Archive 2017-2019 Political Thread

[Evan]

Funny story, some of you that know me probably remember this...

I've always wanted to serve in military as my father did. Unfortunately, my vision was outside the parameters allowed by all the branches -- even considering a waiver.

Last week I obtained some shocking news. Although it is not exactly rare, it is very uncommon to see sudden improvements in your vision. I've been -8.50 in both eyes for well over a decade (-9.25/-9.50 with glasses). Imagine my surprise to find out my vision has improved to - 6.50/-6.75.

I immediately did some research to see if I would be too old to be able to obtain a commission. I would actually be just under the age limit. Considering some past health issues, it would be a long road and quite difficult to be able to get medical waivers, but I have some talents and skill sets that many branches of the military desperately need.

I'm willing to fight that fight and accept a commitment to serve my country even though I have a 5 month old son and a 5 year old daughter. It would be an honor to serve my country.

But there's one problem. I believe our Commander in Chief is mentally unfit to be President. I strongly believe he is mentally ill. I couldn't swear an oath and agree to execute his orders because of that.

Here's to hoping Trump is impeached or forced out before I age out. It would be an honor to serve under President Mike Pence.

Although I have my own doubts and opinions about transgender individuals serving in the military, I'm willing to defer judgement to men like General Mattis. That our own President is unwilling to do so confirms what I just said about Donald Trump, a draft dodging coward, who believes sleeping around and avoiding VD is equivalent to the honorable service men like my father gave to their country during Vietnam. Even though he was not sent to Vietnam, my father enlisted in 1970, at the height of the Vietnam War, with every expectation he might be sent into combat.

'Tis a shame that our own President lacked the character and testicular fortitude to serve his country. While he was enduring his own personal Vietnam of immoral skirt-chasing and indulging his lustful and impulsive ego, John McCain was being tortured by the North Vietnamese. That alone should have disqualified him from EVER being Commander and Chief, but his mocking insults and denigration of John McCain should have disqualified him from ever even speaking about politics again.

 

[ARCC]

Is it just me or is anyone else loving this fight between Trump and Sessions? After his butt kissing of Trump in the campaign to get on Trumps good side and that pitiful email his office sent my wife when she called him out on it, I hope he gets a grand portion of what Trump gives and is.

 

[KoD]

Healthcare in America:
Politicians have spent decades arguing over how to pay the bill instead of asking why the bill is so high
-Adam Conover

 

[Matt]

Funny story, some of you that know me probably remember this...

I've always wanted to serve in military as my father did. Unfortunately, my vision was outside the parameters allowed by all the branches -- even considering a waiver.

Last week I obtained some shocking news. Although it is not exactly rare, it is very uncommon to see sudden improvements in your vision. I've been -8.50 in both eyes for well over a decade (-9.25/-9.50 with glasses). Imagine my surprise to find out my vision has improved to - 6.50/-6.75.

I immediately did some research to see if I would be too old to be able to obtain a commission. I would actually be just under the age limit. Considering some past health issues, it would be a long road and quite difficult to be able to get medical waivers, but I have some talents and skill sets that many branches of the military desperately need.

I'm willing to fight that fight and accept a commitment to serve my country even though I have a 5 month old son and a 5 year old daughter. It would be an honor to serve my country.

But there's one problem. I believe our Commander in Chief is mentally unfit to be President. I strongly believe he is mentally ill. I couldn't swear an oath and agree to execute his orders because of that.

Here's to hoping Trump is impeached or forced out before I age out. It would be an honor to serve under President Mike Pence.

Although I have my own doubts and opinions about transgender individuals serving in the military, I'm willing to defer judgement to men like General Mattis. That our own President is unwilling to do so confirms what I just said about Donald Trump, a draft dodging coward, who believes sleeping around and avoiding VD is equivalent to the honorable service men like my father gave to their country during Vietnam. Even though he was not sent to Vietnam, my father enlisted in 1970, at the height of the Vietnam War, with every expectation he might be sent into combat.

