Trumpled (Alternative Leading)

[madbluboy]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/migrant...eec6851fab

[cookie2]

I agree with you - this all about the winners and the losers, and at the moment the losers are surely having there say.

The really interesting thing for me in all this is the 'inevitable backlash from the losers' when the strategy of protectionism which is being pursued ATM doesn't deliver any benefits to the domestic US citizens, most things cost more, the steel mills don't re-open, the stock market tanks and they are in a recession [depression] that they can't get out of because the rest of the world has closed their doors.

I fully agree that their are huge structural issues in the US [and UK] for those at the bottom end that need to be addressed, but starting a trade war is surely only going to make the situation worse for them - then who do they blame / turn too??

I believe we are witnessing the scene setting or conditioning phase of the Trump era ATM, with him confirming to his faithful that he is a man who keeps his promises and makes good on his threats. His real agenda is yet to emerge but from what I can make out it will focus on realigning US defence and foreign policy strategies, moving away from those that have created such disasters in the Middle East. Oil and gas will be central to this hence the appointment of Rex Tillerson. Just my thoughts, worrying times ahead.

[DJC]

Robert Kuttner writes about the inevitability of impeachment of the "malignant narcissist" in Huffington Post:

Given the sheer danger to the Republic as well as to the Republicans, Trump’s impeachment will happen. The only question is how grave a catastrophe America faces first.

I wonder how much that catastrophe will impact on our economy  ???

[Lods]

I believe we are witnessing the scene setting or conditioning phase of the Trump era ATM, with him confirming to his faithful that he is a man who keeps his promises and makes good on his threats. His real agenda is yet to emerge but from what I can make out it will focus on realigning US defence and foreign policy strategies, moving away from those that have created such disasters in the Middle East. Oil and gas will be central to this hence the appointment of Rex Tillerson. Just my thoughts, worrying times ahead.

We're in "phony war" stage of the battle.
Trump is setting up his fortifications before he starts building his castle..... while under constant attacks from his opponents.
Whether that castle ends up being Camelot or Mt Doom remains to be seen.
Now is the best time for the opposition to attack, throw a whole lot of negatives out there that can be used to undermine him down the track, before he's too entrenched...especially when he's making decisions that re-inforce some of the worst fears of his incumbency.

The problem is it's creating uncertainty and hysteria.
Sure there is a lot of outright lying that can be seen, but there is also exaggeration and misinformation that clouds the issues on both sides.
We read an outrageous claim and then spend time researching whether in fact it's true , false,  a half truth....or who bloody knows!

I'm not certain which side is actually benefiting from the protests....while it makes a lot of noise and grabs a lot of attention, how is the general American population feeling about it?
Does criticism from the UK, Germany, Australia etc add weight to the protests or does it have the opposite "mind your own business" effect.

A lot will depend on where they sit on the spectrum....
It's that middle ground who voted for neither Trump or Clinton, or who were on the fringe in terms of support, who'll determine the future of the USA....and the length of Trump's role as President.

[Peter Brady]

I'm looking forward to the Academy Awards so we can get a break from politics ;D
Won't that be a fun night as the celebs outdo themselves to prove which of them is the biggest Trump critic. :

[Thryleon]

We're in "phony war" stage of the battle.
Trump is setting up his fortifications before he starts building his castle..... while under constant attacks from his opponents.
Whether that castle ends up being Camelot or Mt Doom remains to be seen.
Now is the best time for the opposition to attack, throw a whole lot of negatives out there that can be used to undermine him down the track, before he's too entrenched...especially when he's making decisions that re-inforce some of the worst fears of his incumbency.

The problem is it's creating uncertainty and hysteria.
Sure there is a lot of outright lying that can be seen, but there is also exaggeration and misinformation that clouds the issues on both sides.
We read an outrageous claim and then spend time researching whether in fact it's true , false,  a half truth....or who bloody knows!

