Trump, now president, vows to put 'America First' in nationalist speech

[Thakkar]

4 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

The DoD has got some issues.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-audit-army-idUSKCN10U1IG

 

I'm bumping the above link because I think it important that more people read it. However, the "trillions" in the headline is misleading, as explained later in the article. No doubt there is fudging, though. The fudge is probably around $60B, as the Army says. That's about 10% of the budget, still a considerable amount. My guess is that much of that is for unauthorized activities that may include bribing foreign heads of state, super secret operations that congress or maybe even the president (and certainly the Public) doesn't know about and general nefariousness. 

 

Members should be be aware that I've been binge watching Homeland this weekend.

 

T

[Jingthing]

 
Sounds like someone actually believes the dishonest press. Wait until he has been in power for a week at least. [emoji39]

We've seen what an atrocious man he is for years already. It is disgusting that to keep up on news we have to keep seeing him.

[Jingthing]

It seems hard to imagine that any one man, could possibly epitomise so many aspects of those parts of American "Culture" that are truly vile. However there was one, they found him, a man with hardly a scrap of basic human decency,  and elected him president.  The prospect of having to see his mean, smug, brutish, self satisfied face on a regular basis over the next few years, is not appealing.

It's a national disgrace and embarrassment that trump is president.

God help us.

[Jingthing]

 
Well his grandfather was German .  They changed their family name from Trumpf  to Trump. Maybe someone should have a look at his family background.   
 
 
 
 
 

People have. His Daddy was indeed a fascist.

[Jingthing]

One thing about rousing a mob…it can turn on you quickly.
 
Trump's promises, to turn back the hands of time and to let people have their cake and eat it too, are simply unfulfillable.
 
Yes, I dread what Trump's presidency holds in store.  But what I dread most is the day his supporters realize how badly they have been duped.

His core base will never admit it. They'll take out their anger on anti trumpists and blame them and not the baby man they worship.

[geriatrickid]

The downside of this is that we are going to have 2-4 years of non stop posts about  Trump.

I use 2 as I anticipate that's when the impeachment hearings will start after the conflict of interest claims start.

 

[KarenBravo]

2 hours ago, maewang99 said:

don't forget the Huge Trump Project No. 1 .... which involves 'the Yuan is undervalued'... same same Thai Baht (VERY obviously).

ready for a Baht in the teens? cause that's what "China is undervalued" comes out to be. USA jobs jobs jobs. Thailand Baht Baht Baht. with USA still in twin deficits ****even**** with Shale Gas tech.

 

and Thai and Chinese domestically economies driven by a continuing emergent Middle Class plus Repatriated Upper Class Foreign Holdings...  

 

be hedged on the dollar/Baht cross..... or else.

 

p.s. my batting average on this the last 60 years is better than Soros... and Soros is on the same page... but the US equity market ain't (the rate/Trump bounce flows could be quite temporary).   

  

 

"Same same"?

Please just speak and write normal English. Your audience here are not Esaan bar-girls.

Edited January 22, 2017 by KarenBravo

[Thakkar]

43 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Looking at the news this morning he is taking the "lying" media to task on this one. Then there is the rumor that he photo shopped pics from the Obama inauguration to "beef" his day of glory. 

 

Lying is endemic in Trumpland. The Smithsonian shop just pulled a Trump inauguration book from their shelves when advised that it was full of falsehoods. And where was the "America First" book printed? China.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-trump-book-for-sale-at-the-national-history-museum-is-riddled-with-falsehoods/2017/01/20/adb72e24-de6d-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?utm_term=.ab17312a1770

[elgordo38]

4 minutes ago, Thakkar said:

 

Lying is endemic in Trumpland. The Smithsonian shop just pulled a Trump inauguration book from their shelves when advised that it was full of falsehoods. And where was the "America First" book printed? China.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-trump-book-for-sale-at-the-national-history-museum-is-riddled-with-falsehoods/2017/01/20/adb72e24-de6d-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?utm_term=.ab17312a1770

What a new president that tells porkies? If they have extra copies they should be mailed to all registered Republican voters to show them the error of their ways. Forget that the damage is already done. 

[elgordo38]

52 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Trump's promises, to turn back the hands of time and to let people have their cake and eat it too, are simply unfulfillable.

 

Yes they are but they sure got him a pile of votes. 

[the guest]

3 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Yes they are but they sure got him a pile of votes. 

 

What President wouldn't want to create American jobs,  by American people, for American People?

[Kiwiken]

5 hours ago, draks said:

Trump should look at his own actions, in the UK he wanted to build an exclusive golf club on a wildlife reserve, the was a big public reaction against his proposal but he just sideswiped local objections , somehow got permission to build a golf club that no one wants, he is a bully self centered uncaring bar steward. He wants to isolate USA from the world market? Go ahead, American products are good but too expensive  abroad. They have been producing gas guzzling cars that the rest of the world don't want. More and more Japanese cars have been imported to USA why? Because they a super reliable very economical. So throw out the japs charge 35% to companies that have gone abroad. Many Americans will go bust then do you think? 

