The Former Trump Presidency Thread

[Chaz]

We really are going down this path. It's goddamn terrifying, and I don't know that there's anything that can really be done to stop it. Like, if the President and the DoJ are complicit, where the hell are we supposed to turn?

And just for reference, this is the same Republican party that lost their shit at the suggestion that the IRS was targeting Republican groups for audits, right?

[El Guapo]

The Trump train hitting CNN is really classy after Charlottesville this weekend.

It employs obvious hyperbole as a rhetorical device.

I will say that while I am disturbed by the President continuing to attack press institutions, the cartoon doesn't show a reporter getting run over by the train, as people are saying. The reporter is trying to hold back the train, and is getting pushed forward by the train (but not run over or obviously harmed).

It's still bad, though.

[Zaxxon]

We really are going down this path. It's goddamn terrifying, and I don't know that there's anything that can really be done to stop it. Like, if the President and the DoJ are complicit, where the hell are we supposed to turn?

The Congress, of course.

OK, I'll go back to my crying cave.

[Max Peck]

The Trump train hitting CNN is really classy after Charlottesville this weekend.

It employs obvious hyperbole as a rhetorical device.

Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on a Trumpkin actually knowing what that means. I suspect the motivation was more in line with "Get triggered, libtards!"

[LawBeefaroni]

We really are going down this path. It's goddamn terrifying, and I don't know that there's anything that can really be done to stop it. Like, if the President and the DoJ are complicit, where the hell are we supposed to turn?

The Congress, of course.

OK, I'll go back to my crying cave.

The judiciary currently, right? Dream Host is fighting the request in court.

[Max Peck]

The Trump train hitting CNN is really classy after Charlottesville this weekend.

It employs obvious hyperbole as a rhetorical device.

I will say that while I am disturbed by the President continuing to attack press institutions, the cartoon doesn't show a reporter getting run over by the train, as people are saying. The reporter is trying to hold back the train, and is getting pushed forward by the train (but not run over or obviously harmed).

It's still bad, though.

Obviously, the meme shows journalists as aspirational superheroes, valiantly striving to be more powerful than a locomotive. The follow-up will undoubtly be a reporter trying to be faster than a speeding bullet.

[Max Peck]

We really are going down this path. It's goddamn terrifying, and I don't know that there's anything that can really be done to stop it. Like, if the President and the DoJ are complicit, where the hell are we supposed to turn?

The Congress, of course.

OK, I'll go back to my crying cave.

The judiciary currently, right? Dream Host is fighting the request in court.

Is it in one of the courts that the administration has been quietly packing with hand-picked judges while everyone is bedazzled by the daily presidential fireworks displays?

[malchior]

More:

The warrant, dated July 12, says that authorities will seize any information constituting violations of D.C. code governing riots that involve individuals connected to the protests on Inauguration Day.

More than 200 people were indicted on felony rioting charges in connection with the protests in Washington on Jan. 20.

This a tough issue. I see where the DOJ is coming from. If I'm decoding this right, there is a fundamental problem the Government faces to pursue this case. Breaking it down somewhat, Dreamhost can't identify individuals from IP addresses. Therefore the DOJ can't just ask for the records pertaining to the people identified so far.

In addition, the ISPs probably can't identify what sites a person visited. They have DNS records perhaps but it won't be in the detail necessary to show what pages/posts could be attributed to a person.

They probably need the data from Dreamhost *and* the ISP. They likely have the ISP info already. Therefore the Government likely has a legitimate need to collect this data to correlate individuals to what those individuals discussed. That would be necessary perhaps to build a case for conspiracy charges to riot and such. There probably is no feasible alternative.

In any case, I see this as fairly normal. I personally would need to see evidence that this is about identifying anti-Trump protesters en masse versus the people being targeted before my alarm level would rise here.

[stessier]

That cartoon seem pretty common for a political cartoon. I disagree with the sentiment but don't see anything wrong with the art.

[stessier]

More:

The warrant, dated July 12, says that authorities will seize any information constituting violations of D.C. code governing riots that involve individuals connected to the protests on Inauguration Day.

More than 200 people were indicted on felony rioting charges in connection with the protests in Washington on Jan. 20.

This a tough issue. I see where the DOJ is coming from. If I'm decoding this right, there is a fundamental problem the Government faces to pursue this case. Breaking it down somewhat, Dreamhost can't identify individuals from IP addresses. Therefore the DOJ can't just ask for the records pertaining to the people identified so far.

In addition, the ISPs probably can't identify what sites a person visited. They have DNS records perhaps but it won't be in the detail necessary to show what pages/posts could be attributed to a person.

They probably need the data from Dreamhost *and* the ISP. They likely have the ISP info already. Therefore the Government likely has a legitimate need to collect this data to correlate individuals to what those individuals discussed. That would be necessary perhaps to build a case for conspiracy charges to riot and such. There probably is no feasible alternative.

