https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/05/politics/michael-cohen-book-trump-white-house/index.html

"Trump's disdain for Obama was so extreme that he took his fixation a step further, according to Cohen: Trump hired a "Faux-Bama" to participate in a video in which Trump "ritualistically belittled the first black president and then fired him." Cohen's book, "Disloyal: A Memoir," doesn't name the man who was allegedly hired to play Obama or provide a specific date for the incident, but it does include a photograph of Trump sitting behind a desk, facing a Black man wearing a suit with an American flag pin affixed to the lapel. On Trump's desk are two books, one displaying Obama's name in large letters."



:rofl:

Unemployment is down to 8.4%... an incredibly high/bad figure (probably has something to do with the economic crisis Trump is currently presiding over), while covid rages (looks like about 42,000 new US cases as of yesterday and 700+ new deaths), and Trump throws a crybaby tantrum because he got busted saying some pretty shitty/disrespectful stuff about combat veterans... stuff that's so bad even Faux News can't/won't defend him (yikes!).

Yep, things look positively peachy for poor little Donnie right about now, good call... :lol:

...things look positively peachy... — Enai De A Lukal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvAnQqVJ3XQ

Is the US going the way of North Ireland and it's "The Troubles"?

Why I pick the example of North Ireland is that the conflict between the unionists and the Irish nationalists happened also separately from the government and basically at the start of the conflict the British Army was introduced to calm things down (and only later found itself fighting a low intensity conflict). The conflict wasn't a classic insurgency and not a straight-forward continuation of the Irish war of Independence.

The basic problem is that I don't really see how to de-escalate or calm the situation. The opposing sides start to be formed between vigilante militias & Trump supporters in pickup trucks and the black clad Antifa / BLM crowd. Police now in the middle. Election results simply will not ease the tension and this is the basic problem. Would a Trump victory ease the tensions? Or would a Biden victory ease the Q-anon crowd? The cases of Kyle Rittenhouse and Michael Reinhoel show there's enough people with guns on both sides to take this to the next level. In a country filled with guns and with gun sales going through the roof, it's easy to anticipate what the next level will be. Also, the lack of any way to de-escalate the tensions will assure that the "next" generation, will "the fight" to defend their "cause and values" more literally. And that this isn't going to go away can be seen from how many will get extremely upset if I refer to both sides with the Rittenhouse / Reinhoel comparison.

And one problem is that the political establishment assumes this is just a normal election, that this is the way to get people eagerly to vote either democrats or republicans...when people aren't so excited about the candidates. Some other time a collective threat like a pandemic can unify the population, but not this time.

In other news 190K people now died from COVID, Trump still politicizing masks for some reason.

Mr Bee
In other news 190K people now died from COVID, Trump still politicizing masks for some reason.

190K people adjusted for population is mid-range internationally, plus there is huge variance in deaths between the states in America, just like between countries in Europe. A US average figure makes as much (or little) sense as a European average figure.

Masks have been a political issue from the moment governments started mandating them instead of recommending them, Just to put things in perspective.

ssu
The basic problem is that I don't really see how to de-escalate or calm the situation.
There is no will for that. The media have been whipping up anti-Trump hatred for years and will continue to do so.

Now, the neocon/neolib think tanks are talking about the "red mirage" scenario. I.e. Trump wins decisively on election day, and then all these mass mail Biden votes will keep arriving by snail mail... until the numbers are as desired. Of course that will look dubious to say the least, so expect media hysteria and street violents to continue past election, until eventually the courts will decide.

Masks have been a political issue from the moment governments started mandating them instead of recommending them, Just to put things in perspective. — Derukugi

They also mandate seatbelts. That's not political. So why is it with masks?

Woodward book: Trump says he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans

Whistleblower alleges top Trump appointees abused authority by telling officials to alter intelligence to match Trump claims

They also mandate seatbelts. That's not political. So why is it with masks?

I suppose that it's about whether the government even has the right to force us to wear masks. I'm not opposed to wearing masks in public. I'm opposed to the prevalent mentality that the government needs to treat us like babies who don't know what to do without them. I want to live in a society where we have more confidence in ourselves and take on more responsibility as opposed to usually looking to those in power for answers and solutions.

FOX Noise: fu45 to Bob Woodward, 2.7.20

https://youtu.be/5Z8nV10dFcw

The current state of the United States shows that they can’t be trusted to take responsibility. People aren’t wearing masks and are gathering in large groups and infections and deaths are very high. The government has a duty to get involved. That’s why there are rules about seat belts and littering and employment and any number of other things. Why so many people think wearing masks during a pandemic is so problematic is beyond me. Y’all crazy.

It's OK not to warn people about a deadly pandemic and let hundreds of thousands of them die. Because you're just maintaining calm. What could be calmer than a dead person?

What could be calmer than dead person? — Baden

191,000 dead people.

But it's OK, it's Trump. He's allowed be a racist, piss on the troops, and kill Americans. At least he's not Ant!Fa :monkey: :death:

Imagine being the type of low-life Scum who defends this guy.

But it's OK, it's Trump. He's allowed be a racist, piss on the troops, and kill Americans. — Baden

... but Hillary's e-mails! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oShTJ90fC34

:lol:

But everyone forgot bEnGaZzi!!!

... Anyway, whatever, two more months of this crap then it's over.

Anyway, whatever, two more months of this crap then it's over. — Baden

You're more optimistic than I am.

I already put money on it.

The very few times I bet I bet against what I want. That way I win regardless.

I just like free money. And Trump is way overpriced due to his supporters thinking he has magical powers.

It's voter suppression and other election frauds that I'm concerned about. Shutting down polling stations, falsely removed registrations, Russian hacking, USPS cuts and probably maladministration...

It's a few thousand votes in the swing states that will decide the election, not popular support.

I remember reading this four years ago: How To Win The Presidency With 23 Percent Of The Popular Vote

True story from 2016...

A friend of mine who was a hardcore Bernie Bro and spent hours on end campaigning exclusively against Hillary (mostly in Florida - where he lives - and Michigan - his home state) directed at his democrat friends. Not once did he have anything to say against Trump, but anyway...

He claimed it didn't matter as Hillary was gonna win and he was 100% certain. I wasn't certain at all, so we made a bet.

If Hillary won I'd send him $500 (I kind knew what was gonna happen, but anyway...) and if Trump won he was to donate $500 to Donald Trump's Make America Great Again campaign in his name and post it with all the mailings he received thanking him for his contribution in all social media.

Funny thing is this time around he seems to be a ghost in social media. I wonder why? ;)

But everyone forgot bEnGaZzi!!! — Baden

If you don't have really bad scandals, then make something out of a minor issue. It all goes along with the normal way how campaigns are done in the US. And anyway, with Q-anons and Pizzagates, no reason to stick to reality, there is a crowd for that too.

In the end people will just reject politics in general even more. And which party would care about the people who don't vote?

Woodward book: Trump says he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans — Michael

At the risk of being accused of TDS... I think that this is a not good thing.

The government has a duty to get involved. — Michael

"The government" is just a group of people. They don't have the physical ability to force everyone to wear masks even if they wanted to. This is why I believe more emphasis needs to be placed on taking on personal responsibility as opposed to just having faith that those in power will do the right thing.

Only in a very specific situation, and they don,t muzzle your face.

Woodward book: Trump says he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans
— Michael

At the risk of being accused of TDS... I think that this is a not good thing.

And at the risk of being called a Trumpet, I would like to point out that he added he does not want to create a panic. The toilet paper runs were bad enough as they were.
Which is absolutely reasonable. If had created a panic, the media would bash hin for that. Orangemanband if you do, orangemanbad if you don´t.