Rudy Giuliani's phone is turned off currently. FYI.

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) January 18, 2019

Seriously, could you imagine if Obama had done all this sh*t??!!  This disparity about what some Americans will make allowances for based on skin color is insane! 

And please, no one give me that crap explanation about Obama being the one to put up a higher bar because we know that is a smokescreen excuse for a much deeper problem that has existed in America.

Knowing what I know about living in America with its overt and under the radar racism, sexism and microaggressions, it is not exactly surprising but still, it is breathtakingly insane to watch this all unfold in real-time. 

It's truly difficult to hold much hope for America going forward when this is all occurring.

Edited January 18, 20196 yr by DramatistDreamer

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Seriously, could you imagine if Obama had done all this sh*t??!!  This disparity about what some Americans will make allowances for based on skin color is insane! 

 

No joke!  If Obama had committed even a small portion of the crimes that the current administration has committed, his ass would have been swinging from a tree long before today!

 

But I'm proud of MSNBC and others calling it what it is: a lie.  Trump told Cohen to LIE to Congress.  Plain and [!@#$%^&*] simple.

 

10 hours ago, Vee said:

 

Of course, Rudy's phone would be turned off for the moment.  He's older and a bit slower these days, so he needs a little more time to come up with the right lie to tell the media.

 

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

It's truly difficult to hold much hope for America going forward when this is all occurring.

 

Unfortunately, many POC never held much hope to begin with.

Edited January 18, 20196 yr by Khan

I have a lot more hope for America because it's out there, tbh.

 

Also, worth noting: Mueller, who brought down John Gotti, never has just one source.

 

 

According to the NYT story last fall, one of the written questions to Trump from Mueller was, “What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater, and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign?”

— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 18, 2019

The single biggest threat to Trump is the same in every poll. Historically bad approval, few people every changing their mind, and you have to come up with totally out-of-left-field sci-fi scenarios to imagine what would turn it around. https://t.co/f0TR46kAI9

— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) January 18, 2019

"Jared’s face remained stubbornly blank. But he filled in the picture soon enough. 'I don’t think we need to rush on this,' he said. 'I don’t think we have to do this now.'" https://t.co/JAdW3TzOUE

— Robert Costa (@costareports) January 18, 2019

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Seriously, could you imagine if Obama had done all this sh*t??!!  This disparity about what some Americans will make allowances for based on skin color is insane! 

And please, no one give me that crap explanation about Obama being the one to put up a higher bar because we know that is a smokescreen excuse for a much deeper problem that has existed in America.

Knowing what I know about living in America with its overt and under the radar racism, sexism and microaggressions, it is not exactly surprising but still, it is breathtakingly insane to watch this all unfold in real-time. 

It's truly difficult to hold much hope for America going forward when this is all occurring.

Obama was held to a higher standard that is for sure.  He was also treated differently, but I also don't think most white men would be allowed to get away with the things that Trump is getting away with.  Nixon was taken down for less and most Americans seemed to agree that was the right thing to do.

 

Trump was not that far off base when he said he could shoot someone and his base would stick with him.  Just the way he decimated the entire Republican field (mostly other white men)  in the primaries was pretty alarming.  People chose Trump because he was a sexist, racist, authoritarian want to be.  That the most disturbing part to me.

I don't believe that Obama would've been able to rebound from a BJ in the Oval office either but yes, Trump is a level of madness that nobody has ever seen before.  

Still, the fact that Trump has been able to get away with so much with what appears to be little to no accountability, even is Mueller's report somehow leads to indictment, etc. --I really don't think this portends good things for this country.  

NEW: Sen. Jeff Merkley has formally requested FBI Director Wray open a perjury investigation into Sec. of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. @SenJeffMerkley says “new documents show Nielsen lied in sworn testimony to Congress about the administration’s family separation policy.”

— Courtney Norris (@courtneyknorris) January 18, 2019

2 hours ago, Juliajms said:

Trump was not that far off base when he said he could shoot someone and his base would stick with him.  Just the way he decimated the entire Republican field (mostly other white men)  in the primaries was pretty alarming.  People chose Trump because he was a sexist, racist, authoritarian want to be.  That the most disturbing part to me.

 

That said truth is that a lot of people in this country, on both the right and the left, have decided they no longer believe in democracy.

1 hour ago, marceline said:

That said truth is that a lot of people in this country, on both the right and the left, have decided they no longer believe in democracy.

 

Yep.  Now, it's as if everybody's like Robert Morse in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," looking at themselves in the mirror, singing "I Believe in You."

2 hours ago, marceline said:

 

That said truth is that a lot of people in this country, on both the right and the left, have decided they no longer believe in democracy.

Count me among them, except for the fact that I can't think of a better system. I certainly don't think much of any system that can elect and protect someone like Trump. Maybe it's as simple as getting rid of the electoral college.  I don't know, but I'm not feeling optimistic these days.

13 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

Count me among them, except for the fact that I can't think of a better system. I certainly don't think much of any system that can elect and protect someone like Trump. Maybe it's as simple as getting rid of the electoral college.  I don't know, but I'm not feeling optimistic these days.

 

Democracy didn't elect Trump. That was the Electoral College. The EC is an affront to democracy. The EC, gerrymandering, the gutting of the VRA, Citizens United, etc.... all of these are attacks on democracy. 

19 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

Count me among them, except for the fact that I can't think of a better system. I certainly don't think much of any system that can elect and protect someone like Trump. Maybe it's as simple as getting rid of the electoral college.  I don't know, but I'm not feeling optimistic these days.

Churchill who was not exactly a role model for fairness during his lifetime in his advocacy of colonialism, said “Democracy is the worst form of government - except that is for all of the others”

 

You also need leaders Who care enough to foster those values that makes it  work. Plus you can’t have one political party who doesn’t give a crap about anything other than retaining power at all costs.

 

I'm down with abolishing the electoral college.  The writers of the U.S. Constitution established the EC as a stopgap from electing tyrants like Trump into office.  Clearly, therefore, the EC has proven to be no longer effective.

In just 12 hours, this video of AOC's speech regarding the shutdown became C-Span's most-watched video ever of a House member from either party speaking. (Most watched for a senator? Kamala Harris questioning Brett Kavanaugh.)
 

AOC on the wall and the shutdown.