Trump 30: Donald Trump and the Deathly Comb-Over

[fraurosena]

2 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

What makes him think Subaru or  Toyota won't just shutter the plants they have here? 

You do know those are Asian brands, right? 

Opel, Volkswagen, Audi, Peugot, Renault, Volvo, Mercedes, Fiat, Ferrari, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Lancia, Maserati, Citroen, BMW, to name a few, are from the EU. I've no idea if any of them have plants in the US, so I couldn't possibly say what countermeasures these companies would or could enact, but I suspect they'll follow the EU's lead in that regard.

If you want to know more about American imports and exports, this article has a comprehensive overview.

U.S. Imports and Exports: Components and Statistics

It's far too much to quote as it also contains internal links to more detailed information with graphs and tables, but it's quite informative and easy to read. Despite the graphs and charts and stuff, I don't think the presidunce will read it though, as it doesn't have his name all over it in every other sentence to keep his attention.

 

[Rachel333]

What. The. Fuck.

Quote

In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China's President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn't mind making such a maneuver himself.

"He's now president for life. President for life. And he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll give that a shot some day."

It gets said all the time but seriously, just imagine if Obama had said that.

[GrumpyGran]

43 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

What. The. Fuck.

It gets said all the time but seriously, just imagine if Obama had said that.

Yeah, I heard Xi had done this and thought "oh no, Dumpy's going to try this stunt now." I can assure you Pencey WILL NOT let this happen. And Melania will stab him in the back the next time he climbs the stairs of Air Force One in front of her. She's having none of that either. Oh, and Ivanka would not be too thrilled either, provided she survives the next few weeks. He's surrounded himself with ambitious ladder-climbers who don't like him. He'll be lucky to make it to the Republican nominee in 2020.

[louisa05]

2 hours ago, GrumpyGran said:

Yeah, I heard Xi had done this and thought "oh no, Dumpy's going to try this stunt now." I can assure you Pencey WILL NOT let this happen. And Melania will stab him in the back the next time he climbs the stairs of Air Force One in front of her. She's having none of that either. Oh, and Ivanka would not be too thrilled either, provided she survives the next few weeks. He's surrounded himself with ambitious ladder-climbers who don't like him. He'll be lucky to make it to the Republican nominee in 2020.

See, I don't think so. Melania is totally passive, waiting for him to die so she can have her share of the money. Ivanka probably assumes that she is next in line for the "throne" if he can secure it. So it's a win for her. 

And Pence is a lap dog. 

I said months ago on Twitter that making sure there's no election in 2020 is his ultimate goal and got ripped to shreds. But here it is. And unless Dems win big in 2018, we'll have a GOP Congress that will sit still and let him do it as long as it means they retain some power. As for the Dems winning big part, we'll need fair elections that are untampered with by voter suppression and foreign interference. I won't count on that either. 

[onekidanddone]

30 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

I said months ago on Twitter that making sure there's no election in 2020 is his ultimate goal and got ripped to shreds.

I'm with you on this 100%. His inaction on Russian vote fixing and stacking the courts with loyal henchman is all part of his plan. Eric, Jr, Lap Dog and Princess are all in on it. Melenia is just an plastic prop.

ETA: Add his threat to Democrats for not standing at the State of the Union address by calling them out for treason. He later laughed it off as a joke, but it wasn't. His not staffing key positions in the Executive departments, not conduction security clearances, off hand remarks about shutting down newspapers which are 'mean' to him.  All of this is not a joke. I don't know how we can prevent this from happening. 

[47of74]

4 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

What. The. Fuck.

It gets said all the time but seriously, just imagine if Obama had said that.

Yeah the Branch Trumpvidians would have been calling for President Obama's head.  Paul Lyan and Mitch McFuckstick would have had him impeached before the day was out, and weak willed spineless Democrats like Gillibrand would have helped right away. 

Of course since Fuck Head is a white, "Christian" Republican there's no chance that either Lyan or McFuckstick or the groupies in Congress will do a goddamn thing.  Makes me fucking sick.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

8 hours ago, fraurosena said:

You do know those are Asian brands, right? 

