I happened to watch Nixon by Nixon last night, a HBO doc on the Nixon tapes. For those that don't know (and I was one of them), for some reason, Nixon secretly recorded every conversation he had in the White House (in person or over the phone) between 1971-73. It's what led to his resignation as his conversations proved he knew about the Watergate scandal.
In between the talk of "kikes" and "wetbacks" and "Negro bastards", Nixon rails against the media. The film opens with him repeating the mantra "The media is the enemy. The media is the enemy." At one point, Nixon chooses Romana Banuelos as Treasury Secretary. She is the owner of a large food company in California. US immigration raids her company looking for illegals. Nixon orders the immigration officer in charge to be fired and that the LA Times be raided for illegals because they reported on it. At another point, he orders reporters to be "harassed" by having the govt investigate them and look into their taxes because he doesn't like the way they report on him. He intentionally keeps the NYT and Washington Post away from his tour of China. When the Watergate scandal breaks, he bans the Washington Post from the White House completely. (EDIT: I should say I don't know if he followed through on any of these threats, or whether they were just heat of the moment threats)
It was interesting, and somewhat shocking, to see how antagonistic he was towards the press in much the same way Trump is now. Trump is way, way more upfront and brash about it, but some of the stuff Trump is doing publicly, Nixon was doing privately. It makes me wonder if political leaders of all stripes are as arrogant and calculating. Unfortunately, I suppose they are.
One difference between Nixon and Trump is the difference with their supporters. There was a line that even Nixon's supporters couldn't tolerate being crossed; politics was partisan but people still had limits. Trump's supporters don't seem to have any line, people are so extremely partisan that it's tribal. Trump could publicly do the things Nixon did and his supporters will celebrate it as "about time".
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
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Donald Trump reportedly rejected an intelligence report on his “Muslim ban” because it did not corroborate his claim that it improved national security.
Compiled by the Department of Homeland Security, the report said that banning all citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries was ineffective way of stopping terrorists coming to the US because “country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity.”
The issue for me with the right is that the main complaints about Obama were pushing through the ACA--which provided millions with healthcare (it's very far from perfect, but it's better than before the ACA)--they take issue with the Obama administration pushing for more protection for marginalized Americans, pushing to close private prisons, pushing to protect our environment and working toward more renewable energy.
I remember when CBC had that documentary on the greatest Canadians, and Tommy Douglas was selected from the results of Canadians voting... meanwhile a large chunk of the American right railed against Obama's efforts... (the irony of people with signs saying "keep your government hands off my medicare" is delicious)...
anyways, always found it peculiar that Americans (just under half at least) were against it and angrily so... i mean, you were up to that point, THE ONLY WESTERN DEMOCRACY without a form of universal healthcare... that's just mind boggling, especially for a country that sees itself as a "Christian Nation"... sure, Polifact said India and Turkey have policies that are underfunded and therefore 'don't have universal care', that's a silly argument. If they were, for example, the RICHEST COUNTRY ON EARTH, then their policy would be fully funded...
everyone on this board has had, undoubtedly, someone they are close to go through the health care system for something major and unplanned... I can only believe that they feel the same gratitude to the AHS and other Canadians for making universal health care one of the pillars of our nation that I do.
sadly, i think that partisanship has poisoned the minds of some and they will only come to that realization after a) discovering 'Obamacare' and the ACA are the same thing and b) Trump repeals it, leaving them high and dry.
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
Donald Trump reportedly rejected an intelligence report on his “Muslim ban” because it did not corroborate his claim that it improved national security.
Uh, he hasn't even signed any fiscal legislation. This should be just as scary as anything else he's done; it demonstrates his complete ignorance of anything economic.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
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Trump didn't take long to retweet the debt facts. For a guy in an important position, he sure has days similar to mine minus the tweeting. Get up, have a coffee, watch some news, figure out my plan for the day, and tell the world how great I am (for me, I just tell my dog).
The new EPA head lied during his confirmation about his use of a private email to do state business. Using private email to do business is not illegal in Oklahoma, but I assume lying under oath is.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office confirms former Attorney General Scott Pruitt used a private email for state business. The information comes week after FOX 25 first revealed the emails that appeared to be sent from Pruitt’s private email account.
FOX 25 requested answers about Pruitt’s private email use and if that account was searched for records in accordance with state law. It took one week for the office to return our multiple calls and emails and confirm they did search the account.
it demonstrates his complete ignorance of anything economic.
That makes him completely ignorant then, correct? I mean, I don't think we imagined he was anything short of ignorant in every other category upon election given his conduct.
The latest Health Tracking Poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 48% of Americans view the law favorably, compared to 42% who have an unfavorable view. This is the highest level of favorability measured in more than 60 Kaiser Health Tracking Polls conducted since 2010.
Quote:
Also, a survey from the Pew Research Center found 54% of Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act -- the highest level ever recorded by Pew -- while 43% disapprove. That's up from an even split (48%-47%) in a Pew survey from December, suggesting support for the law may be galvanized by the ongoing public fight over its future.
Quote:
Among those polled by Kaiser, the public remains divided along partisan lines on whether Congress should repeal the law. Some 47% said lawmakers should dismantle it, while 48% say it should not.
The Pew survey results also found that even among those who disapprove of the law, 25% want GOP leaders to "make modifications" while just 17% want to "get rid of the law entirely." And while most Republicans disapprove of the law (89% to 10%), they are also divided over what to do about it -- 42% favor modifications while 44% favor axing it.
Forget the golf, Trump has probably watched more TV in the White House in the first month than Obama did in eight years. That Herman Cain thing is nothing new. That he regurgitates whatever is on FOX or Morning Joe shows why he's so loved by his cultists: He's one of them. See something that fits the narrative or that he likes, treat it as unequivocal fact and go with it, and when the evidence mounts against it, go with "Fake News".
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Last edited by Senator Clay Davis; 02-25-2017 at 12:40 PM.
Forget the golf, Trump has probably watched more TV in the White House in the first month than Obama did in eight years. That Herman Cain thing is nothing new. That he regurgitates whatever is on FOX or Morning Joe shows why he's so loved by his cultists: He's one of them. See something that fits the narrative or that he likes, treat it is unequivocal fact and go with it, and when the evidence mounts against it, go with "Fake News".
the irony of course, is that he was elected on the back of #FakeNews stories...
I hate to sound elitist... but you have to wonder what kind of supporters Trump has?
i mean a bunch of them got punk'd at the CPAC rally because they didn't know what the Russian Flag looks like...
At the stroke of midnight on Friday, followers of witchcraft across the US performed a mass spell designed to remove the president from office.
A Facebook group devoted to the ritual has attracted over 10,500 likes, and coined the hashtag #magicresistance.
The development has sparked fury among Christian conservatives, who have accused the witches of "declaring spiritual war".
