Quotable Quotes

[sear]

Commenting on an anti-Constitutional presidential exemption from law:

"And Trump's Supreme Court just confirmed that's the case." #1,160

Indeed.

a)
And we know that's unConstitutional because the U.S. president is sworn to uphold the Constitution:

ARTICLE 2. SECTION 1. 7
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
- "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

And in that same executive article:

ARTICLE 2. SECTION 3.
"He [POTUS] shall ... take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and ... ."

There is no presidential exemption from this enumerated in the Constitution.

b)
This is worse than a grade-B horror movie. We the audience KNOW what's about to happen. BUT !!
In the cinema we can just close our eyes, & be spared the anguish.

In Trump, the sequel, the monster has already had his warm-up or "practice" round. The electorate has given Trump a fresh 4 years. Four years.
And the ones we must rely on to slam the brakes on this maniac are congressional Republicans, you know, like Speaker Johnson, Margie Green, & "Ted" Cruz.

Reportedly with some personal history with polio, Senator McConnell [R-KY] has thumped walking brain worm cemetery & Trump appointee RFK Jr. on anti-vax.

In any case, the next four years are likely to be crammed with accounts metaphorically akin to herding cats.

 

[Shiftless2]

And we know that's unConstitutional because the U.S. president is sworn to uphold the Constitution:

Trump has argued that the oath does not require him to "uphold" the Constitution, just "preserve, protect and defend" it.

 

[Shiftless2]

He still thinks that "the other guy" (China or whoever) is paying them ....

"The word 'tarrif' is the most beautiful word in the dictionary...I think it's more beautiful than 'love.'...I love tarrifs...'Tarrif.' It's music to my ears...It's going to make us rich." ~ Trump

 

[sear]

"He still thinks that "the other guy" (China or whoever) is paying them ...." S2 1,163

An errant leader that's well-meaning but misinformed might learn from the consequences of such folly, and alter course.

That's uncharacteristic of Trump, more likely to excuse himself by inventing redirected blame.

"The word 'tarrif' is the most beautiful word in the dictionary...I think it's more beautiful than 'love.'...I love tarrifs...'Tarrif.' It's music to my ears...It's going to make us rich." ~ Trump

An unknown drunkard in the wilds of Idaho might have more plausible justification for harboring this delusion.
A former president of the United States of America, and self-proclaimed "very stable genius" should not have to learn the error of this delusion OJT.
- madness -

note:
It seems the People's last chance to be spared the economic adversity of Trump following through on this would be sensible Trump handlers, members of Trump's inner circle.
Problem is, Trump appears to be doing what he can to exclude such "adults" from the room.

Soooo ... stock up on Beefaroni ?

"We know that protectionism makes the world poorer." George Will

 

[Shiftless2]

"You wouldn't believe how many countries there are." ~ Trump

He said something similar about healthcare the first time around - who knew healthcare was this complicated?

 

[sear]

"You wouldn't believe how many countries there are." ~ Trump

False memory? When I was in public school, in about 2nd grade (around 1962?), our class received a periodical titled My Weekly Reader.
iirc there was a report that the number of nations on Earth had increased to 111.

"He said something similar about healthcare the first time around - who knew healthcare was this complicated?" S2

Indeed. BUT !!
D.J. said that after he said:

"You're going to have such great healthcare at a tiny fraction of the cost." candidate Trump 16/10/25 from campaign podium

Trump authoritatively making this commitment knowing exceedingly little about healthcare administration.

"You wouldn't believe how many countries there are." ~ Trump

In psychology this is known as "projecting", to attribute (one's own ideas, feelings, or characteristics) to other people. Webster

Trump said "you". What Trump is actually saying is Trump himself didn't know ... .
Don, you're a dope.

 

[Shiftless2]

He still thinks that "the other guy" (China or whoever) is paying them ....

"The word 'tarrif' is the most beautiful word in the dictionary...I think it's more beautiful than 'love.'...I love tarrifs...'Tarrif.' It's music to my ears...It's going to make us rich." ~ Trump

I had this debate on FB earlier today - an old friend who has completely swallowed the orange Kool Aid was going on about how these tariffs were going to do wonderful things for the US Treasury.

 

[sear]

I had this debate on FB earlier today - an old friend who has completely swallowed the orange Kool Aid was going on about how these tariffs were going to do wonderful things for the US Treasury.

