Media Can't Count, Gets Trolled On Trump Budget
I should begin by stating that I'm writing this before President Donald Trump gives his first almost-but-not-quite State Of The Union speech (historically, the first such speech isn't officially given the S.O.T.U. title). So anything he says in his speech tonight that contradicts this article can't be avoided. Just to point it out, up front.
The Trump White House released its first hints of a budget proposal yesterday, and in doing so they masterfully trolled pretty much the entire mainstream media. The first thing everyone focused on was the proposal to boost military spending by $54 billion, or ten percent. But the other focus was successfully manipulated by the White House to "journalists" who seem absolutely incapable of doing basic math. Get that -- the Trump team is outdoing someone else on lack of math skills! Really thought that would have proven impossible to accomplish, but here we are.
The Trump White House spin was that they'd be paying for their big boost to Pentagon dollars by cutting other spending in the federal budget. The trolling happened when they dangled a few programs which would be first on the chopping block. The result was that virtually every media report about the budget proposal said something like: "and Trump will be saving an equal amount of money by making cuts in the State Department, foreign aid, and the E.P.A." Few media reports gave any context to this statement, and the ones that bothered to dig deeper somehow came up with "these agencies will be subject to deep cuts -- as deep as 30 percent!"
Sigh.
It took me about two minutes to find the real data. Two minutes that was not spent by pretty much every "journalist" you see on television. Here are the results of my quick web search to find real federal budget numbers. All of these come from the InsideGov.com site, which uses official data from the federal Office of Management and Budget. All data are from 2016.
Total federal budget -- $3.54 trillion. Written out:
$3,540,000,000,000
Total State Department budget -- $27.7 billion:
$27,688,104,621Total international assistance programs -- $14.4 billion:
$14,369,401,648Total E.P.A. budget -- $7.47 billion:
$7,470,440,702
Total of all three items -- $49.5 billion:
$49,527,946,971Percent of total federal budget:
1.4%
Got all that? The entire budget for the State Department, all foreign aid programs, and the E.P.A. is less than $50 billion -- which is less than one-and-a-half percent of the entire federal budget. Yet it is supposed to offset $54 billion in new Pentagon money. Thirty percent of these programs' combined budgets (the number some media reported as possible -- and drastic -- cuts the departments could face) would be only $14.9 billion -- which would leave Trump's budget still almost $40 billion in the hole.
To even get close to the new military spending, however, even completely shuttering the State Department and the E.P.A., and cutting off all foreign aid would leave Trump billions short. This would mean polluters would be free to pollute, but that's long been a Republican dream. But it would also mean not only closing every embassy and consulate around the world and kicking Rex Tillerson out of work, as well as zeroing out our biggest recipient of foreign aid: Israel. Does anyone really think Republicans in Congress are going to approve that?
What annoys me isn't so much the blow-dried anchors have absolutely no concept of basic math (I've long believed this, so it was really no surprise), but that they all blindly followed the Trump White House lead right down this primrose path. They deliberately picked three things the rabid Republican base has long been taught to hate: foreign aid, those weenies at the State Department, and the dreaded and tyrannical "Eeee-pa" (with apologies to Homer and Abe Simpson). Later in the day, a few other budgetary scapegoats were tossed on the pile, including all funding for the arts.
The upshot of the successful trolling means few in the media have noticed that deep and catastrophic cuts will be necessary pretty much across the board for the entire federal government. Here are just some of the things which are on this list: the Border Patrol, the F.B.I., FEMA, highway funding, the Centers for Disease Control (and all other federal public health programs), student loans and grants, food safety, the National Parks, and too many other valuable agencies to list. They're all going to face some pretty deep cuts, unless Trump's budget boosts them, too (meaning everything else on the list will face even deeper cuts).
Those are all the things the White House didn't want reporters to talk about, or ask about. Instead, they wanted a gigantic debate over three things their own base would love to see cut. And that's exactly what they got. They were so sure of themselves, they even tossed another unrealistic figure out there: they would also be asking for $30 billion in increased Pentagon spending during the current budget year. They didn't even bother trying to explain how that one would be paid for, because they probably knew they wouldn't have to.
Liberals can get just as frustrated with the shortcomings of the national media as conservatives. Jon Stewart proved that (once again), last night on Stephen Colbert's show. Meaning I'm really not expecting a whole lot of intelligent and factual debate after Trump's speech, because he's already got the whole media pack primed to talk about bugaboos which annoy conservative voters. He not only successfully dangled these topics in front of the salivating media puppies, he also somehow prevented any of them from doing two freakin' minutes of background fact-checking. If this is any indication, tonight's post-speech commentary is going to be pretty disappointing, that's one thing I can predict in advance.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
OK, folks -
Sorry, no post-speech insta-reaction column tonight, somehow I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm required. I may check in later to answer some comments and see what others thought of the speech, however.
For now, hope you enjoyed today's rant...
-CW
What is not realized is that increasing the DoD budget will certainly excite DoD contractor stocks making them ripe for STOCK Act violations that the GOP will certainly ignore. Trump is shrewd to pull-off a George Washington: take no salary but live off the expense account and profit from Bull market defense contractor stocks.
Hey CW
When was the last time you answered comments?
Seems like it's been a while.
Anyway, I did enjoy today's rant.
