Posts Made By: James Lacey

Originally Posted by James Brown

Do you think Trump really believes that he can end "birthright citizenship" with a stroke of the pen?  Or is he just messing with the press (as I believe Richard suggested below in the CNN thread?)*

I believe Trump is an unpredictable and uncontrollable actor who causes real harm with his incessant dishonesty. It's impossible to know if all of it is on purpose or not; I think it's just a core part of his personality and it's impossible for him to act any other way. We can't assume his intentions are honest or simply misunderstood though, given the sheer density and volume of his dishonesty. Just last night for example, at the Florida rally, Trump said, "illegal immigrants are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States." This comment should make any constitution loving conservative's skin crawl, but instead, the crowd cheered. Granted, it was a political rally, but imagine the howls of indignation from the right if Obama had ever said such a thing, much less spent most of his Presidency playing golf and using Air Force One to attend an endless litany of campaign rallies. 

Originally Posted by Gerald Miller

I voted for Reagan. He must be turning over in his grave.

"In the party of Lincoln, there is no room for intolerance and not even a small corner for anti-Semitism or bigotry of any kind. Many people are welcome in our house, but not the bigots."

Source: Acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in 1984.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Hi James:

I think most Rs just ignore that kind of BS.  Some defend Trump of course, but their partisanship overwhelms their reason.  Engage with anyone like that recently?  

I read this opinion piece in the NYT this morning.  I though Ross made some good points.  Then I read through the comments for a few minute.  It reminded me just why the middle of the country voted for Trump, even though virtually everyone is offended by his persona and values.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/opinion/sunday/midterms-elections-2018-senate.html

Jim 

Since the most likely outcome on November 6th is a Democratic House and a Republican Senate, then I guess it makes sense for Ross to see it in a positive light. Will a Democratic House cause Trump to moderate and lurch back to the middle? Or will Trump instead go on a conspiratorial bender and insist everyone is out to get him? All I know is the next two years are not likely to be any less eventful than the previous two.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

If Trump makes an EO, it is to simply bring the 14th amendment back to its original intent, which is that Diplomats and Aliens were excluded which is what Jacob Howard, the author of the 14th stated categorically in front of Congress when he offered up the amendment.

So, in the future, when a Democratic President issues an EO to bring the 2nd amendment back to its original intent regarding the right to bear arms, you won't have a problem with that I assume. Goodness, you don't have to defend every untenable and crazy thing that Trump utters. It's ok to sometimes not be a blind partisan.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Here is one study - and it describes my view of my tribe perfectly:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/10/18/five_tribes_of_american_voters_138390.html

No surprise that I'm independent blue streak with some touches of resistance.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Poor Koch Industries, the perennial boogey-man for the left, didn't even make the top 20.... 

Here is the funny thing Jim. The top two contributors are Las Vegas Sands and Adelson Drug Clinic or in other words Sheldon and Miriam Adelson. Sheldon Adelson is the child of Eastern-Europen Jewish immigrants, much like Soros. Sheldon's parents are from the Ukraine and Lithuania, whereas Soros' parents are from Hungary. The irony, of course, is that the perennial boogeyman for the right that is Soros has a similar background to who should be the boogeyman for the left, Adelson. Why Adelson is not more well-known and vilified I do not know, but he clearly wins when it comes to influencing politics via big money. Heck, Soros pales in comparison to the new up-start Tom Steyer even.

Originally Posted by Darian Rachal

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/wow-trump-blows-up-at-jim-acosta-you-are-a-rude-terrible-person/?fbclid=IwAR2ZkLZmTJ9cSOZ215qm-oPuaTJancPV2Qq2byZW0bz5lYWQWcX8NDbPgek

Trump was off the rails in the whole news conference. He lost his cool and snapped not only at Acosta but others as well. If he can't handle a single presser, he's going to have a melt-down when a Democratic House with subpoena power comes asking questions.