What will "they" (kool-aid swillers, MAGA hat wearers, and the orange Don himself) say when what conservative economists predict actually takes place?
Blame the recession on the Democrats?

 

[Shiftless2]

It's Obama's fault.

 

[sear]

"It's Obama's fault." S2 1,169

“You claim the mantle of the party of family values, and this is the guy you nominate”. President Obama commenting on the Republican party's nomination of Donald Trump (during headline news of Trump boasting about inappropriate behavior w/ women) FOX / Google 16/10/13

a) re-nominate
b) re-elect
c) they haven't claimed to be the party of family values lately.

 

[Shiftless2]

The friend I mentioned in #1,167 is convinced that Trump is the greatest thing that ever happened to America and that everything went to sh1t under Biden.

 

[sear]

Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader distinguished between being told what to think, and being taught how to think.

"The friend I mentioned in #1,167 is convinced that Trump is the greatest thing that ever happened to America and that everything went to sh1t under Biden." #1,171

It appears that view is more widespread than we may wish to believe. Trump won the election. That means people voted for him
by the way
by the millions.

And these Trump voters have been told - Biden is a disaster - . Their minds are made up. Confusing them with the facts may cause problems.


Only a mediocre person is always at his best. W. Somerset Maugham

You must learn to obey before you command. Solon

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. Edmond Burke

 

[Shiftless2]

"Increasing the debt ceiling is not great, but we'd rather do it on Biden's watch." ~ Trump

 

[sear]

"Increasing the debt ceiling is not great, but " T #1,173

a) Correct.
b) - "Correct" ?! - DJ ! You're off your game bud' !

"... we'd rather do it on Biden's watch." ~ Trump

The metaphorical adults in the room, the congressional Democrats have made a habit of buffering the affects of these artificial crises.
- What other nation on Earth has a "debt ceiling"?
- And what was the intended purpose of the U.S. federal debt ceiling? To curb out-spending revenues? Is it working? Has it ever worked even once?
- How many times has congress increased our debt ceiling, to avert crisis?
- How many more debt ceiling crises will the U.S. have to undergo before the Republican Speaker & the Republican Majority Leader declare this absurd, and abolish the debt ceiling entirely? Republicans did that to Roe, but can't do so for this?

What is the national debt?​

The national debt ($36.19 T) is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history.

$36,189,345,826,140.oo

Fiscal Data Explains the National Debt

Check out @FiscalService Fiscal Data’s new national debt page! #NationalDebt

fiscaldata.treasury.gov

 

[Shiftless2]

BTW, the National Debt does not include liabilities related to Social Security and Medicare. (That's by definition.) It also doesn't include funding shortfalls for any other government pension plans (federal, state, or municipal) and we've already seen municipalities declare bankruptcy to escape the obligations related to their pension plans.

 

[sear]

BTW, the National Debt does not include liabilities related to Social Security and Medicare. (That's by definition.) It also doesn't include funding shortfalls for any other government pension plans (federal, state, or municipal) and we've already seen municipalities declare bankruptcy to escape the obligations related to their pension plans.

And these "liabilities", the congressional euphemism for them is "entitlements", are far from incidental to U.S. federal expenditure:

"...everyone's for big government. The American People say we hate big government, but we like our social security and medicare. That's 38% of government right there. The biggest components of government are the most popular components of government." George Will Nov 30, 2003

By George !

Trump, Musk Threaten Government Shutdown. Here’s What That Costs​

Ari Natter / Wed, December 18, 2024 at 4:47 PM EST·

(Bloomberg) — The costly truth about US government shutdowns: They don’t save taxpayers a dime.
Elon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump’s key adviser and architect of the new administration’s cost-cutting crusade, is agitating for a shutdown ... he [Musk] declared such as shutdown “infinitely better than passing a horrible bill.”

Trump also rejected the interim spending package House Speaker Mike Johnson negotiated to keep the government operating beyond a Friday lapse and urged a government shutdown if Johnson can’t secure votes for a streamlined package.

Trump, Musk Threaten Government Shutdown. Here’s What That Costs

(Bloomberg) -- The costly truth about US government shutdowns: They don’t save taxpayers a dime. Most Read from BloombergNYPD Car Chases Are Becoming More Frequent — and More DangerousElon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump’s key adviser and architect of the new administration’s cost-cutting...

news.yahoo.com

Elon:
Try this:
Do your shutdown as you see fit. And if any savings result, YOU keep it. B U T !
ANY cost associated with it, you Elon Musk pay for out of pocket, in $full, before Trump's inauguration. Deal?

