He was no more a product of capitalism than any other sociopathic kidnapper. — Hanover

Except Mr. Ciavarella received bribes ($$$) from the owners of private, for-profit juvenile for sentencing children to extended stays for minor offences. Hard to imagine that a situation in which there is a profitable market for throwing children into prison isn't interrelated to the unrestrained ideal of Capitalism.

Does anyone else hear a strange 'cooing' noise?

Oh yes the Kids For Cash scandal really epitomized American Capitalism at the time.

So much of this is absurd.

No one doubts that he is the legitimate President of the Unites States. He won the electoral college based on a choice that voters made, even if they were influenced by Russian propaganda and agitprop. However, considering that leading members of the inquiry, Mueller, Chris Wray, Rosenstein are Republicans, not to mention that the IG report showed no partisan bias, and that the inquiry itself has been defended by top Republican politicians, it is simply wrong to conclude that this is an attempt by Democrats to legitimize him. That Russia interfered with our election is the accepted conclusion by seven different federal and congressional intelligence groups, including the FBI, CIA, the NSA, and the House and Senate Intelligence Committee, who have warned that we are susceptible to attacks in the future. To think that this inquiry is "against Trump" instead of the broader "protecting the democratic process", is to assume some type of Deep State conspiracy. That several people close to Trump have been indicted is also true.

The proof of this is in the pudding, but Trump would rather slurp on the borscht, and that's deeply concerning.

I do think it's doubtful that if Clinton had won, we'd be seeing this same inquiry into Russian interference, which does suggest that the inquiry is against Trump and not just a sudden desire to clean up our process. — Hanover

You do realize you've reifiied a hypothetical, right?

Amongst Rep he is still at 87%.

About 9 republicans out of 10 still support him, after this weeks revelations. — Akanthinos

Whatever current polls state generally reflect what occurred a week or two ago. Polling isn't instantaneous. That said, there will always be those, as you mentioned, who lap up the Trump punch.

I am very curious to see how his approval rating will look in a week or two.

I feel like today is a major turning point, but it's obviously hard to say with certainty.

"I don't like professors teaching about the facts of race history, so these people should be thrown in jails."

Just learned that Harry and William refused to meet with Trump, who, in 1997, said that he could have "nailed" Diana, but only if she got tested for AIDs first.

Finally got around to reading the Trump-Putin conference and my jaw is on the floor, yet I'm not surprised at Trump's response. Still utterly surreal.

I'm hoping Warren runs in 2020

A fun fact about the phrase 'drain the swamp' is that was first tested by Cambridge Analytica (created by White Nationalist Steve Bannon and the multi-billionaire Mercer family). They pitched to Trump who originally "hated it" and thought it was "hokey", but since it tested positively he kept it.

Well if you are too lazy to expand I won't stop you.

I mean just within the last week Trump called the EU a "foe", criticized May then lied about it, said that Germany was controlled by Russia, and said immigrants are destroying EU culture, called journalists the "enemies of the people", and praised Putin. I mean these are all blunt things, but is this the type of leader the US needs? What do you even think about all this @ArguingWAristotleTiff?

If that is true Maw, then why such an uproar to everything Trump suggests? :chin: — ArguingWAristotleTiff

There is a difference between 'Telling It Like It Is' as saying something true albeit blunt, and 'Telling It Like It Is' as saying something false and blunt. Obviously the uproar stems from the fact that Trump is mostly in the latter category.

“It’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia where we’re supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” -President Trump — ArguingWAristotleTiff

This is an example of Trump taking a complicated geo-political subject and transforming it into a coarse accusation that merely alienates allies. Trump is atrocious at diplomacy. Outside of the United States, Russia is the largest exporter of natural gases, and from a geographical/financial pov it makes sense that importing Russian gas to Germany and Europe is cheaper than importing it from the US. Obama also told the EU it needed to reduce dependence on Russian gas and there were talks of a trade agreement. What solutions do you think Trump will propose that the EU? Do you think Germany should simply drop Russia as a source for energy, effectively dropping its energy usage by ~18%? You think the EU will happily accept Trump's proposals now that he's alienated Germany saying that they are "totally controlled by Russia", which is a blunt lie, not to mention that fact that he is objectively more coarse with our allies than with Russia. There are more things in heaven and earth, Tiff, than are dreamt of in Trump's philosophy. He's one dimensional.