In any case, I see this as fairly normal. I personally would need to see evidence that this is about identifying anti-Trump protesters en masse versus the people being targeted before my alarm level would rise here.

You're kidding, right? I honestly can't tell.

[Freyland]

The Trump train hitting CNN is really classy after Charlottesville this weekend.

It employs obvious hyperbole as a rhetorical device.

I will say that while I am disturbed by the President continuing to attack press institutions, the cartoon doesn't show a reporter getting run over by the train, as people are saying. The reporter is trying to hold back the train, and is getting pushed forward by the train (but not run over or obviously harmed).

It's still bad, though.

Obviously, the meme shows journalists as aspirational superheroes, valiantly striving to be more powerful than a locomotive. The follow-up will undoubtly be a reporter trying to be faster than a speeding bullet.

You know, I get the logical extension you are making with the suggested follow up comic, but given Trump's apparent desire for the Press to disappear, I fear the trying to be faster will be a key emphasis.

[Max Peck]

More:

The warrant, dated July 12, says that authorities will seize any information constituting violations of D.C. code governing riots that involve individuals connected to the protests on Inauguration Day.

More than 200 people were indicted on felony rioting charges in connection with the protests in Washington on Jan. 20.

This a tough issue. I see where the DOJ is coming from. If I'm decoding this right, there is a fundamental problem the Government faces to pursue this case. Breaking it down somewhat, Dreamhost can't identify individuals from IP addresses. Therefore the DOJ can't just ask for the records pertaining to the people identified so far.

In addition, the ISPs probably can't identify what sites a person visited. They have DNS records perhaps but it won't be in the detail necessary to show what pages/posts could be attributed to a person.

They probably need the data from Dreamhost *and* the ISP. They likely have the ISP info already. Therefore the Government likely has a legitimate need to collect this data to correlate individuals to what those individuals discussed. That would be necessary perhaps to build a case for conspiracy charges to riot and such. There probably is no feasible alternative.

In any case, I see this as fairly normal. I personally would need to see evidence that this is about identifying anti-Trump protesters en masse versus the people being targeted before my alarm level would rise here.

Is dangerously overbroad synonymous with normal, or is it just the new normal?

DreamHost's brief illuminates the key issues: the search warrant is dangerously overbroad, and implicates protected speech. The Department of Justice isn't just seeking communications by the defendants in its case. It's seeking the records of every single contact with the site — the IP address and other details of every American opposed enough to Trump to visit the site and explore political activism. It seeks the communications with and through the site of everyone who visited and commented, whether or not that communication is part of a crime or just political expression about the President of the United States. The government has made no effort whatsoever to limit the warrant to actual evidence of any particular crime. If you visited the site, if you left a message, they want to know who and where you are — whether or not you did anything but watch TV on inauguration day. This is chilling, particularly when it comes from an administration that has expressed so much overt hostility to protesters, so relentlessly conflated all protesters with those who break the law, and so deliberately framed America as being at war with the administration's domestic enemies.

There's a hearing on the Department of Justice's motion on Friday. I'll keep an eye on the case. You should too, and please spread the word that this is what the government is trying to do.

Popehat, lawsplain' that you can trust.

[Skinypupy]

So, three CEO's have given Trump the finger and walked away from his Presidential Business Council because of his non-response to the Charlottesville incident. Trump has only publicly gone after one of them, and has done so multiple times. Guess which one of the three is black?

Total coincidence, I'm sure.

[Zaxxon]

We really are going down this path. It's goddamn terrifying, and I don't know that there's anything that can really be done to stop it. Like, if the President and the DoJ are complicit, where the hell are we supposed to turn?

The Congress, of course.

OK, I'll go back to my crying cave.

The judiciary currently, right? Dream Host is fighting the request in court.

Is it in one of the courts that the administration has been quietly packing with hand-picked judges while everyone is bedazzled by the daily presidential fireworks displays?

Yeah, I was referring to the larger issue of being led by a madman. The judiciary would be the current step. I have total faith that it will be enough.

[malchior]

More:

The warrant, dated July 12, says that authorities will seize any information constituting violations of D.C. code governing riots that involve individuals connected to the protests on Inauguration Day.

More than 200 people were indicted on felony rioting charges in connection with the protests in Washington on Jan. 20.

This a tough issue. I see where the DOJ is coming from. If I'm decoding this right, there is a fundamental problem the Government faces to pursue this case. Breaking it down somewhat, Dreamhost can't identify individuals from IP addresses. Therefore the DOJ can't just ask for the records pertaining to the people identified so far.

In addition, the ISPs probably can't identify what sites a person visited. They have DNS records perhaps but it won't be in the detail necessary to show what pages/posts could be attributed to a person.

