dossier came into existence after that. Why are republicans and the WH more desperate to smear FBI than find out whether Page was part of a criminal conspiracy?

— Nicolle Wallace (@NicolleDWallace) February 2, 2018

In leveling its central charge dossier was entire basis of #CarterPage warrant, #NunesMemo twice inadvertently undermines the argument: 1, it says Papadopoulos info, not dossier, triggered opening of the FBI probe, and, 2, it notes FBI corroborated some of Steele dossier.

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 2, 2018

That’s it? Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.

— James Comey (@Comey) February 2, 2018

As I have said repeatedly, I also remain 100 percent confident in Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The contents of this memo do not - in any way - discredit his investigation.

— Trey Gowdy (@TGowdySC) February 2, 2018

My statement on the misleading Nunes memo, also known as a nothing burger.

Also, I am super excited for the American public to see the Democratic memo, which sets forth all the omitted material facts that the #NunesMemo hides. https://t.co/wey0xGR0Nz

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 2, 2018

Memo actually confirms a timeline not favorable to Trump:
1. Counterintelligence probe opened in July 2016 by FBI because of George P./Wikileaks/emails.
2. FISA application on Carter Page obtained late Oct. 2016, after Page had left Trump campaign.

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 2, 2018