Opel, Volkswagen, Audi, Peugot, Renault, Volvo, Mercedes, Fiat, Ferrari, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Lancia, Maserati, Citroen, BMW, to name a few, are from the EU. I've no idea if any of them have plants in the US, so I couldn't possibly say what countermeasures these companies would or could enact, but I suspect they'll follow the EU's lead in that regard.

If you want to know more about American imports and exports, this article has a comprehensive overview.

U.S. Imports and Exports: Components and Statistics

It's far too much to quote as it also contains internal links to more detailed information with graphs and tables, but it's quite informative and easy to read. Despite the graphs and charts and stuff, I don't think the presidunce will read it though, as it doesn't have his name all over it in every other sentence to keep his attention.

 

Fiat bought Chrysler (American car brand) years ago and is now called FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) and has invested quite a lot money into factories in the US, Trump even bragged about it as if it was an accomplishment of his own. But somehow I don't think that they're happy to see tariffs slapped over materials they need to import.

[PsyD2013]

The orange fuckstick thinks perhaps the US will have a president for life someday.  Someone needs to break the Constitution down into mono syllables (with no more than ten words at a time) for the steaming pile of orange shit.

  https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-maybe-us-president-life-someday-013540040--politics.html

[Howl]

9 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Melania is totally passive, waiting for him to die so she can have her share of the money.

Watching CNN this morning and they were joking, Who's leaving the WH next, Stephen Miller or Melania? 

We're in Abilene, TX this morning.  In the breakfast room at our motel, both TVs were tuned to Fux News.  Anthony Scaramucci, AKA The Mooch, was giving his insights about John Kelly.  He thinks Kelly is contributing to low morale in the WH because he's using the military top down model = and that's an ORDER, and not a more warm fuzzy HR approach =  Awesome position paper and GREAT talking points!  gives paternal pats on the shoulder).

Any of you who watch NCIS New Orleans? Agent Tammy Gregorio (played by Vanessa Ferlito) sounds startlingly identical to The Mooch in speech patterns and inflections.  I guess it's East Coast Italian. Any of you East Coast Italians want to weigh in? I have no direct experience. 

[GeoBQn]

14 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

What. The. Fuck.

It gets said all the time but seriously, just imagine if Obama had said that.

I told my husband I want to start seriously discussing our "deal breakers" for staying in this country.  He keeps insisting that it's not going to happen, that Trump would have to rip the Constitution to shreds to become a "President for Life," but how many unbelievable things have happened since the campaign?  Of course, I say this, but the only country we can immigrate to easily is Israel.  If there is anything I don't need now, it is another country of Trump supporters.

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, GeoBQn said:

I say this, but the only country we can immigrate to easily is Israel.  If there is anything I don't need now, it is another country of Trump supporters.

My niece wants to make Aliyah. She is a completely secular Jew, as is all of my family. She is heavy into the Israel/Palestine peace movement and feels by moving the Israel is the way to be the most involved.

Then there is this. Bibi is just like Trump. Besides being totally corrupt, he panders to religious extremists  

Israel’s battle between religious and secular Jews escalates with ban on Saturday shopping
 

Quote

 

ASHDOD, Israel — Throngs of shoppers trundled through the stores of the Big Fashion Mall on a recent Saturday afternoon, ­enjoying what is a typical weekend pastime in most parts of the world — but here, an act of defiance.

Mayor Yehiel Lasri has already sent his municipal inspectors to the mall to fine businesses that open on Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. Now, after the Israeli parliament passed a law aimed at enforcing Sabbath closures everywhere in the country, Saturday shopping at Big Fashion could soon be a thing of the past.

The simple act of perusing shops on a Saturday has turned Ashdod, the country’s sixth-largest city, into the latest flash point in a 70-year struggle between religious and secular Jews over the character of Israel.

Although Israeli law has long barred work on the Sabbath, known as Shabbat, it also bent far enough to allow places of entertainment to operate so that nonobservant families could enjoy their day off. More recently, in response to consumer demand, some stores have opted to open on Saturdays, with shop owners willing to pay often-symbolic fines as a cost of business.