They probably need the data from Dreamhost *and* the ISP. They likely have the ISP info already. Therefore the Government likely has a legitimate need to collect this data to correlate individuals to what those individuals discussed. That would be necessary perhaps to build a case for conspiracy charges to riot and such. There probably is no feasible alternative.

In any case, I see this as fairly normal. I personally would need to see evidence that this is about identifying anti-Trump protesters en masse versus the people being targeted before my alarm level would rise here.

Is dangerously overbroad synonymous with normal, or is it just the new normal?

DreamHost's brief illuminates the key issues: the search warrant is dangerously overbroad, and implicates protected speech. The Department of Justice isn't just seeking communications by the defendants in its case. It's seeking the records of every single contact with the site — the IP address and other details of every American opposed enough to Trump to visit the site and explore political activism. It seeks the communications with and through the site of everyone who visited and commented, whether or not that communication is part of a crime or just political expression about the President of the United States. The government has made no effort whatsoever to limit the warrant to actual evidence of any particular crime. If you visited the site, if you left a message, they want to know who and where you are — whether or not you did anything but watch TV on inauguration day. This is chilling, particularly when it comes from an administration that has expressed so much overt hostility to protesters, so relentlessly conflated all protesters with those who break the law, and so deliberately framed America as being at war with the administration's domestic enemies.

There's a hearing on the Department of Justice's motion on Friday. I'll keep an eye on the case. You should too, and please spread the word that this is what the government is trying to do.

Popehat, lawsplain' that you can trust.

I'm technical investigations and Popehat is a lawyer's perspective. That doesn't mean either is right or wrong in total. I've worked with numerous investigations and sometimes they truly are fishing expeditions. That usually is out of a lack of understanding because the lawyers aren't very technical. The investigators usually are though (nowadays) so I'm inclined to believe they asked for a good reason. Sometimes it is because it is the only way forward. However I'd agree and say that understanding the argument is prudent. I wouldn't call it overbroad yet and dangerously overboard is hyberbole. Without understanding the technical details and/or protections they'll promise the judge you just can't tell. And yes that implies maybe calling it normal is a little premature too. I'm assuming a bit based on past experiences. But this to me is monitor worthy; I do not believe this is a holy shit the purge is coming level event.

Edit: Goddamn autocorrect is killing me today.

[RunningMn9]

The Trump train hitting CNN is really classy after Charlottesville this weekend.

It employs obvious hyperbole as a rhetorical device.

It certainly does, in a classless and ill-timed fashion.

[LawBeefaroni]

Sometimes it is because it is the only way forward.

That's the point. When the only way forward violates the Constitution, you don't get to go forward.

Edit: Goddamn autocorrect is killing me today.

Tell me about if.

[RunningMn9]

So, three CEO's have given Trump the finger and walked away from his Presidential Business Council because of his non-response to the Charlottesville incident. Trump has only publicly gone after one of them, and has done so multiple times. Guess which one of the three is black?

Total coincidence, I'm sure.

That could also be because he was first. And when Dunce started attacking, he was the only CEO.

I'm curious about who is left on the council (this is the one that Musk had already left, right?). At some point do the remaining folks want to be viewed as the ones that stayed (which will almost certainly be viewed unfavorably).

[Zaxxon]

So, three CEO's have given Trump the finger and walked away from his Presidential Business Council because of his non-response to the Charlottesville incident. Trump has only publicly gone after one of them, and has done so multiple times. Guess which one of the three is black?

Total coincidence, I'm sure.

That could also be because he was first. And when Dunce started attacking, he was the only CEO.

I'm curious about who is left on the council (this is the one that Musk had already left, right?). At some point do the remaining folks want to be viewed as the ones that stayed (which will almost certainly be viewed unfavorably).

Yes, this is the same council that Musk left long ago. I don't recall Trump blasting him, but I may have missed it.

Unclear whether I should be pleased to see the rest of the council coming to their senses, or dismayed that there will soon be even fewer supposedly rational people advising Trump.

Not that he's shown any predilection to take said advice, but...

[malchior]

Sometimes it is because it is the only way forward.

That's the point. When the only way forward violates the Constitution, you don't get to go forward.

Right but I guess we'll just have to trust the judge. Hanging off the fire alarm seems a bit much right now. Like I said this is fairly normal from the technical investigations side. This type of thing has happened before...maybe not routinely but a far cry from never. I get that not trusting the Trump DOJ heavily factors in of course.

[LordMortis]

So, three CEO's have given Trump the finger and walked away from his Presidential Business Council because of his non-response to the Charlottesville incident. Trump has only publicly gone after one of them, and has done so multiple times. Guess which one of the three is black?

Total coincidence, I'm sure.

That could also be because he was first. And when Dunce started attacking, he was the only CEO.

