The Next President is...

[brickhistory]

1 hour ago, nsplayr said:

 

I would hold up very well, never having committed any crimes more serious than traffic offenses and never having associated myself with shady-ass individuals. I'm assuming the same can be said for the vast majority of people reading this.

We have different views on how our Constitution works then.

Shocking...

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, nsplayr said:

I mean, except for:

• Michael Flynn (pleaded guilty to lying about Russian contacts during the campaign)
• Rick Gates (pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States)
• George Papadopoulos (pleaded guilty to lying about contacts with Russians)
• 13 Russian nationals & 3 Russian companies (indicted for election interference), and
• 12 Russian military intelligence officers (indicted for hacking and related crimes during the 2016 election)

You act as if brickhistory doesn't know those things. It's not willful ignorance on his part - he just doesn't care. It could come out that Donald Trump himself directed illegal payments be made directly to Russian state hackers with the intent of subverting American democracy and he wouldn't care - because his guy won. 

[SHFP]

Love this Fur Ball....keep it up for me....makes getting old easier....back to my wine.

[mcbush]

2 hours ago, brickhistory said:

We have different views on how our Constitution works then.

Shocking...

What do you mean? Genuinely curious.

[Vertigo]

3 hours ago, Jaded said:

You act as if brickhistory doesn't know those things. It's not willful ignorance on his part - he just doesn't care. It could come out that Donald Trump himself directed illegal payments be made directly to Russian state hackers with the intent of subverting American democracy and he wouldn't care - because his guy won. 

Kind of like if his lawyer paid $50k in cash to an unknown technology company for "tech services" during and in connection with the campaign that was hidden in the Stormy Daniels payout?

Page 16 of the criminal information filed in Cohen's case yesterday mentioned a reimbursement for "tech services" that Cohen solicited "on behalf of the campaign". Coincidentally page 34 of the Steele dossier discusses Cohen's involvement in making "deniable cash payments to hackers who had worked in Europe under Kremlin direction..."

The $50k cash payment having been made not long after Cohen was reportedly in Prague.

Why would the campaign need to make a payment to a legit tech company doing legal tech work through the Trump Organization, and why would it need to be made surreptitiously through Cohen, and in cash no less? 

Cohen, of course, being Trump's "fixer" with no official role in the campaign.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Vertigo
A word

[MooseAg03]

Not discounting your detective work, but $50k seems like a cheap price to rig an election in the most powerful nation in the world. I would think they would have asked for millions, especially from someone who is a billionaire.


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[brickhistory]

9 hours ago, Jaded said:

You act as if brickhistory doesn't know those things. It's not willful ignorance on his part - he just doesn't care. It could come out that Donald Trump himself directed illegal payments be made directly to Russian state hackers with the intent of subverting American democracy and he wouldn't care - because his guy won. 

Trump is not "my guy."  I recognize him for what he is - recent Democrat, serial philanderer, etc., etc., etc.

What he represents is my "anti-guy." 

But thanks for the interweb psychoanalysis anyway.

As I have stated repeatedly, he beat 16 conventional GOP candidates to win the nomination.  He beat the anointed Hillary.  He shocked the system in a way it didn't expect and doesn't like.

The Beast/Leviathan/System/Deep State, call it what you will, i.e., the conventional political establishment complete with revolving doors and cozy use of taxpayer money, has very vested interests in not letting the system be changed.  It is and has been very lucrative to itself.  (See the list of richest counties in the US and wonder why so many of them surround DC).  If Trump is allowed to succeed, the stranglehold on the levers of gravy-flowing is threatened.

So the losers of the 2016 election are trying to undo the results via extra-legal means, often with the help of many of the Republicans who gravy-train boat (er…) is being rocked.  Those grubby plebians out there in flyover country simply must be beaten back into submission.

I'm agin' that. 

[waveshaper]

Dang, even Steven Tyler/Aerosmith have turned on the POTUS.

Steven Tyler sends Trump cease-and-desist letter over playing Aerosmith songs at rallies; https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/08/22/steven-tyler-sends-trump-cease-and-desist-letter-over-playing-aerosmith-songs-at-rallies.html

 

:<) Here's a few potentially befitting songs to replace these Aerosmith tunes with, at future campaign rallies, if this downward spiral continues much longer. Hopefully these new campaign rallies songs will cheer up the growing list of indicted/convicted members of the 2016 campaign/White House staff :<) 

 

My #1 Choice; Folsom Prison Blues;

My #2 Choice; Jailhouse Rock;

 

Edited August 23, 2018 by waveshaper

[Prozac]

I just don’t get the sentiment that it’s somehow better to have elected a criminal than (gasp) a member of the opposing party.  Is that really where we are in our society?  As to the argument that the special council has exceeded his mandate, the response is: do you really expect the criminal justice system to look the other way when evidence of a crime is uncovered, regardless of how that evidence came to light? Do the Republicans, who started investigating Bill Clinton’s real estate deals, and ended up impeaching him based on a stain on a blue dress, really expect Democrats to give them a break on this one?  And Brick, I really don’t get your “how the constitution works” statement earlier.  How is it supposed to work and how does it influence the criminal justice system in your opinion?  Are you implying that somehow the POTUS is above the law?  Certainly much of the country thinks along those lines at the moment, but legal precedent disagrees. 