I did a quick search to watch the speech, but got results for The Greatest American Hero on YouTube... decided to watch that instead.
I'm sure you'll fill us in on anything important I may miss.
If by chance you came across the figure, a mention of how much Obama increased military spending would be nice for a comparison.
A
So, Chris ... have you mustered some enthusiasm now? :)
I mean, wow.
President Trump's address tonight was, from my vantage point (and, I only caught the last 45 minutes of it) very impressive.
One thing is for sure, the Democrats are going to have to re-think their strategy going forward, whether or not Trump reverts back to his other self.
Got all that? The entire budget for the State Department, all foreign aid programs, and the E.P.A. is less than $50 billion -- which is less than one-and-a-half percent of the entire federal budget.
Yep.
The State Department accounts for about 1% of the total federal budget ... today! What will it be after the Trump cuts!?
And, yet, the president doesn't strike me as someone who could be described as any sort of hawk. He at least says that he is in favour of military action only when it is absolutely necessary and winnable.
That doesn't seem to compute with cutting an already massively depleted budget at State. Doesn't he understand that conflict can be avoided through more effective engagement in all of the programs that the State department oversees and to cut this department instead of substantially increasing its budget only makes military action more likely in conflict-prone areas of our world?
altohone (and everyone else who has been wondering) -
Yeah, I've been really busy, and I do apologize for ignoring the comments for so long. I have been reading them, but only do that late at night, with no time to answer.
What I have been doing is getting my taxes together. My wife and I had some tricky circumstances which resulted in having to reassess our tax forms for the past 5 years, and because of the newness of the situation, I've spent countless hours -- my estimate is around 150, so far -- over the past six months trying to get everything straight. Because the deadline is approaching, I've been working overtime on this project pretty much since the first of the year, which has taken every waking moment of entire weekends as well as many evening hours.
You might ask why do I bother -- why not just pay someone to do it for me? Well, a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I believe that an average citizen with a decent caluclator should be able to do their own taxes. The tax code shouldn't be so impenetrable that a decent amount of skull sweat and learning curve shouldn't be enough to get them done. I have always believed this and always tried to follow this philosophy.
Secondly, this year (for about the second or third time in my life), I have gotten professional advice, mostly because one form's instructions were COMPLETELY impenetrable. I mean, like they were written in Sanskrit. So I bit the bullet, and sat down with a CPA for an hour. I have one more hour meeting to go (next week) before I'm ready to file, but each hour costs like $350, so I like to be as prepared as possible before these meetings. This form is so bad that every other tax guy (and gal) I called up said they couldn't help me because the form was too hard FOR THEM to fill out, so I'm not exactly exaggerating that bit about the Sanskrit. So I had to go to the one person in the county who WAS familiar with the form, and (no surprise) she's the most expensive.
Thirdly, no matter who you pay to do your taxes (if you take that route), there's still an enormous amount of work putting all the paperwork together. I still had to do this work on my own, and the records were incomplete and hard to access at best. So that took a whale of a lot of time.
The good news is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and have completed at least a draft of my 2016 taxes to take in to the CPA. All EIGHT forms' worth -- I don't think I've ever filed more than three or four forms at a time before now. Plus, all the back tax forms (1040X) to cover all the previous years, together with the numerous forms necessary for those years as well.
As you can see, a pretty big project. But, like I said, I'm within reach of being done. One more meeting to clear up some final questions, then a last pass through everything to make sure it's all OK, then I can send them all in.
The good news is that now that I've climbed this rather steep learning curve, it shouldn't be too much trouble next year and in the future. It's always easier to fill out a form you're used to than to figure out a new one.
So again, my apologies for flaking off on the comments. I may be distracted for another week or so, and then I promise to get more attentive. But I at least wanted to make my case that I have indeed been busy -- but that there is an end in sight.
I thank everyone for their patience in my commentary absence, as well. My apologies for not being very responsive the last few weeks -- it was not due to anything anyone said here, and I can't even blame Trump for it!
:-)
Mea culpa maxima. Or should that be "taxima"??
Heh.
-CW
As for Trump, I must honestly say that was the best speech I've ever seen him give. More on this tomorrow.
I even thought he's finally got the hang of reading off a TelePrompTer, and has stopped waving his hands around quite so much. Somebody's obviously been getting some coaching, and it has paid off.
But, like I said, I'll have more to say tomorrow...
-CW
LizM [4] -
I think you're probably right, Dems may have to shift strategy in a big way. We'll see....
-CW
Let's just say, Chris, that if the Dems don't change their, ah, strategy, we're going to get sick of hearing great Trump speeches ... if ya know what I mean, and I'm sure that you do.
BTW, your tax situation sounds completely ridiculous, if I may be so bold to say.
I mean, how do you even have time to be in such a ridiculous tax situation when you blog in seriously non-brief format, five days a week!?
Yeah, I've been really busy, and I do apologize for ignoring the comments for so long. I have been reading them, but only do that late at night, with no time to answer.
You mean, no energy!
Given your ridiculous tax situation!! I was wiped out just reading about it. Geesh.
Liz,
President Trump's address tonight was, from my vantage point (and, I only caught the last 45 minutes of it) very impressive.
I know, right!?? :D
One thing is for sure, the Democrats are going to have to re-think their strategy going forward, whether or not Trump reverts back to his other self.