Originally Posted by Darian Rachal

James, I don't recall seeing the media being as antagonistic toward Obama as they are toward Trump. But I guess it's difficult to be antagonistic when you have your head buried up someone's rear end. 

Questions about what? Also, it's the Democrat Party, not the Democratic Party. I hear this error a lot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)

Democrat Party is an epithet for the Democratic Party in the United States, used in a disparaging fashion by the party's opponents. While historical and occasional current usage includes non-hostile appearances (including from within that party), the term has grown in its negative use since the 1940s, in particular by members of the Republican Party—in party platforms, partisan speeches, and press releases—as well as by conservative commentators.[1] While there is grammatical argument regarding the propriety of use of both of the terms, with ending and without, ongoing use of the shortened term for political ends is a source of irritation to members of the Democratic Party.[2]

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

I have seen a couple of regulars here attempt to claim there was a switch in the south regarding liberals vs conservatives recently

There actually was in a sense.....Here are the real facts behind it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiprVX4os2Y&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1RJNUzDxZD-YOJf4YVEMnRye-ivnzjU9QA95pv5B3jNvDQRH620hsrPGs

You guys are so steeped in right-wing propaganda, you don't even recognize it when it's staring you right in the face.

Personally, I'll always tend to favor the insight of a real historian from Princeton University than a right-wing whack-a-doodle wanna be historian who is known for making controversial remarks about race and religion.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PragerU

PragerU
Prager University Logo.png
Formation 2009
Founders Dennis Prager
Allen Estrin
Website www.prageru.com

PragerU, short for Prager University, is an American non-profit organization that creates videos on various political, economic and philosophical topics from a conservative or right-wing[1] perspective. The videos are posted on YouTube and usually feature a speaker who lectures for about five minutes.[2] Despite having "University" in its name, PragerU is not an academic institution, does not hold classes, and does not grant certifications or diplomas.[3]

In a video entitled, "Why Did the Democratic South Become Republican?", host Carol M. Swain, a professor at Vanderbilt University, argued that the Southern strategy–a historical narrative alleging that the Republican Party purposely exploited racial tensions in the late 1960s to appeal to racist white Southerners–was false revisionism. Kevin M. Kruse, a professor of history at Princeton University, said that the video presented a "distortion" of history, "cherry-picked" its evidence, and was an "exercise in attacking a straw man".[16]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._Swain

Carol Miller Swain (born March 7, 1954)[1][2] is a conservative television analyst and former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

Views on Islam
On January 16, 2015, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Swain[73] wrote an op-ed criticizing Islam in The Tennessean.[74][75] She argued:

Islam is not like other religions in the United States[;] it poses an absolute danger to us and our children unless it is monitored. ... If America is to be safe, it must ... institute serious monitoring of Islamic organizations.

— Carol M. Swain, The Tennessean (January 16, 2015)[74]
Following her comments some Vanderbilt students held a protest,[76] accusing Swain of engaging in "hate speech"[77] and said more protests would be held unless the University implemented a policy to "promise its students protection from being attacked by faculty members."[75][78][79]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_M._Kruse

Kevin M. Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University.[1][2][3][4] He served as the David L. Rike University Preceptor of History from 2003 to 2006.[5] His research interests include the political, social, and urban/suburban history of 20th-century America, with a particular focus on the making of modern conservatism.

Originally Posted by Darian Rachal

I'm wondering if the massive extent of the fires in CA isn't due to their extremist environmental policies. I'm under the impression that they do not allow management of the forests in such a way that would prevent fires of this magnitude.

Perhaps someone a bit more knowledgeable about this subject can elaborate on this.

All I can tell you for sure Darian, is that regardless of Richard's insistence to blame *everything* wrong in the world on liberals, the truth is more complicated. The current fires are not even in forests, and the majority of California's forests are federally held. I even read that land around Paradise was logged under a decade ago, but the city is still in ashes. Why? Because logging also encourages the growth of grasses that make a fire more likely. Suffice it to say, the President's tweets on this matter were ill-informed, crass and not helpful.