Political Roundtable Part XIX

[Jamaaliver]

That awkward moment when even the crazy right-wingers on Fox News take issue with the poor reporting and mischaracterizations from the network.

Fox News Analyst Quits, Calls Network a ‘Propaganda Machine

A longtime Fox News commentator on Tuesday let the network have it in a scathing letter to colleagues announcing his departure.

In an email to Fox News staff, first obtained by BuzzFeed News, strategic analyst Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters claimed he decided not to renew his contract earlier this month because of how “ashamed” he is of Fox.

Peters attributed his decision to Fox’s defense of President Trump amid alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election, declaring that the network was increasingly “wittingly harming our system of government for profit.”

He continued: “Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration.”

Perhaps ironically, Peters has never been known as one of the network’s moderate or even left-leaning contributors.

In the past, Peters has used his Fox News airtime to bash Muslims and advance extremely hawkish national-security policies. He was infamously suspended by Fox News for two weeks in late 2015 after he described President Obama as “a total pu**y” on-air.

The Daily Beast

[gtn130]

Can the Nates and SD20s of the world explain what Trump congratulating Putin means? Doesn't make y'all suspicious at all?

[dckingsfan]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

We should keep in mind that most years, regardless of the party in office, the federal government issues many costly new rules, adding billions per year to the cumulative burden, and that avoiding those additional new rules, let alone reducing the cumulative total, is a big win for American business. Going forward, we should expect even more of what we saw in 2017 as the larger scale regulatory reform efforts, such as those at the EPA, begin bearing fruit. Regulatory reform is hard work, and achieving meaningful reform and eliminating harmful rules takes time. But if 2017 is any indication, we should see good results in the next few years.

[gtn130]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

We should keep in mind that most years, regardless of the party in office, the federal government issues many costly new rules, adding billions per year to the cumulative burden, and that avoiding those additional new rules, let alone reducing the cumulative total, is a big win for American business. Going forward, we should expect even more of what we saw in 2017 as the larger scale regulatory reform efforts, such as those at the EPA, begin bearing fruit. Regulatory reform is hard work, and achieving meaningful reform and eliminating harmful rules takes time. But if 2017 is any indication, we should see good results in the next few years.

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

[dckingsfan]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

We should keep in mind that most years, regardless of the party in office, the federal government issues many costly new rules, adding billions per year to the cumulative burden, and that avoiding those additional new rules, let alone reducing the cumulative total, is a big win for American business. Going forward, we should expect even more of what we saw in 2017 as the larger scale regulatory reform efforts, such as those at the EPA, begin bearing fruit. Regulatory reform is hard work, and achieving meaningful reform and eliminating harmful rules takes time. But if 2017 is any indication, we should see good results in the next few years.

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

[Zonkerbl]

on a day when another school shooting took place and a good guy with a gun thwarted a mass killing. not a peep on CNN so i thought i would post this here so you guys would know. CNN is strictly talking about palace intrigue. stormy and 2 other chicks Trump may or may not have had an affair...but either way are in clear violation of their lawful NDA. CNN doesnt care. gives them a voice to break the law. and again, no coverage of this hero who saved lives today WITH A GUN. ARMED GUARD!! AT A SCHOOL.

Read on Twitter

STD, the alt-right bad fiction machine, once again lying about something easily fact checked. Here's CNN's story, last updated 7:24 yesterday, including:

A 17-year-old male student shot two other students at Great Mills High School in Maryland on Tuesday morning before a school resource officer engaged him and stopped the threat, authorities said.

and

School resource officer Blaine Gaskill responded to the scene in less than a minute, the sheriff said. Gaskill fired a round at the shooter, and the shooter fired a round simultaneously, Cameron said.

Oh and hey, look, here's another CNN story, Lone resource officer's quick action stopped the Maryland school shooter within seconds

As soon as the gunfire began, Gaskill rushed to the scene. He fired a round at the shooter, who also fired a round at the same time, Cameron said.
It's not yet clear whether the shooter, Austin Wyatt Rollins, was felled by the officer's bullet or killed himself.
"DFC [Deputy First Class] Gaskill fired at the shooter ... almost simultaneously as the shooter fired," Cameron said. "This is something we train, practice and in reality, hope would never come to fruition. This is our worst nightmare."
Gov. Larry Hogan called Gaskill "a very capable school resource officer who also happened to be a SWAT team member."
"This is a tough guy who apparently closed in very quickly and took the right kind of action," he said. "And while I think it's still tragic, he may have saved other people's lives."

