American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS (Archive)

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Drak

Note the client copy stamp. Trump leaked as a distraction.

But Maddow knows that.

For her sake I hope she didn't. Because then she knowingly put a dud out there that only served to hurt her credibility and drive the "media is out to get Trump" narrative. Reaction has been overwhelmingly negative to Maddow. The fact Trump put these out as a distraction is irrelevant, it's on the media to not fall for the traps.

[ernie]

It was the plan they ran on last year they just never actually told anyone what was in the plan and you can see why.

Of course, THAT is actually on a good chunk of the voting public who failed to demand to know something beyond "trust me it'll be better".

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

For her sake I hope she didn't. Because then she knowingly put a dud out there that only served to hurt her credibility and drive the "media is out to get Trump" narrative. Reaction has been overwhelmingly negative to Maddow. The fact Trump put these out as a distraction is irrelevant, it's on the media to not fall for the traps.

What's the "trap"?

Even it TrumpNation thinks this two page 2005 summary helps him, the continued clamor for his full unreleased tax returns can only be a problem for him. How is the media out to get him, when he is the one with something to hide?

[Senator Clay Davis]

The trap is to sensationalize that they "had something meaningful", when what they had was a massive waste of time that only served to make Trump look better. There will likely be more selective tax leaks that paint Trump in a positive light, and eventually after several of these leaks that amount to nothing people really won't care anymore. Remember this is still America, land of the shortest attention spans not belonging to goldfish. And the narrative doesn't have to be actually true, it has to be believable. When most of the American public already thinks the media is too harsh on Trump, this only fuels that. Should never have sent out the tweet, probably should never have released it period.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by troutman

What's the "trap"?

Even it TrumpNation thinks this two page 2005 summary helps him, the continued clamor for his full unreleased tax returns can only be a problem for him. How is the media out to get him, when he is the one with something to hide?

It won't continue the clamor for his tax returns, if anything it will tamp it down. He can point to this and say "see, there was nothing. They published stolen documents and showed nothing bad. The real problem is the leaks where are they coming from?" or some variation thereof. It also allows him to continue his dishonest media narrative and play the victim card. You're reacting like someone who is reasonable and is using common sense, two things we know for a fact the majority of the public does not do.

Meanwhile the discussion regarding Comey's upcoming testimony about the Russian links and the complete disaster that is Trumpcare are being swept aside.

[dino7c]

Yesterday was certainly a good day for Trump supporters...in their own minds

People voted him in thinking he had potentially paid ZERO taxes and that lied about his wealth

to the average simpleton paying 36M in taxes and making 150M makes him look like the greatest most wealthy business man of all time

Don't tell them Warren Buffet makes 37M A DAY

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Apparently there's a possibility that Comey might actually go on record tomorrow about whether or not the FBI is investigating the Russia thing. Funny how this guy went out of his way to mention that they were investigating Clinton's emails days before the election, even though they didn't know if they even had anything at the time.

And yet he's sure taken his sweet ass time to go on the record about an investigation into Trump's Russia ties. This whole mess just seems so shady.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/14/politi...ion/index.html

Announcement is out. Comey to testify on the Russia investigation by next Week and be privately briefing Judiciary Committee heads this afternoon.

FBI Director James Comey has agreed to appear at a public House Intelligence Committee hearing next Monday on the investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election, Chairman Devin Nunes told reporters Wednesday.

Separately, Comey will brief the two top senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee later Wednesday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's top Democrat, separately said on Wednesday morning that they would be getting a briefing on Russia on Wednesday afternoon. A committee aide confirmed Comey would be briefing the senators, although other administration officials may be on hand.

Bipartisan pressure has been growing from members of the Senate panel, which oversees the Department of Justice, for more answers on the federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

https://secure.politico.com/story/20...xt-week-236081

[Flash Walken]

Canadians with cystic fibrosis survive, on average, more than 10 years longer than Americans with the same disease, largely because of differences in the two countries’ health insurance systems, a new study suggests.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes recurrent lung infections and other problems. The average lifespan for an American with the illness is 37 years. In Canada, it is 49.

