[Politics_Observer]

@Harley

Acknowledging reality is not "dramatic flair." Downplaying reality as "dramatic flair" is a form of denial though. It's not a stretch to call Trump dictator because that's exactly what he wants to be. He has dangerous personality called narcissism. He could also very well be a sociopath. Most narcissists had a poor childhood. So, now Trump fills the void that his narcissistic wound left him that came from somewhere most likely during his childhood with power and attention. He has a mental illness and that mental illness has left him with serious character flaws which makes him dangerous. Especially since he is the occupant of the White House. Trump has clearly demonstrated that he wants to be dictator and has openly suggested that "we should try that" to de-sensitize the American public to him being dictator. This is one way a predator preys upon his victims. He will eventually turn on his supporters too left unchecked and given enough time.

[blackjack21]

It's facetious now that you have to defend it.

Oh, and you're just so serious about Trump being a dictator and taking all his orders from Putin... You can be quite ridiculous at times.

Here's why, capitalism requires stability.

Capitalism requires political stability in so far as property rights and the enforcement of contracts. A lot of capitalist do very well when there is economic instability, war, etc.

You can't let plagues run wild and expect it to not knock the economy on it's back.

Whose economy? You ramble on about dictatorships and how they are bad. China is a communist dictatorship. Isn't it a good thing then if the dictatorship is facing economic hardship from a plague? Doesn't that portend a major threat to the dictatorship and create an opening for democracy?

The Reagan tried to let AIDS run wild because they thought it was god's punishment on the gays.

"The Reagan"? "Tried to let"? As if someone was trying to stop AIDS with a cure or vaccine and Reagan kept getting in the way? AIDS was the natural outcome of well educated adults who knew about sexually transmitted diseases, had full knowledge of the scientific method, and yet encouraged younger people to have promiscuous sex outside of wedlock with multiple partners, embrace homosexuality, bestiality, etc. It was bound to end in disaster and it did. Libertines killing 35 million people with their shitty advice is terrible enough, but to then somehow blame it all on Ronald Reagan is frankly beyond the pale. If people had listened to Ronald Reagan, there would be no AIDS epidemic, STD epidemic generally, or drug epidemic, but it would be a major buzz kill for libertines.

And some of what you advocate is batshit crazy.

Like what?

There is a procedure, which of course he doesn't follow.

Whose procedure is this? Generally, presidents don't follow. They lead.

It's not a stretch to call Trump dictator because that's exactly what he wants to be.

Is that like it's not a stretch to call Bruce Jenner as Kaitlyn Jenner, because that's exactly what he wants to be? That might not be stretch for you, but it is for me. Dude looks like a lady... but he's still a dude.

[Big Steve-1]

@Harley

Acknowledging reality is not "dramatic flair." Downplaying reality as "dramatic flair" is a form of denial though. It's not a stretch to call Trump dictator because that's exactly what he wants to be. He has dangerous personality called narcissism. He could also very well be a sociopath. Most narcissists had a poor childhood. So, now Trump fills the void that his narcissistic wound left him that came from somewhere most likely during his childhood with power and attention. He has a mental illness and that mental illness has left him with serious character flaws which makes him dangerous. Especially since he is the occupant of the White House. Trump has clearly demonstrated that he wants to be dictator and has openly suggested that "we should try that" to de-sensitize the American public to him being dictator. This is one way a predator preys upon his victims. He will eventually turn on his supporters too left unchecked and given enough time.

It is dramatic. He's not going to turn into a dictator. Is he a narcissist? I think anyone who runs for public office is, to one extent or another. And the only "mental illness" the left can find is his "He beat Hillary" disease.

And his comment us "trying" a dictator was made tongue-in-cheek, just like his comment about how Russia should try to find 30,000 of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. I believe it requires a special kind of mental deficiency to believe that either of those comments were sincere.

[Politics_Observer]

@Harley

It is dramatic. He's not going to turn into a dictator.