Last fall, the struggle between the religious and secular escalated suddenly when the ultra­liberal city of Tel Aviv petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to let that city’s bylaws, allowing business to operate on Saturdays, override the national prohibition. After a senior judge ruled in favor of Tel Aviv, ultra-Orthodox leaders who hold key positions in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government responded by pushing through a bill to close down stores. The measure was dubbed the “minimarkets law” in the news media.

Meir Berger, who is an ultra-Orthodox — or Haredi — resident of Ashdod and a reporter for the national Haredi newspaper Hamevaser, said it was only a matter of time before tension in the city over Shabbat ignited.

“We didn’t really want this war, but with local elections coming up soon it was bound to make some noise,” Berger said. “The Haredi leadership both locally and nationally feels that if it does not fight to protect Israel’s Jewish symbols, then no one will.”

He said the ultra-Orthodox had made tough compromises in the religious-secular battle over Shabbat, allowing for movie theaters, bowling alleys and restaurants to open.

“But once you start allowing commercial centers to operate, too, there is nothing left of Israel’s Jewish character,” he said.

Secular residents speak out

Big Fashion — a collection of local and international chain stores, restaurants, cafes and artificial waterfalls — opened in this coastal city three years ago, and Saturdays soon became its busiest day, drawing Israelis from far and wide.

Ashdod, half an hour’s drive south of Tel Aviv, prides itself on being a melting pot of Jewish immigration. But the influx of Jews from all over the world — many of whom have different customs and beliefs — is producing friction among the opposing communities.

Alongside veteran Israelis, who see themselves as traditionally secular, a significant population of Russian speakers calls the city home. They arrived from the countries of the former Soviet Union about 20 years ago, and although they are proud of their Jewish heritage, their stores are far from kosher, selling bacon and shellfish.

Their presence has challenged the city’s sizable ultra-Orthodox population, who demand the closing of all businesses and services from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. They have pressured the mayor to take on the Big Fashion Mall — especially if he wants to remain mayor after the next local elections.

But Lasri’s efforts at pressuring shops to close has stirred ire among secular residents, who until now have been apathetic about local politics. Thousands have turned out for weekly demonstrations against what many see as religious coercion. 

“We want to live in a democratic state. We want Shabbat the way we like it,” said Rosa Milevsky, 52, who came out to protest on a recent Saturday night with her friend Julia Kopilov. “The only day we have to go out with our families is Saturday. We want to see everything open.”

Shmuelik Duek warned that Ashdod would end up like other cities in Israel, where he said the Haredim have imposed their way of life on the secular. He mentioned Beit Shemesh, where a few years ago ultra-Orthodox Jews clashed with other residents over the opening of a school in their neighborhood. A Haredi man was called out in the secular media for spitting at an 8-year-old girl and calling her a whore. It shocked much of the nation.  

“We don’t want that to happen here,” Duek said.

But another Ashdod resident, an ultra-Orthodox man who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said it was not about religious coercion.

“It is about maintaining the status quo and respecting the law,” said the man, who has been involved in lobbying the mayor to close businesses on Shabbat. “In my neighborhood, a city swimming pool is open on Shabbat. I am not demanding that it be closed because the law allows for places of entertainment to be open. It does not allow for commercial businesses to be open.” 

Debating the status quo

Even before Israel’s establishment in 1948, observant Jews argued that in the world’s only Jewish state, Saturday should be a day of rest — at least for the country’s Jewish residents. Israel’s founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, agreed to make Saturday a formal day of rest. But in a letter sent to leading rabbis in 1947, Ben-Gurion said there was “no intention of establishing a theocratic state.”

Ben-Gurion’s letter is what most Israelis use as the basis for what they call the religious-secular status quo.

“One of the clearest things about the religious-secular status quo is that there is no status quo; since Ben Gurion gave that letter to the ultra-Orthodox, realities have changed for everyone,” said Mickey Gitzin, executive director of the New Israel Fund in Israel and founder of Be Free Israel, a grass-roots movement that promotes religious pluralism. 

He says that neither group has stuck to its side of the bargain because both have had to accommodate the changing demands of their own communities. 