Whach your prices go sky. Unfortunately it's a global market pull out of that and you are in for an extremely hard time.

Get tough on immigration especially from some countries I totally agree with have to admit. But as a man I really don't like him . But time will tell.

Sometimes I get the feeling that Some Americans think that the world revolves around the USA and some countries follow like blind puppies, UK being one. Where USA pulls out other countries will step in. I live in the Philippines, and Du30 has told USA he will not be a puppet on USA, there are some similarities between the two presidents, but the great American dream has become a bit of a nightmare really. But let's just see what happens, tough rocky road ahead I feel

Yes as America focuses on itself China will expand in Asia. Russia will again gain some influence in Europe. When the USA realises you need World Trade to advance they will find as the UK is finding out previous markets have evolved and moved on. You can put up walls and restrict imports but will the people buy stuff at 3 times the price when their wages must be slashed to make employing them viable. If indeed Trump is the Businessman he purports to be and not just another showboat salesman then he will realise America needs to Trade to survive. And negotiating is not bullying. The USA needs the World. The World appreciates the USA input but does not need it as much as Americans believe.

[craigt3365]

12 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I see this mentioned a lot, but I think people draw all the wrong conclusions from it. When you inherit an economy that has cratered there is little else direction it can go but up. Especially when you make money free and take on tremendous debt (also virtually free at the time).

 

I like Obama but he didn't have anything to do with the economy. The Federal Reserve ran the economy during Obama's entire presidency, for better or worse.

Agreed that the Fed was instrumental during the recession, but Obama did help:

http://time.com/money/4176949/who-really-dug-us-out-of-the-great-recession/

Quote

Congress, with a new Democratic majority, passed the 2009 stimulus bill—more formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—less than 30 days after taking office. The Act provided for roughly $800 billion in government spending (most of it) and tax cuts (less) to jumpstart the economy.

 

[Thakkar]

1 hour ago, elgordo38 said:

What a new president that tells porkies? If they have extra copies they should be mailed to all registered Republican voters to show them the error of their ways. Forget that the damage is already done. 

 

Looks like he even plagiarized part of his speech from a cartoon:

[rijb]

1 hour ago, the guest said:

 

What President wouldn't want to create American jobs,  by American people, for American People?

 

Putin? Xi Jinping?     

Edited January 22, 2017 by rijb

[duanebigsby]

Whenever an American tells me they think Trump will  be a fantastic president and good for the world, instant unfreinding.

 

[duanebigsby]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

 

Telling lies with statistics is so easy even a politician can do it. An economist named Darrell Huff once wrote a best-seller about it, “How to Lie With Statistics.” Harry S. Truman identified three kinds of lies, “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” That was more than a half-century ago, and the art and science of prevarication have only been improved through frequent use.

 

Unlike the “official” jobless rate, the Labor Department’s so-called “U-6” unemployment rate includes those working part time but who want a full-time job and can’t find one. The U-6 rate stood at 11.2 percent in December, nearly double the official rate.

Mr. Obama’s claim of a robust jobless rate takes no account of the record 92.9 million Americans no longer in the labor force. The labor participation rate was 62.7 percent in December, a 38-year low that recalled the “economic malaise” of the Carter presidency.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/8/editorial-obamas-unemployment-rate-lies-exposed-by/

"Widely reported unemployment metrics in the U.S. do not accurately represent the reality of joblessness in America," says Gallup. "For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not count a person who desires work as unemployed if he or she is not working and has stopped looking for work over the past four weeks. Similarly, the BLS does not count someone as unemployed if he or she is, for instance, an out-of-work engineer, construction worker or retail manager who performs a minimum of one hour of work a week and receives at least $20 in compensation."

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/real-unemployment-rate-95

Actually the 92 million stat of unemployed Americans not in the labour force include retirees, stay at home moms and dads, students not looking , and the disabled. Quit buggering around stats to suit your agenda.

[JackThompson]

3 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

One thing about rousing a mob…it can turn on you quickly.

 

Trump's promises, to turn back the hands of time and to let people have their cake and eat it too, are simply unfulfillable.

 

Yes, I dread what Trump's presidency holds in store.  But what I dread most is the day his supporters realize how badly they have been duped.

 

The only thing that has to be "turned back" - rather "restored" are sane policies / laws / tariffs / regulations. 

 

"Globalization" is not some new force of nature; national-economic-sovereignty has been a struggle going back centuries.  The only difference is the proliferation of non-state powers called "transnational corporations," no longer aligned with particular states (like the British East India Company was), which are the current threat.