You seem mighty sure of that and you seem to take our republic for granted. Sure, our republic has survived through some dark times but just because it has survived through some dark times, do not assume that it will always survive through dark times. Don't take our republic for granted. There was a reason Benjamin Franklin said "we have a republic, if we can keep it."

Is he a narcissist? I think anyone who runs for public office is, to one extent or another.

Not everybody who runs for public office is a narcissist. I think the vast majority who do run for public office are the least qualifed to govern. As Plato once said, those who are most qualified to govern, don't want to govern. That's not to say everybody who runs for public office will do a poor job, but the vast majority are not the most qualified to govern.

And the only "mental illness" the left can find is his "He beat Hillary" disease.

Nah, Trump has a falls into the category of a dangerous personality. Castro, Stalin and Hitler had such personalities as well as Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Jim Jones or David Koresh.

And his comment us "trying" a dictator was made tongue-in-cheek, just like his comment about how Russia should try to find 30,000 of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. I believe it requires a special kind of mental deficiency to believe that either of those comments were sincere.

Nah, Trump is making comments of "we should try that" so as to desenstize the people to the notion of being ruled by a dictator. I don't want to be ruled over like a king or dictator, I want to be governed. Just look at how Trump has interfered in American justice and let Roger Stone go instead of allowing our justice system to proceed with his sentence of 9 years in prison. Trump has tainted our justice system. Your responses remind me of what I read in George Orwell's book 1984:

[Big Steve-1]

@Harley



You seem mighty sure of that and you seem to take our republic for granted. Sure, our republic has survived through some dark times but just because it has survived through some dark times, do not assume that it will always survive through dark times. Don't take our republic for granted. There was a reason Benjamin Franklin said "we have a republic, if we can keep it."



Not everybody who runs for public office is a narcissist. I think the vast majority who do run for public office are the least qualifed to govern. As Plato once said, those who are most qualified to govern, don't want to govern. That's not to say everybody who runs for public office will do a poor job, but the vast majority are not the most qualified to govern.





Nah, Trump has a falls into the category of a dangerous personality. Castro, Stalin and Hitler had such personalities as well as Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Jim Jones or David Koresh.



Nah, Trump is making comments of "we should try that" so as to desenstize the people to the notion of being ruled by a dictator. I don't want to be ruled over like a king or dictator, I want to be governed. Just look at how Trump has interfered in American justice and let Roger Stone go instead of allowing our justice system to proceed with his sentence of 9 years in prison. Trump has tainted our justice system. Your responses remind me of what I read in George Orwell's book 1984:

You know, I read your reply four times.

It's some of the moist unbridled lunacy I've ever seen on the internet.

Wear it well, dear PO, wear it well.

[Politics_Observer]

@Harley

Ohh I will. Freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength, sanity is lunacy.

[Politics_Observer]

Here you go @Harley

[Big Steve-2]

Relying on fiction to make your point is, at best, farcical.

[blackjack21]

Nah, Trump has a falls into the category of a dangerous personality.

Carville's recent expression of frustration is something Democrats could listen to. Bill Clinton could beat Donald Trump if he were 20 years younger and not have served two terms already. However, Clinton would have no problem picking up the illegal alien policies of Trump. He might even go back on his own MFN status for China, try to have them booted from the WTO or threaten to leave the WTO. Clinton knew the country well. His wife was just a nasty, drunk bitch that didn't even bother to campaign in easy-for-democrats-to-win states like Wisconsin. Hell, even Obama looks like a right winger after the 2019 debates among Democratic hopefuls.

Here you go @Harley

You do realize that it is Democratic party factions that are calling math racist now, right?
Seattle Times: Is math racist? New course outlines prompt conversations about identity, race in Seattle classrooms
Professor: ‘Mathematics Itself Operates as Whiteness’
I won't even bother bringing up the Iowa caucuses...

Additionally, it's political correctness that is directly trying to impose Maoist thought police on people. Try using a racial epithet in the land of free speech and see what happens.