It will be interesting to see if the Democrats alter their strategy..
Or if their hysterical base lets them..
I think you're probably right, Dems may have to shift strategy in a big way. We'll see....
The question is not if the Democrats will shift their strategy or not..
The REAL question is, will their base let them...
Michale,
It will be interesting to see if the Democrats alter their strategy..
The real question is do they know how?
And, don't forget what Hillary said recently ... she's in this fight and with us every step of the way. I shudder to think what that means ...
Quote of the night ... on Trump's claim that Obamacare is collapsing under its own weight:
"Obamacare had genuine problems. But it was in no death spiral. If it collapses on Trump’s watch, it’s not of natural causes. It’s murder."
Heh.
The real question is do they know how?
Good point..
And, don't forget what Hillary said recently ... she's in this fight and with us every step of the way. I shudder to think what that means ...
It means, more good times for the GOP ahead...
"Obamacare had genuine problems. But it was in no death spiral. If it collapses on Trump’s watch, it’s not of natural causes. It’s murder."
Heh.
That's really cute... :D
Factually inaccurate, but cute nonetheless.. :D
I can just imagine the Trump haters are seething in their cheerios this morning.. :D
Outstanding column! Ahead of the pack. I'll leave it at that.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/28/trump-speech-congress-leaves-democrats-befuddled-r/
Just when Democrats thought they had rebuilt a grand sand castle....
President Trump comes along and kicks it in their faces.... :D
It goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyways...
I am very heartened by the fact that there are Weigantians who can raise about ideology and Party partisanship and give credit where credit is due...
Warms the cockles of my heart.. :D
Well 45 proved that he can lie faster than we can fact check, and in case everybody forgot because they were amazed 45 could read, let's remind ourselves of a few bills his hideous minions have put forward:
1. HR 861 Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency
2. HR 610 Vouchers for Public Education
3. HR 899 Terminate the Department of Education
4. HJR 69 Repeal Rule Protecting Wildlife
5. HR 370 Repeal Affordable Care Act
6. HR 354 Defund Planned Parenthood
7. HR 785 National Right to Work (this one ends unions)
8. HR 83 Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Bill
9. HR 147 Criminalizing Abortion (“Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act”)
10. HR 808 Sanctions against Iran
Don't let the incredibly low bar for 45 we have had to have set fool anybody into thinking this steaming pile of orange scum is anything but a blight on our nation.
Still nothing on the "replace" side of the healthcare question, I notice, apart from some asinine platitudes and an amazement that a $3.2T part of our economy is a bit more complex than his very simple mind can grasp.
What a farce. This stupidity will kill 44,000 Americans every year if we let him. It will also wreck the finances of many more as insurance companies get what the want from this buffoon - the ability to limit and/or drop patients who have the temerity of needing healthcare.
Oh, and we need to call out all this "access" nonsense Ryan and 45 are trying to sell us on. I can have access to a private jet, but it doesn't mean I can afford one.
I can just imagine the Trump haters are seething in their cheerios this morning.. :D
Don't let the incredibly low bar for 45 we have had to have set fool anybody into thinking this steaming pile of orange scum is anything but a blight on our nation.
:D heh
What a farce. This stupidity will kill 44,000 Americans every year if we let him.
Like I said, the Left has 2 choices..
Impeach or assassinate...
Take a stand...
It is also interesting that Congress are falling for 45's "blame shifting" con. I mean, after the Yemen fiasco and his attempt to drop all responsibility when the nation saw through the "amazing results" lies, Republicans in congress should have seen this one coming.
But they were so surprised he didn't actually take a dump on the floor of the house, that they let him off with handing them Obamacare to fix, but still insisting they repeal it.
45 has Ryan so desperate to not look like he is part of a clown show - he is going to go down as the dumbest speaker in generations.
Like I said, the Left has 2 choices..
You forget about the third option - force him to reveal his tax returns and he'll resign as part of a plea deal to keep them hidden.
This is why Democrats should show a pair and insist that they aren't going to vote on a Supreme Court nominee in a President's last year in office.
So, can anybody in the 45 camp explain something to me.
If you are a disgruntled ex-coal miner in Kentucky who blames immigrants for taking his or her job so voted for an orange moron, and now we have farmers in the California central valley who are short of labor, when are we going to take away the benefits from the layabouts in Kentucky that won't get their asses across country and into the strawberry fields and get picking?
So now 45 wants to keep illegal immigrants and wants the nitpickers in the Republican Party to sign on to the Democrats bill that provides a path to citizenship?
Did Bannon take a vacation day and let Ivanka put her hand up the back of the puppet?
You forget about the third option - force him to reveal his tax returns and he'll resign as part of a plea deal to keep them hidden.
Yea?? How??
If NOT-45 couldn't force the President to do it, what makes you think a leader-less, rudder-less and intelligence-less Democrat Party has a chance???
This is why Democrats should show a pair and insist that they aren't going to vote on a Supreme Court nominee in a President's last year in office.
I completely agree with you..
The Democrats should do EXACTLY what you say....
They really should.... :D
EDITORIALS
Trump's Terrific Speech Was Serious, Visionary and Reached Across Aisle
State Of The Union: President Trump's address to Congress and the American people did more than just deliver the usual banal presidential laundry list — it turned a man that many thought lacked the temperament and vision to be president into a real president.