[Vertigo]

5 hours ago, MooseAg03 said:

Not discounting your detective work, but $50k seems like a cheap price to rig an election in the most powerful nation in the world. I would think they would have asked for millions, especially from someone who is a billionaire.


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[Vertigo]

1 hour ago, Kiloalpha said:

You're going to have to help me here. How is this related exactly?

Moose had stated that $50k is an awfully low price Trump had to pay the hackers, when they could've received millions from him.

I only pointed out, using Trump's own words, that he's the best deal maker in the world.

[MooseAg03]

3 hours ago, Prozac said:

I just don’t get the sentiment that it’s somehow better to have elected a criminal than (gasp) a member of the opposing party.  Is that really where we are in our society? 

You can't for a second believe that if it hadn't been a democrat administration in power that she would have gotten off scot free as she did.  Let's not even talk about all of the questionable deaths surrounding the Clintons in their years in politics, because I'm sure their machine is a lot more corrupt than a guy trying to cover up his affairs that he had while a private citizen.

 

Here's more proof that this is about Trump and not about "the law."  https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/settlements-congress-sexual-harassment/index.html

Remember, these are the same people who think ILLEGAL immigrants should be allowed to continually and without punishment ignore the laws of our nation.  They support mob rule in vandalising and destroying monuments they don't like.  If they are so about the "me too" movement, why has there been no serious inquiry into who these Congressional settlements were paid out for?  Hint, it's the target they're after not the moral victory.

[Prozac]

3 hours ago, MooseAg03 said:

Let's not even talk about all of the questionable deaths surrounding the Clintons in their years in politics, because I'm sure their machine is a lot more corrupt than a guy trying to cover up his affairs that he had while a private citizen.

 

Here's more proof that this is about Trump and not about "the law."  https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/settlements-congress-sexual-harassment/index.html

Remember, these are the same people who think ILLEGAL immigrants should be allowed to continually and without punishment ignore the laws of our nation.  They support mob rule in vandalising and destroying monuments they don't like.  If they are so about the "me too" movement, why has there been no serious inquiry into who these Congressional settlements were paid out for?  Hint, it's the target they're after not the moral victory.

Alex Jones much?  Maybe talk to some actual Democrats/Independents/Centrists about what they believe and want for this country rather than depend on conservative media to tell you. Are there some people way out in left field? Absolutely. Does the average democrat support open borders, wholesale gun confiscation, or a new world order run by the Soros/Clinton/Obama triumvirate? I wouldn’t be so sure. 

[Homestar]

2 hours ago, Prozac said:

I wouldn’t be so sure. 

But you're saying there's a chance? 😄

[MooseAg03]

Well when the average democrat senator isn’t yelling for the abolishment of ICE then I might believe you. And the darling of the party right now is a self avowed socialist that can’t even articulate what her views mean in an interview. Yep, that’s who I want running my country.


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[Lord Ratner]

Well when the average democrat senator isn’t yelling for the abolishment of ICE then I might believe you. And the darling of the party right now is a self avowed socialist that can’t even articulate what her views mean in an interview. Yep, that’s who I want running my country.


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The problem is that there no accepted definition of "too far" for the left. For the Right it's easy: racial superiority. Hitler, KKK, etc. But the left has no obvious "too far."

For the educated, it's quite obvious: socialism. No political philosophy has a body count approaching the horrors unleashed by socialism. But your average voter is not aware of history, and even the educated are unaware thanks to who controls the curriculums of college campuses.

I don't care how great a politician seems. If the word socialism falls from their lips, they are a threat. Useful idiots at best, evil megalomaniac at worst, but still a threat.

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[TreeA10]

A longish read totaling up the body count in regards to socialism. If polls of millennials showing their acceptance of socialism are accurate, history is a poorly covered topic is school these days. 

https://www.newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/socialism-as-a-hate-crime-9746

[Seriously]

3 hours ago, TreeA10 said:

A longish read totaling up the body count in regards to socialism. If polls of millennials showing their acceptance of socialism are accurate, history is a poorly covered topic is school these days. 

https://www.newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/socialism-as-a-hate-crime-9746

 

3 hours ago, Kiloalpha said:

In college I was told that Socialism was responsible for “the greatest increase in education and standard of living of the masses” in world history. 

They’re not teaching anymore, just advocating.

What is socialism? At what point does a socialist become Stalin? You’re conflating a socialist economy with social policies. The two aren’t strictly bound together (unless you’re purposefully muddying the water for political attack).

Socialism as an economic system is what leads to a countries collapse, but social policies (i.e. policies for the people), like the 40 hour work week and elimination of child labor, are in fact what leads to a country’s progress.

 

 

 

[Lawman]

What is socialism? At what point does a socialist become Stalin? You’re conflating a socialist economy with social policies. The two aren’t strictly bound together (unless you’re purposefully muddying the water for political attack).
Socialism as an economic system is what leads to a countries collapse, but social policies (i.e. policies for the people), like the 40 hour work week and elimination of child labor, are in fact what leads to a country’s progress.
 