'Tis a shame that our own President lacked the character and testicular fortitude to serve his country. While he was enduring his own personal Vietnam of immoral skirt-chasing and indulging his lustful and impulsive ego, John McCain was being tortured by the North Vietnamese. That alone should have disqualified him from EVER being Commander and Chief, but his mocking insults and denigration of John McCain should have disqualified him from ever even speaking about politics again.

Good news and good luck. Do you not think he consulted Mattis and others before announcing this decision ? Read the oath.


I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.” (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

 

[Matt]

It is getting interesting for Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I predict this and the Fusion GPS story will show how badly corrupt the dem party is.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/26/wasserman-schultzs-pakistani-it-guy-arrested-airpo/

 

[Evan]

Oh my God. For the fire time I'm truly shocked by a catastrophe that Trump has sparked.

The Scaramucci piece in the New Yorker is INSANE.

HOW did Trump hire this guy? He's in the White House 24 hours and he's calling reporters drunk or coked out and ranting like a maniac?



Even I thought Trump wasn't this bad at being POTUS.

He only hires the best, folks!

 

[Evan]

Leaks are leaking out about the contents of a dinner held to leak theories about leakers leaking leaks to the media.



I mean who the hell leaked the contents of the dinner? Trump? Hannity?

The insane asylum atmosphere and the resulting schadenfreude isn't even enjoyable anymore. We've got to get off this plane before it loses another engine.

Even I didn't imagine things would get this bad. How can this continue for 3.5 more years? I expected Trump and team would struggle mightily to get things done and make amateur mistakes, but I didn't expect that they'd literally accomplish nothing while continually having their own grenades fly backwards and explode under their own feet.

We've all gotten numb and normalized to this. Does anyone realize how absolutely insane all this is?

 

[KoD]

The Mooch. The stuff he said is unreal.
The whole thing is absolutely insane, the immaturity and lack of productivity and insight and the image of the white house and our country...

I've been watching C-SPAN 2 Senate session for the skinny repeal, and how anyone could vote to sign it into law is beyond me... A midnight vote with the actual bill being hidden away until an hour ago is as sketchy as it gets.

 

[Evan]

Is it just me or is anyone else loving this fight between Trump and Sessions? After his butt kissing of Trump in the campaign to get on Trumps good side and that pitiful email his office sent my wife when she called him out on it, I hope he gets a grand portion of what Trump gives and is.

I did at first -- Sessions is a hypocrite and watching him suffer on the end of Trump's puppet string brought some immense schadenfreude. But, he's the Attorney General, and the damage this is doing to the DOJ, our country's reputation and its institutions, and the concept of justice have sobered me up.

Look, I'm not a fan of Jeff Sessions. I met with his office 7 years ago or so about closing tax credit loopholes that were being taken advantage of by illegal workers. His staff didn't have much interest because it said they would look like bad guys hurting minorities, and they couldn't afford that perception. Quite a few House Reps and Senators gave similar responses or never followed up.

Why? Because they didn't want to fix the issue. It was ammo to be used at another time. How else can you keep the base whipped up in a frenzy than go trickle out stories of non-Citizens or illegal aliens getting benefits or committing tax fraud? They were all too happy to collect the info. But they weren't ready to weaponize it yet. Actually fixing the issue in a bipartisan fashion and save the taxpayers money? Never even crossed their mind.

Think about it -- we brought them specific examples of fraud, waste, and abuse. Not only spelled out in a report by the Treasury Inspector General (talking billions of dollars), but also brought evidence from our own work and experience in a very tiny and specialized sector of tax and immigration law.

It is one of the reasons I'm so staunchly for immigration reform. Because the reason immigration hasn't been solved is because both sides benefit from using it as a political wedge issue and tool to drive voters. Is there any more evidence needed than we just had a President elected because of it? Americans kept hearing these stories and yet maddeningly the same people wailing and gnashing their teeth about the issue were the ones who REFUSED to actually do anything that would address the issue.