Like most shit storms, there was more than one cause and more than one solution. The USA has lead the charge for world health crisis (Eboli and HIV), the USA set to arrive to help in world disasters such as Tsunamis and Earth Quakes. The USA is not only involved in military theaters despite your suggestions. — ArguingWAristotleTiff

Sure, but these are only examples of natural crises (not all of which occur on the "world's stage"). Funny you should mention Ebola because the United States' response was highly criticized, and the United States very arguable worsened the initial response to AIDS thanks to the insouciance of the Reagan administration. I'm not suggesting that the US shouldn't provide aid to foreign countries, but this idea that the world would be far less better off without the United States sounds like jingoism, because in many areas around the world our interference has been detrimental, so it's no surprise that many countries are skeptical of US involvement.

Marx's Capital is such a wonderful book. One of the best tomes that few people read - up there with Leopardi's Ziboldone, Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, and Montaigne's Essays.

That Trump "tells it like it is", is chicanery in the same vein as Bush being the guy you'd "rather have a beer with", or Reagan being sooo charismatic and funny.

So he could say things bluntly that past presidents would only express gently. — ArguingWAristotleTiff

Like wut? (Direct quotes pls)

how about Ireland handle the "NEXT" shit storm that happens on the world stage — ArguingWAristotleTiff

What's an example of a shit storm on the world's stage in the last 30 years that America solved (that it didn't create).

The Irish have better drinking habits, but America has better beer now.

Yeah when Trump is asked about Brexit during a press conference and instead discusses his property in Scotland and how he won Wisconsin, I'm like wow, what a refreshing, independent, and honest voice.

Everyone, including Obama himself, didn't think he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

Not because of compromat but because Putin helped him get elected and he's happy about that — Baden

No, Trump didn't want to become President.

I guess if you're just a dull white dude who doesn't really care about others, then yeah I can kinda imagine not seeing the harm that Trump inflicts.

Are you suggesting that we ignore what the President of the United States says?

I think Trump's comments on how immigration has "ruined European culture" should have received a lot more outrage and news coverage, at least more so than his criticisms of May. As if it weren't obvious before, he's a white nationalist.

@raza is a pigeon on a chess board. Don't feed the fowl.

and it will shape politics for generations. — Hanover

Clearly, for the worse.

yup July 27th 2016

Trump doubled-down on his white nationalism anti-immigration statements today in a press conference.

He is most assuredly involved.

A candidate for US Congress apparently requested these stolen documents according to the written report.

I can't remember where I read it but this is a genuine phenomenon - something like 'status symbol creep': as status symbols of the rich become more widely acknowledged, what counts as a status symbols shifts in order to maintain that symbolism. And the shift in spending form the rich has moved from goods and tangibles to services, insurance, 'experiences' (holidays, etc) and education instead: things that are harder to 'see', but end up 'opportunity hoarding': it's no longer goods which are exclusive, but the means to accumulate them. Anyone can save up and buy a Prada bag. Good luck sending your kid to Harvard. — StreetlightX

Yes, it's a essentially a 'keeping-up-with-the-Joneses', but instead of comparing your socio-economic success with your immediate neighbor, you benchmark your success against a particular socio-economic group higher than your own, which necessarily leads to frivolous spending and debt accumulation etc. in order to maintain a certain level of respectability. Edmund Burke is an infamous example of feckless spending in order to appear wealthier than he was, and as a result suffered from debt for much of his life. Curiously, it seems that Brett Kavanaugh suffers from the same affliction.

On top of that, he's an outright immoral character who lied and cheated on his wife, and then claimed to Congress that he ALWAYS said the truth all the while admitting to hurting his wife. Really, a despicable man, and I think he should be in jail. — Agustino

You may very well be the least self-aware person I know.

Nobody tells John Locke what he can't do

When I saw that someone with a username of JohnLocke, I knew I was in for a treat. Did not disappoint.

In an interview with the British tabloid The Sun published Thursday, Trump said that it is a "shame" that European leaders had allowed so many migrants to enter their countries' borders.

"Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame," the U.S. president told the tabloid

"I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way," he continued.

"I think you are losing your culture," he told the tabloid. "Look around. You go through certain areas that didn’t exist ten or 15 years ago."

As if it weren't obvious before, Trump doesn't merely loathe illegal immigration, but non-white/non-European immigrants tout court, while using white nationalist language.

Hannity himself has said he's "not a journalist", but a talk show host, so why pay him any attention?

How could I even go about persuading Maw about it? — Agustino

Maybe substantiate your claims with corroborative evidence from reputable sources, along with iron-tight logic, rather than, for example, "I base my statements about what I observe in my own soul" as you did here.

Merrick Garland