Yes, he repeated his campaign vows to repeal and replace ObamaCare, to lower taxes and make them fairer, to deregulate, to rebuild America's infrastructure, to give parents and their kids school choice, to enforce America's immigration laws, and to strengthen our defenses.
Those are all welcome ideas that will strengthen America for all of its citizens, not just a privileged few.
And there were lines that were also meant to bring a divided America together. Early on, he said:
"Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice — in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our Nation. And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. What we are witnessing today is the Renewal of the American Spirit. Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead."
http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/with-one-great-speech-donald-trump-becomes-president-trump/
"We are so screwed.."
-Democrat Party
:D
Is February 28, 2017, 'The Night the Democratic Party Died'?
The Democratic Party members watching that speech looked like a party of the living dead. They didn't know how to react. They didn't know if they were Americans. They didn't know who they were.
Every time Trump called for bipartisanship for the good of our country, they winced. They couldn't stand it and didn't know how to react because they are the least bipartisan people in the world and they scarcely know what cooperating is. Working together is not in their natures. Yes, they talk about it endlessly but they never do it.
When the speech was over -- after there was no longer a dry eye in the house from the introduction of the widow of the Navy SEAL -- they left the room faster than fans of the losing team after the Super Bowl, only in this case they left so stunned you had to wonder if they would ever win the game again or even compete.
The Democrats -- the silly ladies dressed in white and all the others -- bet the house that Trump would make a fool of himself and Donald cut the legs out from under them. And when you bet the house and lose, you go home bankrupt. And without a home to go to.
e cut the Democrats' legs out in the worst way, exposing them for the empty party they are with nothing going for them but identity politics. Yet, it is becoming increasingly obvious that if anyone does anything for the inner cities, it will be Trump the builder, not the Democrats who had a chance for fifty or sixty years and did nothing. Bye, bye, identity politics. No wonder Maxine Waters is so apoplectic.
https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2017/02/28/is-february-28-2017-the-night-the-democratic-party-died/
For Democrats and the Democrat Party, the choice is simple..
They can follow President Trump...
OR....
They can get the hell out of his way...
The American people demand no less...
Neil,
Don't let the incredibly low bar for 45 we have had to have set fool anybody into thinking this steaming pile of orange scum is anything but a blight on our nation.
Don't you be fooled that the Dems can keep on doing what they've been doing and expect to return to power anytime soon.
You get an 'A' for effort, Don!
And, I still think a name change is in order. :)
Can you give me a thumbnail sketch as to what the Dem strategy should be, according to VV?
Don't you be fooled that the Dems can keep on doing what they've been doing and expect to return to power anytime soon.
Word....
Don,
Is it possible that you are wrong about President Trump??
Is it possible that Trump might do great things for this country???
Is that even possible??
As Nielm demonstrated in comment 22 it what is being done that you should be paying attention to.
Just because we don't repeat it in every comment, we all know fairly well what Trump is doing and how he uses the power of distraction.
What we should be paying attention to is what the Dems are doing or not doing and offer up our own special brand of advice as to what they should be doing.
And getting all worked up over what Trump says is his strategy, designed to distract you from what he is doing by getting you to focus on what he said.
But what you don't get, what you refuse to concede is that President Trump is actually following thru and making good on his campaign promises...
More so than any other president in history....
This is a fact that no amount of Party bias can change...
Don[38],
Please don't stop there.
You have to get beyond big money and its impacts on all the issues and get to the issues themselves and how the Dems deal with them to reach the voters they need to reach. And, then, it's a matter of persuading voters that the Dems have the better solutions to the problems they face and the better notion of what America's place in the world is.
In other words, I think you have to encompass the whole strategy if you want to grow your movement, not just the money part of it, notwithstanding the huge impact big money has on the process.
Michale,
Do you think that President Trump believes that the stronger the US military is and the weaker the State Department is the less likely the US will have to get militarily involved?
That's what it sounds like to me but, it doesn't make any sense ...
Do you think that President Trump believes that the stronger the US military is and the weaker the State Department is the less likely the US will have to get militarily involved?
A stronger US Military means that a US State Department won't have to work as hard....
Something about speaking softly and carrying a big stick come to mind...
That's what it sounds like to me but, it doesn't make any sense ...
It makes perfect sense once one acknowledges that today's world is a dangerous place and being the only remaining Superpower puts a target on us...
What do you think the speaking softly part means. What do you think soft power is?
You don't get any of that with a weak state department, my friend.
The world has ALWAYS been a dangerous place, Michale.
Michale,
Let me put it this way ...
Do you think the state department should get more than 1% of the federal budget for all the work (read: speaking softly) it does?
Shouldn't State and DOD be on a more equal footing when it comes to their budgets?
Senator Biden's dad had an expression: Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value.
Here is an example of how bad the Democrat strategy is:
In the wake of the president's address to Congress, Dems are criticizing his approach to Obamacare decrying the plan to repeal without a serious piece of legislation to replace it.
This is the sort of thing that makes eyes roll.
The Dem response should be to acknowledge the shortfalls and problematic nature of the ACA, number one; and, number two, to announce their own plan to improve the ACA and present it to their congressional colleagues and take it on the road to persuade the American people that they own the best way forward on healthcare.