 
 

Every day in college you could find no shortages of idiots advocating Marxist principles handing out some flyer in the student union of my campus...

You could not find KKK or Skin heads or any other far extremist idiots doing the same at any point in time.

There is an acceptance by the left and academia of what they label “post modernists” which are nothing more than wolves in sheeps clothing advocating for the same stupidity that killed hundreds of millions of people across the 20th century and across swaths of geographic/religious/racial boundaries.


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[Lord Ratner]

What is socialism? At what point does a socialist become Stalin? You’re conflating a socialist economy with social policies. The two aren’t strictly bound together (unless you’re purposefully muddying the water for political attack).
Socialism as an economic system is what leads to a countries collapse, but social policies (i.e. policies for the people), like the 40 hour work week and elimination of child labor, are in fact what leads to a country’s progress.
 
 
 

The 40 hour work week has nothing to do with socialism. Zero. No one here is talking about work hours and child labor when they refer to socialism.

Socialism is easily summed up by the old Soviet mantra, from each according his abilities; to each according to his needs. Another simple socialist concept is an equality of outcome (not to be confused with equality of opportunity).

They are not fatal due to the evil intent of their promotors. They are fatal due to their irreconcilable conflicts with human nature.

Remember, there are no flawed political philosophies, only flawed human characteristics. The success of a political philosophy is measured by how well it mitigates and minimizes the effects of those human flaws.

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[nsplayr]

I love how the President was implicated in a felony by his lawyer, who pleaded guilty to multiple felonies including ones related to the 2016 election, on the same day that his former campaign manager was found guilty of multiple separate felonies, and like 24 hours later we're posting links to the body count from Stalinist Russia.

Great pivot guys! Truly masterful.

[Lord Ratner]

I love how the President was implicated in a felony by his lawyer, who pleaded guilty to multiple felonies including ones related to the 2016 election, on the same day that his former campaign manager was found guilty of multiple separate felonies, and like 24 hours later we're posting links to the body count from Stalinist Russia.
Great pivot guys! Truly masterful.

It's not news to me. Manafort was a crook, who's indiscretions had nothing to do with Trump. And obviously Trump ordered the payments to the porn star he cheated on his wife with. That was baked into the equation when he ran for president. Get him to commit perjury, and I'll support the same punishment as Bill Clinton: impeachment with no further action.

[Prozac]

Perjury is not the issue. Campaign finance laws are. 

[brickhistory]

2 hours ago, nsplayr said:

I love how the President was implicated in a felony by his lawyer, who pleaded guilty to multiple felonies including ones related to the 2016 election, on the same day that his former campaign manager was found guilty of multiple separate felonies, and like 24 hours later we're posting links to the body count from Stalinist Russia.

Great pivot guys! Truly masterful.

So only topics you want discussed, can be?

Another benefit to socialism, it would seem.

It's a very good gig to be the one who decides on what exactly the "to each according to his abilities" are, as well as, particularly, the one who decides "to each according to his needs" actually means.

If you aren't the one, or affiliated with the one, who decides, this doesn't seem like all that good a deal.

Except, of course, if I have my work e-mails on a private server including the odd dozen or two of TS/SCI.  Then having friends in those places is golden.

As to Trump, there's a lot of "implicated," lots of "reportedly," lots of "supposedly," and too many instances of "this is Watergate on steroids" to count.

GDP is up significantly.  Same for stock market.  

Taxes went down.  Same for number of illegals both trying to enter and being able to do so.

"Woulda/coulda/shoulda" vs. actual things happening.

You may get a scalp (although with Trump's 'do, I'm not sure how it would be counted) with something not related to the election results of 2016, but then expect escalating return political fire.  Which all to often turns into ugly things in real life.

 

Bernie 2020!!

[Seriously]

8 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:

The 40 hour work week has nothing to do with socialism. Zero. No one here is talking about work hours and child labor when they refer to socialism.

Socialism is easily summed up by the old Soviet mantra, from each according his abilities; to each according to his needs. Another simple socialist concept is an equality of outcome (not to be confused with equality of opportunity).

They are not fatal due to the evil intent of their promotors. They are fatal due to their irreconcilable conflicts with human nature.

Remember, there are no flawed political philosophies, only flawed human characteristics. The success of a political philosophy is measured by how well it mitigates and minimizes the effects of those human flaws.

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I agree with everything you said. 

My post earlier was about the fact that people argue over the word socialism without giving any context. Everyone is essentially in agreement over everything except for the word "socialism" because people *do* want policies that make America a fair and equitable place to live in, where your success in life is determined by your own personal effort and not by who your parents are. 

But because the toxic label of "socialism" is applied by anything the Republican party disagrees with, we can't have an honest debate on the merits of such social policies as the estate tax, universal basic income or tuition free college for everyone, and whether or not those make sense economically for the country.

 

 

Brickhistory... what are your thoughts on the estate tax?