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Permalink Reply by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on May 10, 2017 at 5:46pm

I keep checking in to see the replies to this post. Putin must be very happy today. Tremendously happy.

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Permalink Reply by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on May 10, 2017 at 6:18pm

I just heard Noam Chomsky being interviewed on the BBC repeat his claim that he considers the Republican Party to be the most dangerous organisation in world history……even more dangerous than ISIS. I am trying to disagree with him but…….

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Permalink Reply by Pope Beanie on May 11, 2017 at 3:24pm

"I thought people from the US would have something to say....."

I do, but feel we're still short in the news cycle, when speculation still trumps reality. [my middle name is Metaphor ;) ]

I wasn't shocked, but feel Trump's behavior fits a predictable pattern, which is to cover up his love and plans for Putin. What comes *next* may be shocking, and I just hope it's not a wag-the-dog war, or other damaging distraction. Yet this Trump Era feels to me more of a comedy than a tragedy. He will eventually be outed, and I wouldn't be surprised if he resigns in light of his obvious incompetence and failings wrt even his own expectations.

He's not used to being questioned and being seen as a failure, as "complete control, and loyal minions" has been his life experience up until now. Even his private meeting with Russians and their press right after the Comey firing looks to me like Putin playing Trump, rather than an event fully and competently pre-planned by Trump. (And I'm not even saying that Putin necessarily planned this masterfully, although it's possible.)

Maybe I'm deluded in seeing all this as a comedy with a good ending, but atm, it's what makes sense to me. I even feel sorry for Trump, not able to see these failures coming.

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Permalink Reply by Strega on May 11, 2017 at 9:33am

I'm in the USA. Most common reaction is shock. It's like watching a train wreck as it happens. It's really hard to associate the shit that's happening at a Federal level with what's happening locally. Your post here was my first alert of the Comey situation, and rather than respond, I went strait to the internet to find out more.

I'm really speechless at this. It was followed by a closed meeting at the White House between Trump and Russians where all US journalists were banned, but Russian journalists were invited. Timing? A ten year old could have done better.

We are on a bus where the driver is insane and we can't get off!

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on May 11, 2017 at 3:34pm

I'm an American with thoughts on the matter.

Trump has surrounded himself with ass-kissers whose self-respect and livelihood and maybe even their future prospects depend on playing along with each and every one of Trump's idiocies. Worse, they are sent out to defend the so-called President, after which he goes out and gives a totally different story. For example, yesterday the story was that Trump simply followed the advice of the Deputy AG and consent of the AG. Today, Trump says the decision was 100% his own.

If he thought that firing Comey would throw cold water on the Russian ties investigation, he's wrong. This will redouble the FBI's efforts to get to the bottom. And they may do so now "with prejudice."

Certainly AG Sessions, Trump's buddies Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani, would have predicted a huge backfire.

The question is, did no one tell him, or did they tell him and he said that, fuck all, I'm going to do it anyway?

At any rate, if/when Trump is finally brought down, much or all of it may have to do with firing Comey.

One has to hope with a sense of dread that Trump—who has the hilariously-named "nuclear football" at hand at all times—never gets deeply depressed and decides to do a murder-suicide of the planet.

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Permalink Reply by Pope Beanie on May 11, 2017 at 4:39pm

Well said.

"and decides to do a murder-suicide of the planet."

My guesstimation is that he's not suicidal, athough old aged frontal lobes could change that. Kama-kazi war style is more likely a Bannon ideation.

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Permalink Reply by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on May 11, 2017 at 4:38pm

2 minute recap.

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Permalink Reply by David Boots on May 13, 2017 at 9:01am

Given that the president:

- received less votes than the opposition candidate;

- has suspected financial and political links to a totalitarian regime;

- has benefited in election tampering by a foreign power;

- has compromised the supreme court by appointing a partisan nominee to the highest bench;

- has not yet had the legislature place any limit on his power;

- has sacked the head of the domestic security service during an investigation into the president's links to a foreign power;

- appointed his own daughter and son-in-law to positions of power within the government; and

- used taxpayer funds to advance his own business interests,

the USA is now a defective democracy and well on its to becoming a despotic regime. It has all the fundamental elments:

- purging;

- demanding unquestioning loyalty;

- nepotism;

- mocking the intelligentsia;

- criminalize the opposition ('crooked Hilary'); and

- changing electoral rules.

Good luck. By the time Trump finishes the opposition candidate will need two votes for every vote he gets.

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Permalink Reply by Davis Goodman on May 13, 2017 at 11:26am

Despite all the problems seen right now (and they are a pretty scary set of problems), one thing you can count on with Americans, is turning their adoring love for a politician into full out disgust...in a short period of time.

As much nonsense as the Republican party has let happen yet, I cannot imagine things getting so bad to the point that Trump can brazenly defy the mechanisms that defend the constitution and still get away with. Americans are pretty good at overthrowing leaders that begin to attack tyrranical leaders (The british, Nixon) not to mention the numerous assasinations.

While I agree things are very grim, and Trump would not hesitate to become a tyrrant if Americans would let him, I simply cannot imgaine Americans letting that go on for long.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on May 13, 2017 at 11:41am

It's already happening.

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Permalink Reply by Davis Goodman on May 13, 2017 at 12:53pm

Well...according to that web of users who mentioned a term on average 8 times, Americans are all a bunch of good bigots. Wait a minute...

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Permalink Reply by TJ on May 13, 2017 at 3:21pm

Comey was well respected at the FBI as a straight shooter, so even those that disagreed with him, knew he had the integrity to maintain his unbiased/non-political position.

He would not play basket ball with Obama, even though he loves to play, BECAUSE he felt it might influence his partisanship, etc. 

So, asking a man who values integrity, to pledge fealty to a party under investigation, by him, is a misjudgment by Trump...albeit a misjudgment one might expect of him in particular.

Firing the man afterwards, when realizing he was NOT loyal to him, was the icing on the cake as it hit the floor upside down.

The intent, of course, was to bully the "new director" and anyone else who might be "next" into backing off on the investigation.

In the US, where we ARE typically at least, used to trusting the government to sort itself out...this sort of thing is even a tough sell to an idiot...it REEKS of corruption, AND reeks of corruption used to hide still MORE corruption.

IE: Even a moron can get that if you were innocent, an investigation would help not hurt...and, therefore, preventing it, means you are afraid of it....because you did something you don't want exposed.

You would not need to be the Head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to consider this, heck, the Police Chief in Fargo or the Chef at a local taco stand, would come to the same conclusion....etc.

The question is, who is willing to stand up to the abuse that they will need to, to prosecute this?

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