CaptHaddock

8 hours ago, Thakkar said:

The most consequential lies are often the lies we tell ourselves. 

“I have the best words.”

“I’m like a really smart person”

“I know more than the generals”

“I’m worth $10 billion”

“No puppet, you’re the puppet”

 

Trump is a penny ante liar. Habitual, pathological, yes, but Penny ante nonetheless. On the other hand, he rarely tells the truth either.

 

Descriptions like this, while true as far as they go, fail to capture something essential about Trump's lying.  Because we all lie at one time or another, we assume that we understand what lying is and that other people lie in just the way that we ourselves sometimes lie.  But, in fact, for psychopaths like Trump, lying is an activity unlike anything the rest of us experience in our lives.  As I have said here before, Trump lives in a world composed exclusively of enemies and dupes.  According to Tony Schwartz, who spent every day with Trump for eighteen months writing his book, not only has Trump no friends at all, but Schwartz never heard mention of the name of any of Trump's kids from Trump during that time, much less did the Donald ever so much as have lunch with any of them.  This is an emotional landscape that, while bizarre beyond description to most of us, is where Trump has lived his entire life. 

For most of us when we lie, the crucial point is to gain some advantage by being believed of something which is not true.  When Trump brays some lie that everyone in the room knows to be patently false, such as having the biggest inauguration attendance in history, something very different it is taking place.  Trump, surrounded as he perceives himself to be only by enemies and dupes, is displaying his power in the most flagrant way with his bold-faced lie, which he well knows everyone recognizes as a lie.  Anyone can speak the truth; it takes no special power.  But to lie in the most flagrant way with impunity uniquely demonstrates true power.  In a world of enemies and dupes, why would truth matter anyway?

We can see this with the variety of executives and film producers who have recently been accused publicly for the first time of sexual harassment and then resigned.  They resigned, but only because they did not have enough power to resist the truth.  But Trump didn't resign the campaign, when sixteen women accused him of various sexual abuses including rape.  Because Trump has more power than has-beens like Cosby and Weinstein. 

This is why, when faced with Trump's incessant, transparent lying, those of us who recognize his lying for what it is, do not feel consoled that truth is on our side, but persistently disturbed that somehow truth doesn't seem to matter anymore.

That's why it is useless to point out Trump's lies to the Trumphead posters here.  They are eager to join the class of dupes, because they want to be with the winner.  Truth matters as little to them as to Trump, because they also live in a world where only power matters, but they don't have any.  So, they aspire to ally themselves with a powerful leader who might protect them somehow.  His very incorrigibility is their hope.  This is why the Trumpheads not only seem stupid to us, but even abject.

23 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

I'm not sure which financial institutions are involved, nor how "strict" they can be, but surely customers are allowed to travel, and utilize on-line banking when traveling?

 

I assume you are maintaining some sort of residential address in the U.S.? And paying appropriate state and federal taxes?

 

I've never been challenged and even had new credit cards mailed to me here in Thailand. I use their VISA ATM cards and credit cards here all the time.

 

Only a fool would pay state and local income tax after expatting.  Americans are not required to be residents of a state and are not required to pay state income tax unless they retain tax domicile in that state.   As long as you do not inadvertently maintain tax domicile in your former state out of ignorance of that state's domicile requirements, you are not liable for state taxes.  Use of a forwarding address does not by itself establish tax domicile.

The I've-never-had-a-problem response overlooks that possibility that you may have been establishing a history that the financial institution can use in the future as a basis to deny you service.  For instance, a bank may be willing to send your replacement credit card to your Thailand address, but perhaps after the next 9/11 type incident bank practices tighten up considerably and they close your account unless you produce an American utility bill with your name on it.  Then you are SOL, because you have been documenting your foreign residence which you cannot deny.  Far better to use a US mail forwarder to receive your credit card and ship it to you so the bank sees only the US address.

14 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Firing Mueller will not stop the investigation any more than firing Comey did.

If he fired Mueller and then had Rosenstein appoint Giuliani or Christie to be the special counsel, you don't think that would stop the threat to the Trump family?  Could be messy, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't do it.  There were reports that he had to be talked out of firing Mueller yesterday.

4 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

 

What options did they give you when they shut your account? Could you have left your money there and just not be able to buy any more shares in mutual funds?

If I recall correctly they weren't threatening to close the accounts outright, but would not let me execute any trades of any kind including reinvestment of dividends.  So, I transferred the assets elsewhere and closed the accounts.  I had had accounts at Fidelity, including corporate 401(k) accounts for over twenty-five years at that point.  Corporations don't get sentimental about things like account longevity.

10 minutes ago, Thakkar said:

31/10/2017, 4:41 AM

(THREAD) It's now almost certain Papadopoulos *wore a wire* during the last 90+ days. Here are the implications. Hope you'll read and share.

https://twitter.com/sethabramson/status/925115577190010880

 

 

The "proactive cooperator" language suggests that Papadopoulos wore a wire and/or took other steps to collect incriminating evidence.  The question is: did he have access to high level people during that time?