[JackThompson]

43 minutes ago, duanebigsby said:

Whenever an American tells me they think Trump will  be a fantastic president and good for the world, instant unfreinding.

 

 

That's the spirit.  A great way to stay as ignorant as possible about what Trump actually promotes, and believe only what the Transnational Corporate Media tells you is true.

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

Did you forget "colored" people?

 

Nope.  Hopefully, the immigration and trade policies which disproportionately (per-capita) harmed darker-skinned American citizens will be reversed, now.

[Jim Blue]

I believe it is possible to take these things far too seriously , when Obama was first elected 8 yrs ago ,   US citizens keyed  in to say that he was going to turn America in to  some sort of East Bloc socialist state .

 

Personally I'm looking forward to reading about Donny and Melania's  courtship rituals (!)  in Vanity Fair .

 

Jim

 

[Rhys]

We the people....have been heard, and now.....S...wed.

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, the guest said:

 

What President wouldn't want to create American jobs,  by American people, for American People?

Simple answer Donald Trump. I rest my case for 4 years and if he does all these wonderful things I will bow down and apologize to you. Past presidents and history are on  my side. 8 people control half the wealth in the world, the debt is a whisker shy of 20 trillion dollars and a present president who wants to build up the military, kill NATO and thus the people it protects,  kill free trade, kick thousands no millions of pool cleaners and maids and waitresses out of the country, kill women's rights over their bodies and believes that global warming is a myth. American jobs hmm to replace the above that he wants to kick out? There are jobs and then there are good jobs like in the past but the past will never repeat itself that train has left the station. 

[duanebigsby]

1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

 

That's the spirit.  A great way to stay as ignorant as possible about what Trump actually promotes, and believe only what the Transnational Corporate Media tells you is true.

What is he promoting?

Racism , misogyny, anti poor, proliferation of nuclear weapons, corporate corruption  and lies. He has lied about everything he has promised.

Draining the swamp? He has established the swamp as the new normal.

Wait and see, I'm not that ignorant and time will prove it.

When was the phrase Transnational corporate media" coined and what the hell does it mean? Gibberish. I don't have a tv and get my news from CBC overseas service online.

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, the guest said:

 

What President wouldn't want to create American jobs,  by American people, for American People?

PS He better hurry. Quote from the news. Entire Pittsburg mall sells for $100 all 1.1 million square feet of it. 

 

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

PS He better hurry. Quote from the news. Entire Pittsburg mall sells for $100 all 1.1 million square feet of it. 

 

That's a national trend. Dead malls. People are shopping a lot online. 

[Gecko123]

45 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

 

The only thing that has to be "turned back" - rather "restored" are sane policies / laws / tariffs / regulations. 

 

"Globalization" is not some new force of nature; national-economic-sovereignty has been a struggle going back centuries.  The only difference is the proliferation of non-state powers called "transnational corporations," no longer aligned with particular states (like the British East India Company was), which are the current threat.

 

Trump is talking about cutting corporate taxes, allowing multinational corporations to repatriate overseas profits, slapping import tariffs on imported goods. The corporate tax cutting and repatriation of profits is being sold to the American public on the premise that corporations will have more money to invest which will stimulate the domestic economy, i.e., produce domestic jobs. But corporations don't invest in new plants and equipment just because they have liquid assets, they do it based on anticipated demand for their products. Many corporations (take Apple for example) have huge liquid assets available to them right now, but they are buying back stock, increasing dividends, or gobbling up other companies with these funds because they don't see the demand to invest in further capacity. Chances are these tax cuts and repatriation of profit schemes will have only limited benefit in terms of new jobs in America. Yes, the middle class will be snookered into supporting these tax cuts by having their taxes cut marginally as well, but the proposals I've read about benefit the wealthiest top 10% of the population. Thus, income inequality will likely increase under Trump's proposals. 

 

Trump is also proposing "border taxes" or import tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, China and other countries which have large trade imbalances with the US. Great. But who is going to end up paying for such tariffs? The American consumer, that's who. And such tariffs, which are effectively a tax, will regressively impact the lower and middle classes because a greater portion of their income is spent on consumption of goods, many of which are now imported.

 

It's also been well reported that the majority of manufacturing jobs which have been lost has been due to automation, so the number of manufacturing jobs which can be repatriated from overseas is less than the number of manufacturing jobs which have lost since the 1970s. The American public is being duped into thinking America's manufacturing base circa 1970 can be restored, especially if the promise is of high-paying unionized jobs. Meanwhile the American consumer will be footing the bill for the import tarrifs. Maybe if you're one of the lucky few to snag a newly created manufacturing job, the trade off might be worth it, but for the rest of us, it doesn't sound like much of a deal at all.  And don't forget, if in the process of "making America great again" America disrupts developing economies such as Mexico and China, etc., who are we going to export all those domestically manufactured goods to? 