I'm curious about who is left on the council (this is the one that Musk had already left, right?). At some point do the remaining folks want to be viewed as the ones that stayed (which will almost certainly be viewed unfavorably).

February

http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-o ... cil-2017-2

Today


http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ma ... -in-2017-8

"For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!" -CommanderInTweet.

I think the two shall take it's place, heil hydra was implied.

[RunningMn9]

Another guy just bailed (Scott Paul, President of the Alliance of American Manufacturers).

[pr0ner]

When I saw Trump's tweet end in JOBS!, this South Park video was all I could think about.

[Max Peck]

Edit: Goddamn autocorrect is killing me today.

Tell me about if.

That thing you did. It's there, and I see it.

[Max Peck]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 0442143744

For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!

Did he... did he just summon Zombie Steve Jobs to serve on his Dark Council?

Also, his lack of self-awareness is endlessly entertaining. "Grandstanders should not have gone on." Millions of people have been saying that since the beginning of the primaries.

[LordMortis]

[Pyperkub]

You know, I get the logical extension you are making with the suggested follow up comic, but given Trump's apparent desire for the Press to disappear, I fear the trying to be faster will be a key emphasis.

Trump doesn't desire the press to disappear. He desires the press to be a mouthpiece and loyal to him.

Essentially, a PR vehicle. Like it was when he was doing network reality TV and not real reality TV.

This dovetails quite appropriately with his refusal to initially denounce the Charlottesville attack (as well as his being forced to be more vociferous in calling it out - like his parents made him do it) - he views anyone protesting (or even criticizing) him as disloyal and the enemy, and really doesn't care about them.

[Pyperkub]

A list of the evidence about Trump:

THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump often behaves, first and foremost, as if he is the president of the states and people who voted for him.

That’s at odds with the American tradition, and it’s problematic as a governing philosophy — especially in a moment of crisis. Trump’s initially tone-deaf response to Charlottesville underscores why.

[Nightwish]

Is dangerously overbroad synonymous with normal, or is it just the new normal?

It's the natural and expected consequence of The Other witch hunt. Unless you repeal and replace the Patriot Act instead of continuously expanding it, it's only a matter of time. Trump is probably too incompetent to be the dictator, though.

[Octavious]

Is dangerously overbroad synonymous with normal, or is it just the new normal?

It's the natural and expected consequence of The Other witch hunt. Unless you repeal and replace the Patriot Act instead of continuously expanding it, it's only a matter of time. Trump is probably too incompetent to be the dictator, though.

Thankfully he's old and unhealthy. I pray every day that he just keels over. And yes I would cheer if that happened.

[Isgrimnur]

Somewhere, I've run the numbers. Odds are not good that he drops dead.

[$iljanus]

Somewhere, I've run the numbers. Odds are not good that he drops dead.

Best to encourage him to eat more ice cream.

[Defiant]

Somewhere, I've run the numbers. Odds are not good that he drops dead.

Have you considered the health effects of draining the "swamp" into the White House and his lying down in filth?

[LordMortis]

I pray every day that he just keels over. And yes I would cheer if that happened.

I would sigh in relief. How sad is that.

Somewhere, I've run the numbers. Odds are not good that he drops dead.

Have you considered the health effects of draining the "swamp" into the White House and his lying down in filth?

They do age quick in the White House but I don't think Orange Man treats the job with seriousness of any one else. He's an old bigot with no attention span ranting and seek adulation while we hope and pray other people are doing his job. OtOH, Putin has to have his strings a bit stressed out.

[Holman]

Well, he *is* the healthiest individual ever to run for the presidency.

[Unagi]

They do age quick in the White House but I don't think Orange Man treats the job with seriousness of any one else. He's an old bigot with no attention span ranting and seek adulation while we hope and pray other people are doing his job. OtOH, Putin has to have his strings a bit stressed out.

Trump's never been under this much obvious hate and scrutiny. I have to think this is aging him even faster than the norm...

[Kraken]

Is dangerously overbroad synonymous with normal, or is it just the new normal?

It's the natural and expected consequence of The Other witch hunt. Unless you repeal and replace the Patriot Act instead of continuously expanding it, it's only a matter of time. Trump is probably too incompetent to be the dictator, though.

Thankfully he's old and unhealthy. I pray every day that he just keels over. And yes I would cheer if that happened.

...until Pence puts his hand on that bible. Be careful what you wish for.

[LawBeefaroni]

Yeah, there's no quick turnaround after this. It will take decades to fully recover. Pence or whoever comes next. We have done serious damage and lowered the bar forever.

[Zarathud]

Since when did Trump wait to get the facts before making a statement? Or care whether his statement is correct?

All the while Trump was attacking the news? Unreal.

[Unagi]

He's a fucking disgrace. He strains to make excuses for them, in order to keep them as supporters. He's a creature from hell.