So..
Who here is going to be at the movies on 5 May??? :D
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls053181649/videoplayer/vi3076896281?ref_=hm_hp_i_1
I know I will.. :D
What do you think the speaking softly part means.
It means that the State Department doesn't have to do any heavy lifting.. :D
Do you think the state department should get more than 1% of the federal budget for all the work (read: speaking softly) it does?
Shouldn't State and DOD be on a more equal footing when it comes to their budgets?
Of course not...
Does the State Dept need tanks and aircraft carriers and fighters and bombers???
Show me one State Department expense that is comparable, price wise, to military expenses...
The Dem response should be to acknowledge the shortfalls and problematic nature of the ACA, number one; and, number two, to announce their own plan to improve the ACA and present it to their congressional colleagues and take it on the road to persuade the American people that they own the best way forward on healthcare.
That's EXACTLY what the Dem response would be..
But do you know what it's not???
Because the Democrats are afraid that President Trump will get the credit for it...
So, the Democrats would rather see 44 THOUSAND Americans die than help President Trump help the country...
That says it all...
Show me one State Department expense that is comparable, price wise, to military expenses...
Referring to hardware, NOT personnel...
That's EXACTLY what the Dem response would be..
That should read SHOULD be...
My bust...
“I’m a proud Democrat, but first and foremost, I’m a proud Republican, and Democrat, and mostly, American.”
-Democrat Response To President Trump's Speech
W T F????
NOT FAIR!
You know I have to say anything is possible.
But I bet everyone else here would give at least equal odds that VV will be successful in 2018.
hehe :D
As long as you concede the possiblity...
Here is what Democrats, and MANY Weigantians, need to come to grip with.
The idea that President Trump might actually be a great President that does some really good things for this country...
If Democrats can't get behind that and it DOES happen, then the Democrats will be digging an even DEEPER hole for themselves then they are already in...
U.S. equities traded sharply higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing above 21,000 for the first time, on the back of President Donald Trump's speech to Congress.
Trump's speech, which was delivered Tuesday night, was widely praised for its positive tone but lacked specifics about tax reform and deregulation, two key components of the market's postelection rally.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/01/us-markets.html
Like I said..
Good things are happening because Trump is President..
Get behind that or get LEFT behind...
Don,
My point is that you have to do BOTH; surely we can hold at least two thoughts in our minds, and complimentary thoughts at that.
You can have one without the other, to put it another way.
Big money AND the issues. Both are equally important when discussing what the Dem strategy should be.
Michale,
I didn't say that the budgets of State and DoD should be equal. I said they should be put on a more equal footing than they are at the moment and have been for far too long.
Surely you must agree that the budget of State is too little and, at the very least, should not be cut.
Of course, that is assuming that you believe State and DoD should be equal partners insofar as preventing conflict is concerned.
In other words, a weak state department has lead to the militaristic disasters of the last couple of decades, for sure, and arguably much further back than that.
Don,
[60] revised:
My point is that you have to do BOTH; surely we can hold at least two thoughts in our minds, and complimentary thoughts at that.
You can't have one without the other, to put it another way.
Big money AND the issues. Both are equally important when discussing what the Dem strategy should be.
Don, I do get it that, as far as VV is concerned, you may and have every right to want to stick to the money issue.
VV and a Dem strategy for winning elections in 2018 may be two separate tracks leading to same station.
I'd like to direct attention to the book "The Enigma of Reason" by cognitive scientists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Reviewed in the Feb 27 issue of the New Yorker.
It broadly falls in the category of confirmation bias studies. People believe much more than they really do. Human social dynamics make it more important to win arguments than to reason clearly.
Obvious implications to US politics.
michale [42]
But what you don't get, what you refuse to concede is that President Trump is actually following thru and making good on his campaign promises...
More so than any other president in history....
This is a fact that no amount of Party bias can change...
Your party bias really is showing if you think that signing several Executive Orders actually equates to being a "fact" that a president who has been in office less than 2 months (any president, regardless of party) is "following thru (sic) and making good on his campaign promises... More so than any other president in history...." LOL
You're prejudging Trump in the affirmative against every president in history while telling other posters not to prejudge him negatively.
So what campaign promises has Trump actually made "good on"?
Occupy Reality :)
Your party bias really is showing if you think that signing several Executive Orders actually equates to being a "fact" that a president who has been in office less than 2 months (any president, regardless of party) is "following thru (sic) and making good on his campaign promises..
If he's been in office long enough to take the blame, he's been in office long enough to get the credit...
The stock market is but one indication that President Trump is doing good for America...
So what campaign promises has Trump actually made "good on"?
Jobs for Americans for one...
One thing that I noticed during the speech was that whoever wrote it was trying very hard to troll the democrats by pairing (sometimes incongruent) items so that their applause (or non-applause) for the latter would appear to be support (or non-support) for the former. I wish I'd written down some lines where I noticed it, but it's along the lines of (fake quote alert): 'I will cut planned parenthood because Motherhood is sacred.' (applause?)
Anyway, I heard the voice of Bannon all through this speech. Helped that I caught him with Priebus at CPAC last weekend (on CSPAN). His favorite trick is to set up a strawman in the first half of a paragraph, then slay it in the second half, as if he'd made an actual point. Just two juxtapositions from the speech that illustrate: when he conflated crime in Chicago with support for police generally, and when he conflated the ill-fated raid in Yemen with support for the widow of the slain soldier.