The divisions in Ashdod, where nearly one-third of the 250,000 residents are ultra-Orthodox, are reflected in wider Israeli society. According to data published by the Pew Research Center in 2016, about one-quarter of Israeli Jews are ultra-Orthodox or otherwise religious, while the rest consider themselves secular or traditional. (Slightly more than one-fifth of Israelis are Arabs, and Saturday business is legal in their towns.)

[Western Wall rabbi apologizes for gender segregation during Pence visit but says rules won’t change]

In ruling in favor of Tel Aviv’s court petition, Judge Miriam Naor waded into the middle of the dispute over the meaning of the religious-secular status quo in modern Israel. She noted that “while protecting the special character of Shabbat, every individual must be allowed to formulate his Shabbat in accordance with his own path and his beliefs, and fill it with content that is appropriate for himself.”

Angered by the ruling, the influential leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Aryeh Deri — who is also Netanyahu’s interior minister — drafted legislation ramping up his own powers to override local authorities.

The move was controversial, drawing criticism from many of Netanyahu’s other coalition partners and even members of the prime minister’s own Likud faction. Likud lawmaker Sharren Haskel was nearly thrown out of the party for breaking rank by saying the law was “trying to force a certain way of life on the entire public.” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Israel Beitenu faction in Netanyahu’s government and himself a Russian-speaking immigrant, also protested the law. 

Yet the law managed to pass by a narrow majority in parliament after Deri threatened to quit Netanyahu’s coalition.

Days later, in an act of defiance, Lieberman made a high-profile visit to Ashdod — on a Saturday. In front of television cameras, he made a point of drinking coffee in the mall and warned that the law would further divide the nation. 

A test at the mall

Israel Cohen, editor of the ­ultra-Orthodox news website Kikar HaShabbat, said that ­Ashdod has become a test case for the law.  

“The truth is the Haredim don’t really care about Tel Aviv. They have accepted it is a liberal, secular city. But if this law is successfully enforced in Ashdod, then other cities will follow,” he said. 

At the Big Fashion Mall, however, shoppers and shopkeepers alike were troubled by attempts to close the place on Shabbat.

“Oy vey if that happens,” said Arin Matias, a 24-year-old student working in an upscale deli packed with shoppers. “I study all week. The only day I have to work is on Saturday. How will I be able to pay for school?”

At a small jewelry stand he runs in the mall, Yair Dor, 30, expressed similar concern.

“I want Saturdays in Israel to be like they are in America,” he said. “Saturdays are our busiest days — just because religious people want to stay home and punish themselves, why should we?”

 

 

[GrumpyGran]

13 hours ago, louisa05 said:

And Pence is a lap dog. 

Got to disagree with this. Pencey has an agenda that Dump is not advancing. No way he's going to sit in the shadows for twenty years. And, yes, that is a possibility. Dump's dad was 93 when he died, his mother was 88. These vultures aren't going to wait to have their day in the sun.

[fraurosena]

4 minutes ago, GrumpyGran said:

Got to disagree with this. Pencey has an agenda that Dump is not advancing. No way he's going to sit in the shadows for twenty years. And, yes, that is a possibility. Dump's dad was 93 when he died, his mother was 88. These vultures aren't going to wait to have their day in the sun.

Looking at pictures of his parents though, I don't think they adhered to the same fast food and cola diet he does now. Even in old age, they look thin and sprightly. Their son has a totally different, and rather obese physique.

Their longevity may be due to genes, but unhealthy living will trump those genes every time.

I agree with you about Pencey-poo. That Lurch-wannabe is waiting silently in the wings, biding his time, doing all sorts of sneaky behind the scenes creepy evangelical agenda business, until impeachment comes along. 

[louisa05]

30 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Their longevity may be due to genes, but unhealthy living will trump those genes every time.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case. My very fit dad, who ate a very healthy diet his whole life, died of esophageal cancer (no, it isn't only caused by alcohol or cigarettes) at 73. 

My alcoholic uncle who eats nothing but meat and dairy and starts drinking straight vodka with Crystal Light powder in it every morning at about 10 a.m. and continues all day long and who my mother recently witnessed telling a cardiologist in the hospital that he absolutely will not exercise, never has and is not starting now....well, that guy is going to be 83 in a few months. 