 

Building infrastructure and building a southern border wall will certainly create a lot of construction and manufacturing jobs. No doubt about it. But who is going to pay for all this? Trump is basically saying "put it on my tab," exploding the deficit and national debt in the process. All this stimulus will likely increase interest rates and Federal government borrowing costs, which will add further to the national debt. This will add to home ownership and consumer loan costs, but worst of all, this reckless spending is going to put inexorable pressure on entitlement programs such as social security, medicare, medicaid and the affordable care act. So my question is: "are all the Trump supporters willing to see your entitlement programs curtailed in the future in order to "make America great" again?" I highly doubt it. When the government cuts taxes (think Reagan) nobody questions the fiscal prudence of doing so, but there will be a bill to be paid, a day of reckoning, and I doubt Trump's middle-age supporters will escape unscathed.

 

When Trump talks about eradicating radical islamic terrorism he is talking primarily about military interventions to accomplish this. Certainly, his jamming of the cabinet with generals, and talk about rebuilding the military suggests this. It's the children of the lower and middle classes (i.e., the children of Trump's supporters) not Trump's own privileged kids and grand kids who will be fighting these wars. What will happen when his supporters realize this? Is getting involved in endless wars in the middle east going to resolve this problem? I, for one don't think so.

 

Trump has attacked and denigrated many racial and ethnic minority groups during his candidacy. He has floated ideas about registering Muslim-Americans, deporting illegal immigrants (with a focus on those with non-white skin), reversing Roe v. Wade, denying women access to contraceptives, restoring law and order by advocating stop and frisk policies, which will no doubt result in higher arrest and incarceration rates for minorities. Many see these policies as promising to turn back the clock to 60 years ago when America was more white male dominated. But America has already changed demographically in a very fundament way, and the clock cannot be turned back. Trump's divisive proposals are only going to increase racial, ethnic and class tensions in America going forward. The turn out over the weekend of so many protesters for the Women's March is a sign of things to come. Trump's supporters will be poorly equipped to shield themselves from these social tensions when they arise.

 

 

 

 

 

[elgordo38]

Just now, Jingthing said:

That's a national trend. Dead malls. People are shopping a lot online. 

Yes sadly it is. I just placed an order with EBAY so I guess I am guilty to. We deem our time to be so valuable that we cannot drive to our local mall and support the workers there. Why should I care I am retired!! 

[evadgib]

How long til he does the three I's?

 

(Israel, Italy Ireland)

[retiredinmaerim]

Just now, Yann55 said:

 

I would say 'most' rather than many, and of course it's a stereotype but stereotypes on principle describe a majority of people. So yes, Americans tend to be considered as loud, arrogant, boorish, patronizing and often ridiculous, especially in the way they over-act when socializing. But frankly, and aside from the 'over-acting' part which is indeed specifically American, can't these things be said of uneducated people everywhere ? Do these words not describe the uneducated majority of populations in every country ?

 

The interesting thing about living in Pattaya is that one gets to observe individuals who come from many different countries, but mostly from the same segment of society. Some have money, but very few have education. The result is that they are strikingly similar to one another, no matter where they come from : America, Europe, Australia, China, Russia ...

 

But we are so used to focusing on nationalities that when we see, say, a drunken Aussie behaving like a total jerk, we immediately tend to blame his jerk-ness on his nationality, even though his behaviour clearly has more to do with a blatant lack of education.

 

For a long time, democracies have elected people who did not come from that segment of society, for better or worse. It was an elitist system, there is no doubt about that, and the Hitler episode considerably re-inforced that pattern, after WWII, as the West realized how dangerous 'little people' could be when they reached absolute power. The result was that 'the masses' felt (and rightly so) that their vote amounted to nothing, because they were always governed by people who didn't give a damn about them, looked down on them and favoured the happy few.

 

What's happening now is that the uneducated are electing one of their own. It's not just an American phenomenon, and it will spread. Wasn't that bound to happen ? Are we to expect some good for 'the masses' out of this ? Unfortunately I don't think so, because of three very simple facts :

 

1/ uneducated millionaires are the ones who tend to go into politics. Why ? because they crave for social recognition, because they realize that political power can make them richer and because it's exciting.

 

2/ millionaires do not care about the poor. If they did, they would not be millionnaires.

 

3/ clever but uneducated millionaires realize that by playing the 'I'm the champion of the poor' tune, they can get elected. Once elected, they can only do what they are used to do : screw the poor, and make the rich richer, including of course themselves. That's where the US is headed right now.

 

 

You should get off the high horse.  Trump is many things good and bad. Uneducated he is not.  He is a world traveler and a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, which is ranked number 8 in the world.  Where did you graduate from ?