What I think is that since Mueller knows that his getting closer to Trump and his family means that he is more likely to be fired each day, he probably has a number of indictments already issued by the court and sealed.  So, if he is indeed fired, those prosecutions along with the ones made public today will go forward regardless.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

If trump decides to go hard ball against Mueller, then we'd be entering constitutional crisis territory. Bannon is pushing him to do just that. We all know trump is extremely abnormal. He's being pushed against the wall now and he always fights back. This could get very, very ugly. 

I just don't see how he doesn't fire Mueller.  Once it looks like the dirt on him will be published or his kids will be indicted, he does the calculation that as bad as it would be to fire Mueller, it's worse immediately if he doesn't. 

I think a constitutional crisis is baked in at this point.

22 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

I trade (sell) both on Fidelity and Schwab from Thailand and have never had a problem, no VPN used, but then again my accounts were opened in the US,  have an actual physical US address and only for debit card purposes do they care where I am physically (notification of overseas travel) 

 

Only financial institution that seems to care is Discover, who notify me every time I log into my account from Thailand that my account has been accessed from overseas, but since I don't use the Discover Card here in Thailand I just ignore the "warning" and pay the bill for recurring US charges via my US Bank Internet bill pay 

I can confirm from personal experience that if Fidelity finds out that your physical address is not a US residence they will close your account.

It can be hard to decide how many precautions that we might currently take will in the future prove to be sufficient.  The fact that they have not currently flagged us, for persistently logging in from Thailand, for example, is no assurance that at some point in the future they will not look back over their records of our ip addresses and decide on that basis from whom to demand a current utility bill with a US address, for instance.  That may sound excessively paranoid, but we are creating trails of historical information about ourselves and when requirements change there will be no grandfathering in.

7 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

There is potential that Mike Flynn Sr. will flip to protect indictment of his son Flynn Jr.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mike-flynn-s-son-subject-federal-russia-probe-n800741

Not since early August when Mueller sought White House documents on Flynn Sr. has Mueller publicized any legal action against Flynn Sr.

Mueller is strangely silent on Flynn Sr. considering recent indictments. Perhaps Flynn Sr. (fired by two presidents) has already flipped in a plea bargain, ie., no charges against Flynn Jr.?

I don't believe Kushner will flip given his and DT's wealth and political connections to fight charges.

I consider Flynn certain to flip to save his mouth-breather son.  Flynn, unlike Manafort, isn't rich and cannot afford his current legal fees, for one thing.  But many others will flip eventually also. 

Keep your eye on Kushner.  You heard it here first.

The fact that Mueller chose to release the guilty plea of Papadopoulos, who has been cooperating with the investigation since his arrest in July, along with the Manafort and Gates indictments appears intended to communicate to other members of Trump's crime network that if you flip you will be charge with a lesser offense, like lying to a federal agent, but if you do not cooperate we will throw the book at you for every crime you have commit going back years that you thought you were clever enough to conceal.

19 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

As Mueller has said, this is a small part of a larger investigation.  In other words, ya ain't seen nothing yet.

 

It's the first time since Watergate aides close to the president have been convicted of criminal charges.  And remember, Watergate started out slow.  Much more to come.

 

What's the big news is Papadopoulos' guilty plea.  He's going to spill the beans.  And it sends a very strong message.  Lie to the FBI and you're going to be charged.  That could lead to charges against Trump Jr., Kushner and maybe others.

 

The Manafort investigation went back 11 years.  Won't it be interesting when they go back 11 years into the financial dealings of Trump and his family.  It's already been proven they've been dealing with Russians for years.  Some dodgy dealings.

 

Stay tuned....

Papadopoulos is the first to flip.

I want to go on record with a prediction in the end that Kushner will also flip.  Omerta has its limits.

3 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

You think I want Trump to go? Then your failure is now complete. With his approval down to around 35% - one of the lowest ever sine we’ve started tracking this metric - Trump is doing a fabulous job of embarrassing himself and setting fire to his own party in Congress. It’s been nine months and less than nothing has been accomplished. He can stay right where he is for all I care. I only wish his babysitters would take away his Twitter account and give him some crayons and coloring books to keep him busy for the next three years

Pence, on the other hand, would be a lapdog for congressional republicans and they’d be able to advance their hateful agenda.

Quite right.  We want to keep Trump in place facing the rising outrage as his crimes are exposed paralyzing the Republican Congress.

Pence, on the other hand, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Koch Brothers, per Jane Mayer, the goto journalist for the rise of the billionaire donor class in America:

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/25/intercepted-podcast-mike-pence-is-the-koch-brothers-manchurian-candidate/

9 minutes ago, tonray said:

This should serve as a warning to any who ride the Trump train. Manafort has been doing these dirty deals for years but only after hooking up with Trump did he get caught...Trump's high profile persona and in your face style means bad news for anyone who works for him. It looks like the beginnings of a response is 'hey these are pretty bad guys, but what do they have to do with me ?". He will give anyone up to cover himself...all day suckers....more to come...he has already poisoned the distinguished career of Gen. Kelly and others...who else is gonna get sucker punched by this scumbag ?