I work in an office that has very few alt right wing nuts like you, and they were the silent ones yesterday, because in the face of liberals actually saying, repeatedly, that the shooter was stopped by an armed officer on the scene at the school, it was impossible for them to fabricate the stories that you do in your basement room, with no Playboy models around to contradict you.

I guess Ralph Peters needs to quit you.

Pretty disgusting that bloodthirsty gun violence advocates are celebrating the entirely avoidable death of a child. Here’s an idea- how about making sure the kid doesn’t have a gun in the first place?

[I_Like_Dirt]

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

Yeah, but there is more nuance than even what you're suggesting. Rolling back regulations isn't even a good thing if other costs associated come about. I mean, whether or not banking or real estate regulations imposed after the housing and financial crashes of not so long ago is actually going to save the government money or going to result in even more bailouts isn't quite so certain, and the potential costs are rather massive overall. Simplifying regulation can be a good thing, but weakening government by slashing regulations outright can allow a country to be overrun by big business, and things don't work out great in the long run when that happens. The author makes no mention of that and rather just lumps everything together and suggests that cutting government costs is good. That isn't always true as costs are sometimes a price worth paying given the alternatives.

[nate33]

Can the Nates and SD20s of the world explain what Trump congratulating Putin means? Doesn't make y'all suspicious at all?

It means he has no interest in the neocon driven march to World War III.

[Ruzious]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

Oh, you mean like regulations on the banking industry that were demolished during W's administration - which caused a housing crisis - which forced government bailouts that cost many billions of dollars. I have zero... doubt that Trump's cutting of regulations is a publicity stunt that will cause far more harm than good.

[gtn130]

Can the Nates and SD20s of the world explain what Trump congratulating Putin means? Doesn't make y'all suspicious at all?

It means he has no interest in the neocon driven march to World War III.

hahahhaohwow thanks for the laugh

[Zonkerbl]

The Soviet-era and Soviet-style EPA really does need to be razed to the ground and rebuilt from the ground up. I think the ideal outcome would be for Trump to literally burn the building to the ground, and then when the Dems sweep in in 2018 and Kamala Harris becomes POTUS in 2020 we can rewrite the legislation from a neoliberal lens instead of a Soviet one. EPA needs to have an EXPLICIT mandate to solve market failures through the definition of property rights over pollution emissions, instead of stumbling across permitting schemes by accident, and there has to be an EXPLICIT MANDATE to take cost effectiveness into account, including the effects of regulations on international competitiveness.

[cammac]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

I agree regulations need to be change to meet the times.
BUT demolishing regulations in the EPA to cater to the energy sector is lunacy.
How many coal mining jobs are out there and will these regulations save a horse & buggy industry???
How many good paying jobs are created by stronger environmental standards plus getting health benefits from improved air quality and disposal issues. Coal still has a use in the steel industry but not in energy production.

[gtn130]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

Rick Perry, the guy who wants to abolish the EPA, is head of the EPA.

Rick Perry literally hugged a coal executive then did this:

Late last year, Rick Perry’s Department of Energy issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to bail out beleaguered coal and nuclear plants.

Specifically, the NOPR asked FERC to issue a rule ensuring full cost recovery for power plants with a 90-day supply of fuel on hand (i.e., coal and nuclear plants).

But yeah, rolling back those deeply harmful regulations is definitely what's going on here!

Like, yeah, maybe after the Trump admin does an infinite number of bad things, there will be one or two small ancillary unintended positive outcomes. What's your point?

[Zonkerbl]

Well, here is someone that likes Trump for a different reason... and possibly why he still has support in some quarters.

https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/the-trump-administration-s-historic-year-deregulation

Lol

The EPA being totally captured by lobbyists is a good reason to support Trump? Huh?

You don't get nuance do you

There was much of the rule making that has been burdensome financially on the country and many of those rules aren't pertinent or helpful. And yet no president has rolled any of them back.

Those are dollars that get pulled out of the economy and eventually out of government receipts. It should be a race to regulatory suicide.

The author didn't endorse trump but did endorse that specific action.

All of the big EPA rules were implemented after huge court battles. They have been through the crucible of the US courts' cross examination. There can be NO DOUBT that these rules address problems that Congress told EPA to fix. There is NO DOUBT that these rules are pertinent and helpful.

The problem is the klugy, lawyer-driven way the rules are implemented.

[FAH1223]

Can the Nates and SD20s of the world explain what Trump congratulating Putin means? Doesn't make y'all suspicious at all?