Look at the Healthcare debacle. It proves my point quite precisely. Years of saying Obamacare was the worst thing in the world yet they have no plan to fix it, and if they could have run against it for the rest of their careers they would have gladly done so.

It's why people are flat out wrong about Trump draining the swamp. Trump is the freaking swamp. He's an agitator that's always benefited from the very things he claims are destroying our country.

He paraded the Disney IT workers out as a case of how our broken immigration system is costing some Americans jobs, yet his golf courses and Mar-a-Lago continue to use immigrants on temporary work visas to fill jobs that some Americans would take. He's actually INCREASING his requests for more workers. I don't want to hear that he divested. He could direct his sons to end it in 5 seconds.

It is a giant con and either people are going to realize it very soon, or they are going to drink the kool-aid out of the vat while thanking Trump for the opportunity to kill themselves.

 

[KoD]

I was up late last night watching the healthcare skinny repeal vote, definitely was a nail biter. I certainly have more respect for John McCain after he voted in what he and other Republicans actually believed instead of how he was told to vote by his party members. I'm sure his constituents are happy with it too. In the end the skinny repeal would've done major damage to the Republicans, not to mention Americans... instead they just have a little egg on their face.

 

[Matt]

I was up late last night watching the healthcare skinny repeal vote, definitely was a nail biter. I certainly have more respect for John McCain after he voted in what he and other Republicans actually believed instead of how he was told to vote by his party members. I'm sure his constituents are happy with it too. In the end the skinny repeal would've done major damage to the Republicans, not to mention Americans... instead they just have a little egg on their face.

McCain is a worthless POS. Before the skinny repeal he voted against the exact same repeal vote he voted "for" in 2015. This my friends is why we have Donald trump as president!

 

[Daryl]

McCain is a worthless POS.

 

[Matt]

Have to call it like I see it!

 

[Evan]

Good news and good luck. Do you not think he consulted Mattis and others before announcing this decision ? Read the oath.


I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.” (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

From reports, Mattis was investigating the issue and hadn't yet drawn a firm conclusion. The White House did give Mattis perfunctory notification, but he was shocked, and is out on vacation anyway.

What was so urgent about this that it needed to be done before Mattis had completed his review? What was so urgent that it HAD to be announced while the man who will be responsible for it isn't even in DC and is trying to take some well-earned vacation?

It is disrespectful to Mattis in numerous ways, and it undermines his authority while attempting to humiliate him like Trump's done to others in his cabinet. Honestly, based off how Trump operates... this was meant to be a distraction and also likely a punishment for some of the candor Mattis has had when speaking out lately.

I know this -- Mattis won't put up with too much more of it. He certainly has a sense of duty, but he's not going to be anyone's punk without hitting back and resigning. And when you think about it, considering he's in charge of the Pentagon and is a retired Marine General, he literally delante have a choice in maintaining a high level of respect and authority. It's deeply imbued in him.

I would have mental reservations about serving under Trump, sadly. And, because I do believe the President has wide Constitutional authority, even though I disagree with some of Trump's decisions, I realize many are absolutely Constitutional. But, because I have such strong disagreements with the nature of his character and some of his actions, I wouldn't be able to take the oath right now. I take it very seriously, and there's no way I'd ever want to stand up and repeat those words without meaning every syllable of them. I'm just being candid.

 

[Evan]

McCain is a worthless POS. Before the skinny repeal he voted against the exact same repeal vote he voted "for" in 2015. This my friends is why we have Donald trump as president!

You listen to too much talk radio. First, although I agree the Republicans Hage much to answer for because of all their symbolic votes to repeal Obamacare, they were exactly that - - symbolic. Totally different once you have an actual bill. Especially one that the Senate didn't want to become law!

McCain did exactly what he said he would. Maybe McConnell and leadership should've listened? But, I'm actually surprised you don't see the other angle. A lot more were going to vote no because they don't trust the House. To be specific, they don't trust Paul Ryan. Considering how many times you've bashed him as being untrustworthy or a liar, how can you blame McCain for not trusting Ryan?