[Politics_Observer]

@blackjack21

I don't know, I think Elizabeth Warren hit the nail on the head when she said we are descending into authoritarianism:

[blackjack21]

@blackjack21

I don't know, I think Elizabeth Warren hit the nail on the head when she said we are descending into authoritarianism:

None of that has to do with Roger Stone. He's a nobody in the scheme of things. Warren's comments are based on fear for the deep state and what happens when John Durham's report comes out, and who gets prosecuted. Failed coup attempts don't usually pan out well for the perpetrators.

People who are afraid of authoritarianism should have been worried when Bush was in power. He laid the ground work for an all-pervasive surveillance state. Obama would threaten journalists with prosecution. In fact, Obama prosecuted quite a few people under the Espionage Act. Obama prosecuted whistleblowers who leaked to journalists more than all other presidents combined.

[Politics_Observer]

@blackjack21

But you have to admit, George Orwell is right about America under Trump. We live in a world of double think where we have facts and then alternative facts and Fox News is the equivalent of the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell's novel 1984. The job of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell's 1984 was to spread propaganda and lies.

The NSA is the equivalent of Big Brother in 1984. One famous quote from George Orwell in his book 1984 is that "Big Brother is watching you." The Snowden revelations demonstrated the unprecedented scale of NSA spying and its unprecedented capabilities to do so.

[blackjack21]

But you have to admit, George Orwell is right about America under Trump. We live in a world of double think where we have facts and then alternative facts and Fox News is the equivalent of the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell's novel 1984. The job of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell's 1984 was to spread propaganda and lies.

I won't argue with that point, but I hardly think Donald Trump is to blame. He's just the only Republican--and barely a Republican at that--to fight it. You've been around long enough for me to point out just how totally useless Republicans like Bush, Romney, McCain and others are at addressing political correctness (and illegal immigration for that matter). The double speak as well is profound. We have someone like Nancy Pelosi who lives in a "sanctuary city" and "sanctuary state"--meaning a place where criminal aliens can break the law and local law enforcement refuses to do anything about it--where Kate Steinle was murdered with impunity; who chastised Trump for calling MS-13 gang members who killed a teenaged black girl "animals" and talking about how the killers had a "spark of divinity"; who wants to allow illegal aliens and felons in prison to vote; who then has the temerity to write an op-ed piece about Trump's "lawlessness" when she authorized an impeachment of him without mentioning the violation of a single statutory crime. It's frankly bewildering.

The NSA is the equivalent of Big Brother in 1984.

It's even worse than that. They envisioned something on the order of the Stasi in the 2006 film, "The Lives of Others." The degree of penetration is profound. We used to have someone on PoFo that was either NSA or a contractor for them and he and I got into it with him trying to silence me for pointing out that smart phones are in fact bugs and the government can turn on your speaker and listen to all your conversations at will--not admissible in court without a warrant mind you, but it's totally doable. Social media (facebook), Google (android), Apple and others helped them do it. They make money off social media this way, which is why I'm no longer on facebook and only nominally on LinkedIn. Shoshana Zuboff has a book about it called "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power" that details how it became a money making practice.

One famous quote from George Orwell in his book 1984 is that "Big Brother is watching you." The Snowden revelations demonstrated the unprecedented scale of NSA spying and its unprecedented capabilities to do so.

Yes, and I'm one of the few people here who praised Snowden for it. I was working in mass storage at the time. We support US government operations. I would never do what Snowden did, but then again I couldn't as I do not have the security clearance. Yet, I know for a fact that they used the storage product I was working on for their cloud computing operations as NSA uses OpenStack. In fact, I wrote the installation procedure for installing from an ISO image by creating a local repo because they do not connect their servers to the internet for security reasons--banks picked up on that and they use that procedure too. I had a high school friend who worked at the NSA too and ultimately left--I think because of what they were doing and the stigma. He got into it because he was a cracker jack on Cisco phones back when XML was still cool and he knew how to code on their phones. They have a lot of very talented people working there. I'm working on 5G stuff now, and I understand exactly why Trump has issues with China/Huawei, etc. and why Britain is at risk of curtailment under 5 eyes by using Huawei gear in the UK.