"What's pernicious about deficits for conservatives is this. It makes big government cheap. What we're doing, we're turning to the country, the "conservative" administration turns to the country and says: We're going to give you a dollar's worth of government, we're going to charge you seventy five cents for it. And we're going to let your kids pay the other quarter." George Will Nov 30, 2003

"Shutting down the government in my view is not conservative policy. I don't think a two week paid vacation for federal employees is conservative policy.
A number of us were saying back in July that this [government shutdown] strategy could not and would not work. And of course, it didn't. So there'll not be another government shutdown. You can count on that." Sen. McConnell (R-KY) CBS-TV Face The Nation 13/10/20

 

[Shiftless2]

And these "liabilities", the congressional euphemism for them is "entitlements", are far from incidental to U.S. federal expenditure:

The combined funding shortfall for Social Security and Medicare is well north of $140 Trillion (yes, that's with a "T")

This article is a few years old but the situation has only gotten worse since it was written

Social Security and Medicare: Trying to Tackle Two 800-pound Gorillas

While many people worry about the billions of dollars spent bailing out banks, auto makers and other sectors, shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security are what could ultimately sink efforts to revive the U.S. economy. As 78 million baby boomers begin to retire, funding for the government's two...

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

 

[sear]

"funding shortfall" #1,177

"The combined funding shortfall for Social Security and Medicare is well north of $140 Trillion (yes, that's with a "T")" S2 #1,177

With an estimated $29 $Trillion $GDP for 2024, this shortfall is over four times GDP. This is an atrocity.
And though congress may have inflicted this upon U.S., we face formidable enemies that have not exposed U.S. to adversity this severe. $Debt of this proportion threatens U.S. sovereignty, existence.

The U.S. (& West?) shut the adversarial Soviet Union down, not with bigger missiles or faster bullets.
In Cold War we exchanged direct carnage for production, the so called "arms race". We won. We bankrupted the Soviet Union, sent it to oblivion.

And now: it seems with enormous deficits and astronomical debt, congress is incrementing U.S. closer & closer to insolvency. And for what?

The M.A.D.ness of cataclysmic planetary genocide in a total nuclear exchange? - nope -
Because congress decided Social Security was better than IRA / 401k. The control freaks on Capitol Hill weren't willing to settle for regulating retirement plans. They wanted to administer them as well.

The Result:

$36,167,604,149,955.oo
Updated daily from the Debt to the Penny dataset.

Fiscal Data Explains the National Debt

Check out @FiscalService Fiscal Data’s new national debt page! #NationalDebt

fiscaldata.treasury.gov

Incidentally, today Russia's Ruble is worth less than one U.S. penny: 103.225 RUB / $US

 

[Shiftless2]

"If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under 'TRUMP'..." ~ Trump

"I cannot be happy with him. He invaded my home. I'm suing the country over it. ~ Trump on FBI director Christopher Wray

 

[sear]

"If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under 'TRUMP'..." ~ Trump

I may need a sanity check on this.
Seems to me this is the kind of naïve candor common to young children that simply lack the brain / mind development to recognize in it what the adult mind does.
- or -
the darker interpretation: Trump intends to make good on his dictatorship commitment made December 5, 2023 before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa:

"We love this guy," Trump said of Hannity. "He says, 'You're not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said: 'No, no, no, other than day one. We're closing the border, and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator.'"

"I cannot be happy with him. He invaded my home. I'm suing the country over it. ~ Trump on FBI director Christopher Wray

That's two in a row D.J.
BUT !
WHY was the warranted FBI search of Mar-a-lago conducted? Did they fail to locate, identify, remove the classified documents improperly, illegally stored there? You're "suing the country" because YOU broke the law, and the public trust, and your oath to the Constitution?

How Mr. President Re-Elect do you hope to be faithful to your oath:

ARTICLE2. SECTION3.
He [POTUS] shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed ...

and keep your campaign promises as well?

bonus: Trump calls a Black woman a "cracker"

"She's a cracker." Donald Trump in Albuquerque, NM on Halloween, commenting on Kamala Harris, a Black woman - October 31, 2024
for context, see below

"She's a liar. ... She's a train wreck who's totally unqualified to be the president of the United States of America. There are some people who thrive on depression. There are some people who crack under pressure. She's a cracker." Donald Trump in Albuquerque, NM on Halloween - October 31, 2024