Researchers studied records of 5,941 Canadian and 45,448 American cystic fibrosis patients between 1990 and 2013. After controlling for severity of disease, age and other factors, they found that overall death rates were 34 percent lower in Canada than in the United States.

There was no difference in death rates between Canadians and Americans with private health insurance. But Canada provides universal health care coverage under a single-payer system, so every Canadian has some kind of health insurance. The Canadian death rate was 44 percent lower than that of Americans on Medicaid or Medicare, and 77 percent lower than Americans without insurance.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/w...smtyp=cur&_r=0

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The trap is to sensationalize that they "had something meaningful", when what they had was a massive waste of time that only served to make Trump look better.

How does the 2005 tax return make Trump look better?

His taxable interest v. tax-exempt interest numbers, his qualified dividends v. ordinary dividend numbers, and his capital gain numbers suggest that he isn't a particularly astute investor.

His itemized deduction amount leaves one to wonder what it is comprised of (surely it isn't a bunch of charitable donations!), and if he rolled property taxes into that amount (which leads one to wonder why they weren't deducted from his business income line-item number).

His excess social security contribution suggests that he was working (at least) two jobs. What multi-billionaire needs to work two jobs?

His non-wage/interest/dividend income suggests that he was running his business(es) as if they were sole proprietorship(s), which in turn suggests that he took on some potentially significant legal liabilities (yet he claims that he has never personally filed for bankruptcy).

All in all, his return makes him look like a simpleton, with little forethought to arranging his affairs to produce maximum return with minimal loss at a later date. Instead, all he cares about it is the here and now.

[sureLoss]

Link

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

For her sake I hope she didn't. Because then she knowingly put a dud out there that only served to hurt her credibility and drive the "media is out to get Trump" narrative. Reaction has been overwhelmingly negative to Maddow. The fact Trump put these out as a distraction is irrelevant, it's on the media to not fall for the traps.

It seemed like she had never seen the papers until she was on the air. Seemed like some pretty nervous ad-libbing as she read the numbers. As soon as she held them up and said that she had the "two pages" you knew that it was going to be a disaster.

Was it for ratings? Sure, but there should be some long-term damage done here. If she supposed to be one of the smarter critics, shouldn't she have some idea what is and isn't a damning effective tax rate?

(And infinitely more so when the long standing rumor for Trump has been "0%"?)

[photon]

Trump Protects Americans comic (large):

Spoiler!

[Senator Clay Davis]

President Trump on Wednesday defended his unsubstantiated claim that former president Barack Obama ordered surveillance on his phones at Trump Tower in New York during last fall's campaign.

Trump again offered no evidence to support his wiretapping accusation, but he maintained in an interview with Fox News Channel that information would soon be revealed that could prove him right.

“Wiretap covers a lot of different things,” Trump said. “I think you're going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks.”

Trump made his comments during an interview with Fox host Tucker Carlson that is scheduled for the cable channel Wednesday evening.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.4dba06ddd4d2

[KelVarnsen]

I facepalm to pretty much every thing he says. That can't be good for my face or palm.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I wasn't watching, but following on Twitter it seems Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley appeared quite shook after their meeting with Comey. Read into that what you will

[Ozy_Flame]

I hope he falsifies evidence, that would be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I wasn't watching, but following on Twitter it seems Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley appeared quite shook after their meeting with Comey. Read into that what you will

They were probably shown the Russian pee tape.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So bad day for the alt-right. Travel ban #2 has been blocked by Hawaii, and Steve King's favorite non-America politician Geert Wilders looks like he's going to badly lose the Dutch election.

[photon]

Are they tired of winning yet down there?

[DuffMan]

Watching the little bit of the Trump rally that was on tv, I feel like I'm watching a KKK rally.