Re the latter: Trump's learning quickly that the best props cry on cue.
And CW has a serious point about the math: if Trump got everything he asked for last night, it would blow a hole in the budget the size of the moon, like, tens of trillions of dollars big.
Re the latter: Trump's learning quickly that the best props cry on cue.
Harsh. And, I think, faulty analysis.
And CW has a serious point about the math: if Trump got everything he asked for last night, it would blow a hole in the budget the size of the moon, like, tens of trillions of dollars big.
I think most people know that.
The question is what are the Dems going to about it?
Harsh. And, I think, faulty analysis.
Not so much "faulty" as solely and utterly based on Party bias...
So, yea.. I guess "faulty" perfectly describes it...
Like I said above..
There will be those who hate President Trump so much they refuse to give him credit for anything...
In that, they are EXACTLY like those on the Right who reacted the exact same way to Obama....
The question is what are the Dems going to about it?
"You know what I am going to do about this!? Nothing! Because if I take it to small claims court, it will just drain 8 hours out of my life and you probably won't show up and even if I got the judgment you'd just stiff me anyway; so what I am going to do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk, and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!"
-Jim Carrey, LIAR LIAR
:D
The question is what are the Dems going to about it?
Unite, I hope. Try to pull some moderate GOP our way, I hope. Try to win every election run between now and 2021, I hope. Be..(hmmm)...Indivisible. I hope.
Unite, I hope. Try to pull some moderate GOP our way, I hope. Try to win every election run between now and 2021, I hope. Be..(hmmm)...Indivisible. I hope.
Yea... Cuz "hope" has worked so well for the Democrats in the past... :D
Good luck with that.. :D
"Well... Good luck with that.."
-Jim Carrey, BRUCE ALMIGHTY
:D
Somebody said coal jobs weren't coming back???
Coal mining begins seeing revival as Trump gives industry hope
Wise County, Virginia – A long-awaited revival is under way in this beleaguered Central Appalachia community where residents see coal as the once and future king.
Trucks are running again. Miners working seven days a week cannot keep up with current demand. Coal mines, long dormant after the industry’s collapse, are now buzzing again with antlike activity.
“We load coal every day for the power plant in Virginia City,” explained Rick, a long-time supervisor for a major local operation who did not want to give his last name. “There's one shipment a week for Georgia Power, and one for Tennessee Eastman.”
The past month has seen a resurgence of the coal industry that once formed the backbone of the region's economy, and locals credit President Trump's aggressive, pro-energy agenda.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/01/coal-mining-begins-seeing-revival-as-trump-gives-industry-hope.html
Shirley, you jest.... :D
Another campaign promise fulfilled by President Trump... :D
How many jobs would NOT-45 have created???
ZERO..... :D
http://admin.americanthinker.com/images/bucket/2017-03/198035_5_.jpg
hehehehehehehehehe
Ya'all gotta admit...
THAT is hilarious!! :D
Somebody said coal jobs weren't coming back???
Apparently, the cat has a lot of fingers around here.. :D
michale [68]
The stock market is but one indication that President Trump is doing good for America...
Say... I wonder why Obama's economy was trashed when the market was hitting new records on a regular basis but Trump's economy is considered "doing good for America"?
It is true that my daddy's money, rest his soul, is making a fortune in the market, but to be honest and factual, it has been doing that now for the last 7 years... about 12% a year not even including dividends. That is really great for the approximately 50-ish percent of Americans invested in the stock market. The long-term historic average price/earnings ratio is 16, but today's P/E is around 28. Yikes. There have only been 3 other times in history that investors were willing to pay that much for earnings, and they were:
1. the years that lead up to the Great Depression,
2. the years preceding the Internet bubble in the late 1990s, and
3. just right before the financial crisis of 2007-2008, a decade ago.
The Fed anticipates 3 interest rate hikes in 2017, tax cuts coupled with increased spending means... inflation. Buckle up for 2018. Full disclosure: This is not meant to be investment advice, just facts.
I must say I am glad to see the Right Wingery give Trump the credit for the rise in the stock market; that way if it falls... and it always will... they won't mind placing the blame on PT. LOL :)
Jobs for Americans for one...
Okay, just to be factual, so far Trump has zero full months of job growth, but a jobs report is coming out on March 10 that might be his first month. If Trump gets a positive jobs report, which he most certainly will, he will have 1 month of consecutive job growth... just 74 short of Obama's 75 consecutive months of job growth.
I'm not trying to toot Obama's horn by any stretch of the imagination since there was obviously definitely room for improvement on so many levels, just trying to figure out how the Right Wingery thinks that things are so much better already when basically nothing has really changed yet.
Occupy Reality :)
Say... I wonder why Obama's economy was trashed when the market was hitting new records on a regular basis but Trump's economy is considered "doing good for America"?
I dunno..
I was just going by ya'all's bragging that the stock market reached new heights and that was because Obama was the new messiah..
So, surely if the stock market does even BETTER under President Trump, the same applies..
Right????