That's the tune that the mainstream media is singing: honorable soldiers corrupted by contact with Trump.  Those who have investigated find it's not true:

But it should not have been a surprise. Any examination of Kelly’s past public remarks makes clear he is not a sober professional, calculating that he must degrade himself in public so he can remain in place to rein in Trump’s worst instincts behind the scenes. Rather, Kelly honestly shares those instincts: He’s proudly ignorant, he’s a liar, and he’s a shameless bully and demagogue.

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/21/it-didnt-just-start-now-john-kelly-has-always-been-a-hard-right-bully/

9 minutes ago, Slip said:

Ha! Lol.  I should point out to all that I have just seen commentary that suggests 'tax evasion' and ' conspiring against the US' could basically be the same thing, and that from an anti Trump guy.

Doesn't seem to be the same.  Conspiring against the US has to do with failing to register as a foreign agent while engaging in activities requiring such registration.

Another Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, has plead guilty to lying to federal officials about conspiracy with the Russians.  So, despite Trump's frantic tweets, today is indeed about the Trump campaign conspiracy.

7 minutes ago, Thakkar said:

The difference between the former Russian-backed Ukrainian President that Manafort worked for and the mafia is that the mafia are less ostentatious, less greedy and less slimy.

 

The Mafia is a lot smarter.  You don't see wise guys writing "I love it" emails about their upcoming secret meetings with foreign governments to get illegal campaign assistance.

8 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Nixon was not so brazen as to pardon the burglars.  Trump....who knows?

No, but Bush I was indeed brazen enough to pardon all the Iran Contragate criminals, including Oliver North, in the final days of his presidency. 

However, if Manafort failed to pay federal income tax on his pay from the Ukrainian dictator, then he certainly failed to pay state income tax in whatever state he has tax domicile.  A violation of state law would be beyond Trump's ability to pardon.

2 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

I'm just wondering what the difference between the Ukrainian president and the mafia is, and Manafort as the "political consultant" must have learnt  a lot of new tricks.  Is Russia finally ruling America remote controlled? 

Trump didn't know people like Manafort, Gates, and Carter Page before his campaign, all of whom had ties to the Russians for years before the 2016.  The fact that they all were given powerful positions in Trump's campaign has lead some to suspect that they were sent by the Russians specifically for the purpose of getting Trump elected and indebted to the Russians.  The main point of the Steele Dossier is the allegation that the Russians were cultivating Trump for years before the 2016 campaign.

So, if those suspicions are correct, then, yes, Trump is the Manchurian Candidate. 

Worth keeping in mind that the Watergate case did not really break open until the five burglars had been arrested, tried, convicted, and then given heavy sentences by Judge John "Maximum John" Sirica.  That was the moment that one of the burglars, James McCord, started singing like a canary, which eventually brought Nixon down.

Wait until Manafort and his minion are facing the imminent prospect of hard time and then we'll see what they have to say about Trump and the rest of the gang of crims in the White House. 

3 minutes ago, Slip said:

And Mensch does have form as a conspiracy theorist.  Strangely she is politically right wing. I hesitate to put any real faith into it, but I still find it odd that if it's all made up they would have the brassneck to publish it, but I guess that is one of the things that allow these theories to flourish.

She is actually following a good strategy.  In the office contest to guess the number of gumballs in the big jar, the best strategy to to go very high or very low.  Especially when no one knows or has any basis to estimate, people tend to anchor on the first number they hear causing the guesses as a whole to cluster around a number that has no basis at all.  If Mensch has guessed correctly on one or two of these items she will because a blogging star overnight.  If not, it will all be forgotten quickly.

A very good strategy in the absence of information, actually.

Breaking: Manafort to turn himself in today. 

One down.

43 minutes ago, Slip said:

I don't know what to make of Mensch, and I know she is not necessarily bulletproof as far as credibility goes, but this makes explosive reading if taken at face value:

 

https://patribotics.blog/2017/10/29/exclusive-mueller-has-dozens-of-sealed-indictments-including-on-donald-trump/amp/
 

Implausible.  Mueller team has had no leaks to date.  Why would this chick-lit writer alone have all of this highly secret info?

27 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

That's a good idea. Do you know of a good clock app that will let you do that?

 

In Linux it's easy.  Don't know an app in Windows.  You'll have to do your own search.

In response to my own earlier request for a source of albacore tuna in BKK, it turns out that it is readily available, but not sold using the term "albacore."   This puzzled me for a long time, since in the US albacore commands a premium price and is always marked.  In Tops I find that the Nautilus brand sold as "sandwich tuna" tastes like albacore although that term does not appear on the label anywhere.

Seems like the optimal solution would be to set your system clock to the target timezone, eg. US Eastern time, and then run a different clock application, not the system clock, to display the time in the timezone of your preference, let's say Bangkok, for example.  The point is that you don't really care what your actual system time is, although you may find it convenient to look at the pc to check the time.