It means he has no interest in the neocon driven march to World War III.

The Presidents of Germany and France congratulated Putin. Though I believe Macron congratulated Russia on continuous political maturations or something like that.

Obama congratulated Putin in 2012.

That was before Crimea was annexed and 2016 election drama. But do external developments bear on legitimacy of internal elections?

I think everyone knows Russia has problems. There was ballot stuffing and other irregularities. Opposition candidates are splintered and some barred from running. The Communists are the biggest opposition it seems. But that was also the case in 2011 and 2012.

It is clear Putin doesn't need any vote rigging or opposition jailing. The man is popular and is credited for bringing Russia from its fragile weak state in 2000 after the pillaging of the country post-Soviet era.

But alas, thats the issue with power. We're seeing it in Turkey. Erdogan is similar. He doesn't need to be jailing journalists or opponents... but the attempted coup accelerated things to the surprise of everyone.

[closg00]

Watch on YouTube

Idiot bank robber coming in like he was in a Western

[gtn130]

The idea that Trump is Putin's b*tch because he wants to avoid the neocon WWIII agenda is one of the single dumbest takes possibly in the history of the internet.

Trump is about to bring on John Bolton as NSA. Pompeo is an archetypal war-mongering neocon. Trump wants to tear up the Iran deal.

You have to live in an alternate universe to think Trump's antics regarding Putin are in the name of diplomacy.

[Pointgod]

Personally a persons sexual adventures are there own and if you want to hire someone it is rather pathetic but guess it floats his boat. But if you are public person eventually it will come out and especially when you try to hide it through payoffs.

A former Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with Donald J. Trump sued on Tuesday to be released from a 2016 legal agreement requiring her silence, becoming the second woman this month to challenge Trump allies’ efforts during the presidential campaign to bury stories about extramarital relationships.

The model, Karen McDougal, is suing the company that owns The National Enquirer, American Media Inc., which paid her $150,000 and whose chief executive is a friend of Mr. Trump’s. The other woman, the adult entertainment star Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, was paid $130,000 to stay quiet by the president’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen. She filed suit earlier this month.

Both women, who argue that their contracts are invalid, are trying to get around clauses requiring them to resolve disputes in secretive arbitration proceedings rather than in open court, where the proceedings. Mr. Trump has denied the affairs.

Ms. Clifford and Ms. McDougal tell strikingly similar stories about their experiences with Mr. Trump, which included alleged trysts at the same Lake Tahoe golf tournament in 2006, dates at the same Beverly Hills hotel and promises of apartments as gifts. Their stories first surfaced in the The Wall Street Journal four days before the election, but got little traction in the swirl of news that followed Mr. Trump’s victory. The women even shared the same Los Angeles lawyer, Keith Davidson, who has long worked for clients who sell their stories to the tabloids.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/20/1750567/-Lordy-Lordy-Former-Playboy-model-comes-forward-with-similar-allegations-against-Trump

Right, it's the payoffs/bribes that are the problem. I don't care about his personal infidelities, but if bribes are being paid on his behalf - which they were - that's not acceptible.

Well if you're party of the party that runs on family values and morals then personal infidelities are 100% fair game and should be scrutinized. It's just like if a candidate said they wouldn't take political donations from corporations and they were caught taking political donations. At least one party would skewer them for their hypocrisy.

[Pointgod]

The idea that Trump is Putin's b*tch because he wants to avoid the neocon WWIII agenda is one of the single dumbest takes possibly in the history of the internet.

Trump is about to bring on John Bolton as NSA. Pompeo is an archetypal war-mongering neocon. Trump wants to tear up the Iran deal.

You have to live in an alternate universe to think Trump's antics regarding Putin are in the name of diplomacy.

Yeah only an idiot would believe this. Trump his shown that he's the typical Republican policy wise. Why would now be different? The only thing that might be stopping Trump from starting another war is a Demoratic Congress. That's the ONLY thing.

[Zonkerbl]

I sure wish Trump was this super genius dude with principles and a rock solid, internally logical agenda. Maybe I'm a stooge of the MSM but it sure looks like Trump is narcissistic serial liar with zero integrity and doesn't give two **** about what's good for our country. He's also a dude whose entire success in life is thanks to the Russians bailing him out big time. So which is easier to believe, all evidence to the contrary he's actually a principled advocate against military adventurism (again, god I really really wish this were true) or is he slobbering on Putin's nutsack because Putin has a vice grip on Trump's package?