Octopus Overlords

Donald Trump himself actually wrote:BIG CPAC STRAW POLL RESULTS: 93% APPROVE OF THE JOB PRESIDENT TRUMP IS DOING (Thank you!). 50% say President Trump should Tweet MORE or SAME (funny!). 79% say Republicans in Congress should do a better job of working with President Trump (starting to happen).

Unbelievable: the Trump campaign just sent out an email using the Parkland shooting, including photos of survivors, to raise money for his reelection campaign.

He patted his bald spot. He said his opponents “committed a lot of atrocities.” At one point, he pantomimed a stabbing. The U.S. president’s Friday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference was an old-fashioned campaign-style ramble.

Early in U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech Friday to the Conservative Political Action Conference, he paused to ask the audience a question.

His prepared text, he said, was “a little boring.” Would they mind if he went “off script a little bit”?

In truth, he had not been very on-script even before that. What followed the crowd’s endorsement, though, was the kind of rambling, inflammatory, oft-inaccurate, and captivating discursion he performed at his 2016 campaign rallies.

He even brought back some of his campaign’s greatest hits: mockery of Hillary Clinton, graphic descriptions of crimes committed by Latino gang members, and a dramatic reading of the lyrics to “The Snake,” a song he uses as an allegory for how dangerous immigrants are.

It is impossible to do the speech justice by summarizing a few key points. Here is a minute-by-minute account of what happened...

President Trump delivered an hour-long speech at CPAC on Friday that touched on job creation, immigration, chain migration, merit-based migration, his forthcoming Mexican border wall, the dangers of complacency, his own bald spot, tax cuts, the Parkland shooting, his support for the 2nd amendment, concealed carry, the need to arm school teachers, the war on coal, the Iran deal, China, his 2011 CPAC speech, John McCain's dramatic healthcare vote, the trade deficit, standing for the national anthem, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, easier access to guns on military bases, his intent to display the corpse of Billy Graham inside the Capitol rotunda, MS-13, DACA, the Paris Accords, the fact that people run to stay in shape, Foxconn, mental illness, unemployment, the results of the 2016 election, worshipping God, the notion that he used to get really good publicity and no longer does, West Virginia, Neil Gorsuch, a protester who was hauled out by security, his own image on the jumbo-tron, and his desire to watch himself speak. He also recited the lyrics to a song called "The Snake."

Moments before leaving the stage, he announced new sanctions on North Korea.

Max Peck wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 11:39 am But at least he heard them before he exploited them.

While signing a bill that aims to combat the opioid crisis last month, President Trump hinted that he’d come up with the solution to the complex problem, but couldn’t talk about it.

“There is an answer. I think I actually know the answer, but I’m not sure the country is ready for it yet,” Trump said. “Does anybody know what I mean? I think so.”

No one knew what he meant. “Yeah, I wondered about that,” said Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who was at the signing. “I didn’t follow up and ask.”

Many dismissed the comment as more of Trump’s regular, incoherent ramblings. However, now it seems the president may actually have a secret plan to fight the opioid epidemic, beyond hiring a 24-year-old ingenue as his deputy drug czar and an ad campaign that was supposed to launch during the Super Bowl but didn’t come together in time. Axios’s Jonathan Swan reports that he’s been telling friends for months that drug dealers should face the death penalty, citing policies in Singapore and the Philippines.

“He says that a lot,” said a source. “He says, ‘When I ask the prime minister of Singapore do they have a drug problem [the prime minister replies,] ‘No. Death penalty’.”

Trump is reportedly convinced that the key to ending America’s drug problems is making dealers fear for their lives and kids fear that even trying drugs will kill them — but he’s also acknowledged that the U.S. probably won’t pass a law mandating that all drug dealers be executed.

When Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, he was a highly respected real-estate mogul known for his incredible business instincts and impeccable taste (or at least, that’s the character he played on TV). He could have spent his days enjoying the good life — golfing at a different Trump resort every weekend, eating fast food in bed, and tweeting about things he saw on Fox News — but instead, he generously decided to share his talents with the American people. “My whole life, I have been greedy, greedy, greedy,” Trump explained. “But now I want to be greedy for the United States.”