The idea of a skinny repeal was dumb. The idea of a clean repeal was dumb. The American people were promised repeal and replace, and the President said it would be easy. Not this. They shouldn't just pass any old thing to pass it.

Why no criticism of the President? Look at the numerous promises he made about Healthcare? When people told him he was being naive he strongly pushed back and said they don't know Trump. Where the hell was the President during this whole saga? If we had a President with good character, a decent relationship with Congress, and someone who Congress respected and trusted, we wouldn't be talking about this. We'd have had repeal and replace, it would have been pre-negotiated, and the White House would have been leading the charge.

Do you actually think Obamacare would've passed without Obama leading the charge? No way!!! He led from moment one, and he got it done. Why didn't Trump do that?

 

[Evan]

Oh, Ted, you were the chief liar!



That's something I forgot. Mad at McCain? These bills had less than 20% support among all Americans. Why would you pass a disaster like that?

And the idea that this means the ACA can't be fixed or can't be repealed and replaced is nonsense. McConnell could hold another vote today if he wanted to. Furthermore, remember back near the beginning of Trump's term when Healthcare died the first time? We were told it was dead then. It wasn't.

Seriously... people need to pay attention to how the Congress actually works and what they can do. Don't listen to talk radio where ever hosts just regurgitate WH talking points and summarize Breitbart articles all day.

I listen to 99.5 all the time, and how frequently they make factual errors is just unacceptable.

 

[KoD]

 

[Daryl]

 

[ARCC]

Oh, Ted, you were the chief liar!



That's something I forgot. Mad at McCain? These bills had less than 20% support among all Americans. Why would you pass a disaster like that?

And the idea that this means the ACA can't be fixed or can't be repealed and replaced is nonsense. McConnell could hold another vote today if he wanted to. Furthermore, remember back near the beginning of Trump's term when Healthcare died the first time? We were told it was dead then. It wasn't.

Seriously... people need to pay attention to how the Congress actually works and what they can do. Don't listen to talk radio where ever hosts just regurgitate WH talking points and summarize Breitbart articles all day.

I listen to 99.5 all the time, and how frequently they make factual errors is just unacceptable.

I've got a theory that I formed months ago and actually posted on amother forum. I kind of believe the Republicans will offer a single payer system or something close to it in the next year or two. As crazy as that sounds it wouldn't surprise me any. They won't call it such, but it will be another step forward. I'm sure the talking points would be something like, we tried to repel the ACA but couldnt or the Democrats messed healthcare up so bad we need to do this. The question to me is more of when they will use the political capital to try it.

Mark my words, if a bill as such reaches Trump, it's signed.

 

[Evan]

I've got a theory that I formed months ago and actually posted on amother forum. I kind of believe the Republicans will offer a single payer system or something close to it in the next year or two. As crazy as that sounds it wouldn't surprise me any. They won't call it such, but it will be another step forward. I'm sure the talking points would be something like, we tried to repel the ACA but couldnt or the Democrats messed healthcare up so bad we need to do this. The question to me is more of when they will use the political capital to try it.

Mark my words, if a bill as such reaches Trump, it's signed.

I don't disagree at all. But, I think that Trump's declining popularity means the chance is much less.

I absolutely thought that what you said would come to pass, but I saw it happening with a popular Trump that could make a deal and lead the legislative process.

Since Trump has shown absolutely zero ability to work with Congress or shepherd and guide a bill though the House and Senate, I think this is much less likely.

Not ruling it out. The OPPOSITE of a popular Trump and improving Congressional ratings could also lead to this. Let's say Trump is at 20% popularity, Congress is even MORE unpopular, and failed Obamacare stories are making Americans upset and outraged... I could then see the GOP and Trump doing this as a last ditch save seats measure in 2018. But, since it would require Trump, more likely in the lead up to 2020 Presidential election since he isn't going to do something like that unless it is beneficial to him. Trump always thinks of Trump first.

We will see, but you aren't wrong at all.