I'm not certain which side is actually benefiting from the protests....while it makes a lot of noise and grabs a lot of attention, how is the general American population feeling about it?
Does criticism from the UK, Germany, Australia etc add weight to the protests or does it have the opposite "mind your own business" effect.

A lot will depend on where they sit on the spectrum....
It's that middle ground who voted for neither Trump or Clinton, or who were on the fringe in terms of support, who'll determine the future of the USA....and the length of Trump's role as President.

My issue with this is that in my experience, its a classic case of misdirection, usually propaganda based and driven.

What is going on elsewhere that we are not focussing on when we worry about stories in the scheme of things that don't actually make too much of a difference??

The example I will use is last weeks "abortion bill".

No rights of anyone changed, aside from funding to foreign groups who were promoting abortion.  The Netherlands have since stepped up and filled the hole, meaning its business as usual.

What else happened that we were not told about whilst people were campaigning about Men deciding Womens rights, when none were actually removed aside from some funding??

[cookie2]

We're in "phony war" stage of the battle.
Trump is setting up his fortifications before he starts building his castle..... while under constant attacks from his opponents.
Whether that castle ends up being Camelot or Mt Doom remains to be seen.
Now is the best time for the opposition to attack, throw a whole lot of negatives out there that can be used to undermine him down the track, before he's too entrenched...especially when he's making decisions that re-inforce some of the worst fears of his incumbency.

The problem is it's creating uncertainty and hysteria.
Sure there is a lot of outright lying that can be seen, but there is also exaggeration and misinformation that clouds the issues on both sides.
We read an outrageous claim and then spend time researching whether in fact it's true , false,  a half truth....or who bloody knows!

I'm not certain which side is actually benefiting from the protests....while it makes a lot of noise and grabs a lot of attention, how is the general American population feeling about it?
Does criticism from the UK, Germany, Australia etc add weight to the protests or does it have the opposite "mind your own business" effect.

A lot will depend on where they sit on the spectrum....
It's that middle ground who voted for neither Trump or Clinton, or who were on the fringe in terms of support, who'll determine the future of the USA....and the length of Trump's role as President.

An interesting point of view is the one that states that the the real solution to the refugee crises is to stop perpetrating the devastating wars that create the refugees in the first place, and the US is behind a lot of these (aided and abetted by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to name but two), Syria being one example. It is interesting to note that the protesters are nowhere to be seen as far as these slaughters are concerned?

[DJC]

My issue with this is that in my experience, its a classic case of misdirection, usually propaganda based and driven.

What is going on elsewhere that we are not focussing on when we worry about stories in the scheme of things that don't actually make too much of a difference??

The example I will use is last weeks "abortion bill".

No rights of anyone changed, aside from funding to foreign groups who were promoting abortion.  The Netherlands have since stepped up and filled the hole, meaning its business as usual.

What else happened that we were not told about whilst people were campaigning about Men deciding Womens rights, when none were actually removed aside from some funding??

Not exactly correct Thry.

The Netherlands hasn't filled the gap but has proposed that nations with more enlightened views contribute funds to make up the shortfall created by the Trump executive order.  The US allocated $620M for family planning and reproductive health in 2017.  Of course, not all of that is allocated to organisations subject to the Trump ban, but there will be a significant shortfall to be made up by other nations.  If Australia is to chip in, there will have to be an equivalent cut in another aid program.

[madbluboy]

The media and the lunatic left have lost the plot, they were embarrassingly wrong about the election and won't accept it.

[LP]

An interesting point of view is the one that states that the the real solution to the refugee crises is to stop perpetrating the devastating wars that create the refugees in the first place, and the US is behind a lot of these (aided and abetted by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to name but two), Syria being one example. It is interesting to note that the protesters are nowhere to be seen as far as these slaughters are concerned?

I think that is a little unfair, most of those disputes have a social genesis older the the USA!

Western societies being relatively new think of family as a house full of people, in Iran or Iraq "A Family or Clan" can in effect be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of individuals. More than a Sicilian family, I suppose when you have a history of polygamy / polygyny it is a lot easier to have huge lists of relatives even without political alliances!