[late]

None of that has to do with Roger Stone.

The reason we are in this historic crisis is because Stone was in the middle of it.

That's why Trump is pulling out all the stops to protect him. If Stone taked, he might do the impossible, get republicans to vote for impeachment.

Nobody, great joke..

[blackjack21]

The reason we are in this historic crisis is because Stone was in the middle of it.

We? Don't you mean the Democrats? There's no crisis on the Republican side. The crisis is that you are going to lose the 2020 presidential election bigly. Trump is even going to flip New Hampshire and Virginia.

That's why Trump is pulling out all the stops to protect him.

He's already convicted.

If Stone taked, he might do the impossible, get republicans to vote for impeachment.

Like who? Romney? Lisa Murkowski? Susan Collins? You need 2/3rds of the Senate...67 votes. It's not going to happen. Time to give up the ghost on that one.

[late]

We? Don't you mean the Democrats?


He's already convicted.


Like who? Romney? Lisa Murkowski? Susan Collins? You need 2/3rds of the Senate...67 votes. It's not going to happen.

No, I mean the country, the Rule of Law just died.

The prosecutors expected trouble. So they wrote a 36 page memorandum how they followed the sentencing guidelines to the letter. Barr's flunky replaced that with 3 pages that is going to generate critical comment from the judge. It's trash.

That goes without saying. But if we knew how deep Trump was in Putin's pocket, that would change minds, and votes.

[jimjam]

In all my seventy plus years I have never been so afraid for this country.

Step by step Trump is blowing by norms, ethical and moral boundaries, and even the law in increasingly bold ways. None of his Republican enablers will do anything at all to stop him.

And the American public either doesn't realize what a mortally dangerous path we are on, or doesn't seem to care enough to do anything about it.

November is a long, long way away. Will there be anything left of this country's "checks and balances" by then?

God help us all if Trump is reelected.

[Hindsite]

None of that has to do with Roger Stone. He's a nobody in the scheme of things. Warren's comments are based on fear for the deep state and what happens when John Durham's report comes out, and who gets prosecuted. Failed coup attempts don't usually pan out well for the perpetrators.

I just heard Judge Andrew Napolitano say that he believed Roger Stone should get a new trial. What do you think?

Here is more on it:

Roger Stone jury foreperson's anti-Trump social media posts surface after she defends DOJ prosecutors

Former Memphis City Schools Board President Tomeka Hart revealed Wednesday that she was the foreperson of the jury that convicted Stone on obstruction charges last year — and soon afterward, her history of Democratic activism and a string of her anti-Trump, left-wing social media posts came to light.

Hart even posted specifically about the Stone case before she was selected to sit on the jury, as she retweeted an argument mocking those who considered Stone's dramatic arrest in a predawn raid by a federal tactical team to be excessive force. She also suggested President Trump and his supporters are racist and praised the investigation conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which ultimately led to Stone's prosecution.

Meanwhile, it emerged that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had denied a defense request to strike a potential juror who was Obama-era press official with admitted anti-Trump views -- and whose husband worked at the same Justice Department division that handled the probe leading to Stone's arrest. And, another Stone juror, Seth Cousins, donated to former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke and other progressive causes, federal election records reviewed by Fox News show.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/roger- ... cial-media

[blackjack21]

I just heard Judge Andrew Napolitano say that he believed Roger Stone should get a new trial. What do you think?

Apparently he was fucked over by jury selection. So yes. He should get a new trial. However, he has no more money. He can't pay. I'm okay with Trump pardoning him. We'll have to deal with another phony impeachment trial, but this is starting to get fun for us isn't it? They're going to be destroyed in 2020.

[late]

Apparently he was fucked over by jury selection. So yes. He should get a new trial. However, he has no more money. He can't pay. I'm okay with Trump pardoning him. We'll have to deal with another phony impeachment trial, but this is starting to get fun for us isn't it? They're going to be destroyed in 2020.

You guys need better lies.

The judge turned him down because there is no reason to have a new trial.

She didn't much care for your BS, either.