Okay, just to be factual, so far Trump has zero full months of job growth,
Despite ALL the facts to the contrary... :D
I'm not trying to toot Obama's horn by any stretch of the imagination
Yea.. SUUUURRREEEE yer not.. :^D
just trying to figure out how the Right Wingery thinks that things are so much better already when basically nothing has really changed yet.
You'll have to ask the Right Wingery on that..
I am talking about President Trump....
Do try to keep up...
Occupy Reality :)
Lemme know when you are on the same planet as reality..
Right now, yer in a galaxy far far away....
Trump gave the best speech of his political career last night. But it seems like everyone is judging it based on comparisons to his previous disasters and not on the content of his message.
What was the deal with the standing ovations at the end of every sentence? Are we really dealing with a president that deserves that sort of applause for saying something without attacking anyone or creating fictional events?
Dear God! I swear, Trump could have said, "Ooops, I hit my balls," and the Republicans would have been on their feet clapping away! I get it, Trump gets his self-worth from the number of ovations he gets, but at some point even he is going to suspect that the crowd's not being sincere! (Anyone else see Lindsey Graham rolling his eyes when he had to stand and applaud for like the 100th time?)
Trump's speech made one thing clear: He won't be doing any of the work or providing any guidance on how things should be done; but he will be taking whatever credit he can muster out of a situation!
Whenever Israel and Palestine decides how they want to end their conflict; whether it be a two state solution or whatever; just know that it all began with Trump's speech last night!
And Trump's order to agencies that for every one regulation added, two old ones must be tossed -- this may be the most moronic order ever given by a president! Which safety regulations should the FAA toss out? How about the FDA? OSHA? Regulations based on scientific research that show the dangers of using an item or practice will be tossed, not because they no longer pose a threat; but because another item or practices poses a greater threat! That couldn't possibly end badly!
Pump up the military budget while slashing the State Department's budget. So America will be all brawn with no brains, is that the plan? Why was there no mention of increasing the pay to our soldiers so that they no longer have to rely on food stamps to survive? Oh, because increasing military spending means more money for the contractors and no one else!
When the Republicans deliver on a healthcare plan that does all of the things that Trump promises, I will be the first to applaud his vision!
Trump's speech was the best one he's ever given. Sadly, he set the bar so low that it can be considered "great" despite lacking any direction as to how we will accomplish the goals he has set.
With Reagan, Republicans couldn't have been happier to see a wall being torn down! With Trump, they think building a wall is the answer to our problems.
Illegal immigration has been used as a campaign scare tactic by Republicans for years! Blame jobs disappearing on illegals -- despite no one bothering to explain how they influence corporations to move to the countries that the illegals are from or why they'd come here for jobs that were moving to their homelands in the first place!
Trump's gonna fix the problems that were never actually caused by illegal immigration!
Is it possible that Trump might do great things for this country???
Is that even possible??
Don't be a fool Michale.
A stronger US Military means that a US State Department won't have to work as hard....
Something about speaking softly and carrying a big stick come to mind...
This means you have to be able to speak coherently. Thumping your chest and saying "Me got big Army" isn't going to do any good.
And the size of our military is beside the point. We lost in Vietnam. We lost in Afghanistan. We lost in Iraq. We even lost last year in cyberspace to Russia.
When you are fighting water with swords - more and bigger swords won't help.
The past month has seen a resurgence of the coal industry that once formed the backbone of the region's economy, and locals credit President Trump's aggressive, pro-energy agenda.
Just a little perspective here:
Total # jobs created in last month of Obama's Presidency: 227,000
Total # coal miners in the U.S.: 70,000
So 45 would have to triple the size of the Coal industry from it's current size to match one month of Obama. And he's have to do that every month.
Wonder why Fox News went light on actual numbers?
Another interesting fact about coal is that we are a coal exporter (65M short tons in 2015, last year of figures). Most of it goes to China.
China just stopped coal imports from N. Korea - ostensibly to punish Kim for the missile test, but it helps China as well. China has decided to limit production to deal with their glut.
Let's see the real numbers for coal output, and not some guy's feelings. Some guy who wouldn't even give his last name.
michale [81] [82]
I was just going by ya'all's bragging that the stock market reached new heights and that was because Obama was the new messiah..
Oh, shocker! You're making up BS and attributing it to me again, and that says more about you than it does anyone else.
So, surely if the stock market does even BETTER under President Trump, the same applies..
Right????
What part of "buckle up" confused you? I believe we're headed for a recession in maybe late 2017-2018. Time will tell. The market just seems headed that way, my opinion, based on factors in place before Trump was elected added to his talk of further tax cuts coupled with increased defense spending. Trump is whining about the Bush years but seems oblivious to his repetition of same. Here comes inflation and all that accompanies it. A whole lot of this ain't rocket science. Perhaps the conservatives can save Trump from himself and keep the spending to a minimum and thereby avoid a recession. We'll see. :)
As far as the Fake News coal story, the coal industry had already started making a small comeback beginning around August 2016 when the price of coal doubled because China halted 100+ coal plants and is now spending billions of dollars to retrain 500,000 coal workers. China is going solar, moving forward.