As president, Trump has made good on that promise by putting a number of his personal employees to work for the American people. He put Lynne Patton, who organized his golf tournaments and planned his son Eric’s wedding, in charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New York and New Jersey office. Keith Schiller, Trump’s longtime personal bodyguard, ran Oval Office operations, and is now sharing his vast security expertise with the Republican National Committee for just $15,000 per month. Deeply impressed by Jared Kushner’s ability to run his dad’s company and be married to his daughter, Trump put him in charge of large swaths of U.S. policy.

Now Trump is at is again. Axios reports that his longtime personal pilot, John Dunkin, is on the short list to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. While there are some other candidates in the running, and no decision has been made, Trump has reportedly been telling people that he wants Dunkin to get the job.

Remus West wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:47 am Donald Trump - Making America the Philippines one nasty drug battle at a time.

pr0ner wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:35 am Trump's getting a little unhinged watching Fox and Friends this morning.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 6639004672

“He’s got a very good point. Somebody in the Justice Department has a treasure trove of evidence of Mrs. Clinton’s criminality at her own hands, or through others, that ought to be investigated. I fully agree with the President on that.” @judgenapolitano on @marthamaccallum Show

“I’ve been skeptical about the collusion and obstruction claims for the last year. I just don’t see the evidence....in terms of the collusion, it’s all a bit implausible based on the evidence we have.” Jonathan Turley on @FoxNews

“We’ve seen NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION....I have seen nothing, the firing of James Comey and all of the aftermath, that suggests that the President has obstructed justice because he’s exercising his power as the President of the U.S. I just don’t see it.” Judge Ken Starr

malchior wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:11 pm Word is that Trump is about to announce he is running for re-election. Odd timing but a 'of course' moment at best. He will also name the first of dozens of campaign managers.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:25 pm

malchior wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:11 pm Word is that Trump is about to announce he is running for re-election. Odd timing but a 'of course' moment at best. He will also name the first of dozens of campaign managers.

I thought he officially did that his first week in office?

malchior wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:11 pm Odd timing but a 'of course' moment at best.

But National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday there is only so much he can do. That is because, according to Rogers, President Trump has not ordered him to go after the Russian attacks at their origin.
...
Rogers agreed with Blumenthal's estimation that Russian cyber operatives continue to attack the U.S. with impunity and that Washington's response has fallen short.

"It hasn't changed the calculus, is my sense," the spy chief told Blumenthal. "It certainly hasn't generated the change in behavior that I think we all know we need."

The only intelligence agency head to be held over from the Obama administration told Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached a conclusion: There is little price to pay for his actions and they can therefore continue.

Sepiche wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:28 pm Some pretty frank testimony from NSA Head Admiral Rogers today:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... terference

But National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday there is only so much he can do. That is because, according to Rogers, President Trump has not ordered him to go after the Russian attacks at their origin.
...
Rogers agreed with Blumenthal's estimation that Russian cyber operatives continue to attack the U.S. with impunity and that Washington's response has fallen short.

"It hasn't changed the calculus, is my sense," the spy chief told Blumenthal. "It certainly hasn't generated the change in behavior that I think we all know we need."

The only intelligence agency head to be held over from the Obama administration told Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached a conclusion: There is little price to pay for his actions and they can therefore continue.

YellowKing wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:35 pm In my opinion, it's an impeachable offense (among countless other things). He's willfully and purposefully violating the Presidential oath to preserve, protect, and defend, and to faithfully execute the office.

GreenGoo wrote:Note: I don't normally hold someone's marriage history against them, but I really don't like him, plus he obviously trades in for a new one when the current model gets too old, which is a shitty thing to do.

YellowKing wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:55 am I have zero respect for someone who would do that to their family. Particularly when there are kids involved, much less a newborn baby. And the fact people still kiss his ass and talk about how much he's doing for this country. It's nauseating. That guy is a world-class piece of shit.

Remus West wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:27 amI would hope that given the state of things today perspective would show his shittiness is confined to an extremely local (to him and not us) level rather than world class.