My brother and I and my cousins who are not the spawn of the alcoholic have all discussed more than once how ridiculously unfair that is. We feel terrible about it, but that is how we feel. 

 

[GrumpyGran]

1 hour ago, louisa05 said:

Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Yeah, I agree. Sadly he would not be able to actually even walk to the tee on the golf course at 71 if he hadn't won the gene lottery. Think about it, he's been eating that horrible diet for years. He doesn't exercise. He's getting better care and food now than he ever has before so I don't have any hope of him dropping dead anytime soon.

[JMarie]

8 hours ago, GrumpyGran said:

He's getting better care and food now than he ever has before

He has access to healthy food, but it doesn't mean he's actually eating the healthy food.  I doubt his diet has changed since moving to the White House.

[Bethella]

39 minutes ago, JMarie said:

He has access to healthy food, but it doesn't mean he's actually eating the healthy food.  I doubt his diet has changed since moving to the White House.

He has reportedly changed his diet. (I'm taking it with a grain of salt).

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-swaps-beloved-burgers-salads-215105053.html

[Rachel333]

Remember the hysteria over Obama being a potential dictator?

 

[fraurosena]

His heightened and belligerent focus on trade is a deflection for something. I wonder what Mueller is investigating that has him so riled right now. Could it be... his finances? 

 

[GrumpyGran]

3 hours ago, fraurosena said:

His heightened and belligerent focus on trade is a deflection for something.

We do know he doesn't have an original thought other than "size". This whole trade thing came from somewhere but who knows where. I guess this week we'll see the Hope-less effect. Oh, boy, can't wait. No Rob Porter, no Hope, I think Kelly is hoping Dumpy will rely more on him now but IDK, I think the hatred for Kelly is embedded. He's adrift now, no anchor.

[fraurosena]

57 minutes ago, GrumpyGran said:

We do know he doesn't have an original thought other than "size". This whole trade thing came from somewhere but who knows where. I guess this week we'll see the Hope-less effect. Oh, boy, can't wait. No Rob Porter, no Hope, I think Kelly is hoping Dumpy will rely more on him now but IDK, I think the hatred for Kelly is embedded. He's adrift now, no anchor.

I gather that Wilbur Ross and some executives from the steel and aluminum industry were whispering in the presidunce's ear just before he decided on the trade war, so I think that's where the idea originated. There was some brouhaha about the executives as nobody knew they were coming and they didn't have security clearances, but got into the Oval Office anyway. I'd have to look up where I read that, but I think it's been posted here somewhere, although I'm not sure where exactly.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GrumpyGran]

52 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

I gather that Wilbur Ross and some executives from the steel and aluminum industry were whispering in the presidunce's ear just before he decided on the trade war, so I think that's where the idea originated. There was some brouhaha about the executives as nobody knew they were coming and they didn't have security clearances, but got into the Oval Office anyway. I'd have to look up where I read that, but I think it's been posted here somewhere, although I'm not sure where exactly.

Oh, yeah, that's right, I remember hearing that it was a covert meeting with Ross when Kelly was doing what? Sleeping maybe? With all the whispering in his ear it must be like a wind tunnel in his head.

[47of74]

This makes me smile.

More than a dozen police wearing bulletproof vests entered the lobby of the Trump International Hotel in Panama on Monday morning and evicted the Trump Organization’s staff, a move that comes after weeks of simmering tensions over control of the property.

The Trump Organization manages the hotel in the 70-story tower overlooking the Punta Pacifica Peninsula and the new majority owner had gone to court in the U.S. and Panama to evict the company run by President Donald Trump’s sons. There were scuffles as police arrived to carry out the eviction, and Panamanian court officials were present.

I wonder if Panama will next figure prominently in the next two a.m. tweet storms.

[onekidanddone]

2 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

This makes me smile.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if Panama will next figure prominently in the next two a.m. tweet storms.

 

 

 

I'm gathering up a collection to send the Trump crime family a 'thoughts and prayers' sympathy card. Anybody want to chip in?