The U.S. coal industry is in trouble due to the growth of U.S. natural gas production/fracking. The regulations under which the electric power generation industry operated were adopted in the 1990s and only changed in summer 2016. In the meantime, the number of coal plants began to decline in 2008 due to cheaper NG from shale fracking. NG is abundant and cheap so who is building coal plants? This too has little to do with Obama or Trump. Also, a rise in coal production/consumption would undoubtedly be offset by a decline in NG consumption which means thousands of NG workers finding themselves out of jobs... trading NG jobs for coal jobs is not happening long term. Finally, lousy air quality in China and them going solar and moving forward, and you've gone full circle. The world is abandoning coal while the United States president is giving lip service to bringing back coal production.
Tune in next week when I explain why they won't be getting rid of the robots at the car plants and replacing them with human beings again any time soon. There's many forces at work here, but it's accurate to say that America is losing its manufacturing jobs to mechanics more than Mexicans... TECHNOLOGY, that is.
You'll have to ask the Right Wingery on that..
I am talking about President Trump....
Do try to keep up...
I am on Earth in the Orion arm of the Milky Way. What alternate universe are you living in, and how many billionaire righties does Trump have to appoint before the easily conned clue in to the reality versus the rhetoric?
So PT gave a speech where he managed to read off a teleprompter and not refer to anyone as "Little Marco" or "Lyin' Ted" and managed to not spew birther rhetoric about the prior POTUS or accuse anyone's family members of conspiring to kill JFK or talk about America not being so innocent and having killers just like Russia and actually got through the whole night without talking about the size of his "hands" or his need of a Tic-Tac or grabbing anyone's privates, and this is supposed to mean something? Oh, I guess I'm one of the underwhelmed. :) LOL
The chaos Trump thrives in is by design... where cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias are the object of the exercise. Trump speaks a populist rhetoric and promises to "drain the swamp" and root out money from American politics yet Trump is surrounding himself with multi-millionaires and billionaires. Try paying attention to what Trump is actually doing versus what he is saying... you know...
Occupy Reality. :)
Later, later.
This means you have to be able to speak coherently. Thumping your chest and saying "Me got big Army" isn't going to do any good.
Don't blame me because Obama's State Department couldn't ever fight their way out of a paper bag..
We lost in Afghanistan. We lost in Iraq. We even lost last year in cyberspace to Russia.
And WHO was our Commander In Chief during those losses???
Yer buddy, Obama..
Now that we have a REAL leader in the White House, now ya'all want to whine and complain...
Kick,
Sorry, sugar..
You lost me when when all you wanted to talk about were my testicles....
Let me know when you are on the same planet as reality...
Because, in YOUR reality, NOT-45 won the election.. :D
Just a little perspective here:
The only perspective is that you claimed that coal jobs weren't coming back..
You were wrong..
Coal jobs ARE coming back..
The 'why' is not relevant to your claim and subsequent proof that you were wrong..
WASHINGTON — In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government.
This is exactly why I don't believe ANYTHING coming from the MSM about President Trump/Russia connections..
It's all a hatchet job by whiny sore losers who can't handle the fact that Trump is President..
Dear God! I swear, Trump could have said, "Ooops, I hit my balls," and the Republicans would have been on their feet clapping away! I get it, Trump gets his self-worth from the number of ovations he gets, but at some point even he is going to suspect that the crowd's not being sincere!
Change "Trump" to Obama and you would be dead on ballz accurate.... :D
That's what ya'all don't get...
When you attack President Trump, you are describing Obama to a TEE... :D
michale [91]
Sorry, sugar..
You lost me when when all you wanted to talk about were my testicles....
You lost your "testicles"? What part of "you needn't keep reiterating that your 'ballz' are perfectly dead" has confused you? How many ways can it be said that people are tired of the "locker room talk" about Trump's small "hands" or your lost "marbles"? :)
Let me know when you are on the same planet as reality...
Because, in YOUR reality, NOT-45 won the election.. :D
And how does the above fabrication square with your incessant whining about my disdain for PT?
Oh, shocker! Michale once again deflects to talking about me and making up more BS. In post after post, he deflects to Obama or the commenter... anything to avoid discussing issues.
Crawl into that safe space and hide, snowflake. :)
You lost your "testicles"? What part of "you needn't keep reiterating that your 'ballz' are perfectly dead" has confused you?
I wasn't confused by your deflection..
I was just wondering why you had to talk about MY testicles..
Are your significant other's testicles not enough for you??? :D
Crawl into that safe space and hide, snowflake. :)
You already tried to force that, sweet cheeks..
It didn't work then and it ain't gonna work now... :D
Because, unlike you candy-assed liberals, *I* don't need a safe-space.... :D
michale [96]
I was just wondering why you had to talk about MY testicles..
You seem deficient in brain cells so I'll ask you again: What part of asking YOU to stop talking about it has confused you?
Because, unlike you candy-assed liberals, *I* don't need a safe-space.... :D
You seem creepily focused on everyone's human anatomy. No, *you* don't need a safe space, snowflake... YOU need several safe spaces: Deflection to Obama, a commenter or the group as a whole, the election, or "R" versus "D" a/k/a party bigotry.
Are your significant other's testicles not enough for you??? :D
You lost me when you couldn't stop discussing your dead ones, and NOW you want to daydream about my SO's!
¯\_(^^)_/¯ Enjoy your fantasy, sickflake. LOL
LizM -
Just tried to send you an email, but your old address is no good. Please send me an email with your new one, thanks!
:-)
-CW