Displaying 481 To 510 Of 1,008 Comments Trump’s legal team is arguing before the Supreme Court today that he and all presidents have immunity against criminal and civil prosecution while they are in office, and that presidents can’t even be investigated for crimes while in office. Of course, those arguments don’t hold ANY legal basis in truth or law. Further, I doubt if trump and his legal team give a fat rat about prosecuting any former or future president while they were or will be in office. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-supreme-court-cases-05-12-20/index.html The argument is that burdensome things like requiring a president to obey laws and be held accountable for them while enforcing laws, would interfere with the president’s ability to enforce laws that he or she is violating. “If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.” ― James Madison Since we must accept that neither trump or any other president or person is an angel, if we cannot hold presidents accountable for crimes they commit, trump is certainly NOT the kind of person I want in the office of the presidency. » Posted By TOCB On May 12, 2020 @ 12:55 pm There are different kinds of ignorance. There is ignorance as in not knowing, and there is ignorance as in knowing but not having the capacity, for whatever reason, to process intelligently. Either of these kinds of ignorance can cause equal damage. There is no difference in the outcomes of sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Both of these are ignorance. » Posted By TOCB On May 12, 2020 @ 12:37 pm ALL racism, bigotry, hate stems from ignorance. To those who racism is directed to, there is no such thing as “soft racism” or even “hard racism”. Racism is racism. It is one of the most negative orientations there is. » Posted By TOCB On May 12, 2020 @ 5:41 am A large segment of white Americans, NOT THE MAJORITY OF WHITE AMERICANS, AND NOT ALL WHITE AMERICANS, are racist bigots. ONE HUNDRED PRECENT of these people are trump supporters. » Posted By TOCB On May 11, 2020 @ 8:15 am The so-called President of The United States is calling for the firing of a news show host because the host did not play the entire clip of an interview. Trump and right wing outlets apparently think that the part that was not shown would have put what was shown in a better light. This is a transcript of the part that was shown on Meet The Press: “Well, history is written by the winners. So, it largely depends on who’s writing the history,” Barr said. This is the part that was left out: “But I think a fair history would say that it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law. It helped, it upheld the standards of the Department of Justice, and it undid what was an injustice.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/11/trump-chuck-todd-flynn/ Chuck Todd’s commentary on what Barr said was that Barr did not make a case for upholding the rule of law, but rather made a political statement. Trump and his merry band of idiots contend that since Barr did actually say the words, “upheld the rule of law” that was tantamount to making a case for upholding the rule of law, and therefore Chuck Todd was deceptive in his commentary. EVEN IF that was what Todd did, that happens everyday ESPECIALLY on right wing outlets. HOWEVER, saying that something upheld the rule of law DOES NOT make a case for upholding the rule of law. Flynn lied to the FBI about what he talked about with the Russian government related to sanctions imposed by the U.S. government related to Russia. Mike Pence is on record as saying Pence lied to him about this, and trump is on record as saying he fired Flynn because he lied to the vice president. Dropping the case against Flynn, after he had plead guilty, IN NO WAY UPHOLDS THE RULE OF LAW. That action, in fact, does the opposite of upholding the rule of law. This is from a Fox “News” story, more about what the Obama administration did wrong than the trump administration “upholding the rule of law”. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-rule-of-law-at-risk-doj-michael-flynn-case And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free,” he reportedly said. “That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we’ve seen in other places.” Trump and right wing outlets are now attempting to rewrite history. THEN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gbapJrFmhk NOW
» Posted By TOCB On May 11, 2020 @ 8:00 am There are many reasons why we need a Democratic majority in the federal government. After Watergate, Democrats had to clean up the government from damage done by the Nixon administration; after Reaganomics and Iran Contra, Democrats had to clean up the government after Reagan/Bush; after the invasion of Iraq and the financial meltdown of 2008-2009, Democrats had to clean up the government after Bush 43. Trump has set a whole new category for the necessity to clean up the government. He likes to brag about how much he has done, and this time he is correct. He has screwed things up worse than anything this country has ever witnessed. One of those screw-ups that he has done with the help of congressional republicans is stacking the courts with rightwing justices who have ZERO respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Highlighting this is Chief Justice Roberts’ action to place a hold on grand jury redacted information related to the Mueller investigation to keep it hidden from Congress and the American people. Roberts did not give a reason for the hold, and the only procedural reason is that trump asked for a hold. If the results of the 2020 election is that Democrats maintain control of the House and, gain control of the Senate and the White House, one of the things they would be empowered to do is to impeach judges who have committed high crimes and misdemeanors. One such high crime and misdemeanor is a conspiracy between the republican controlled Senate, the trump administration and the republican controlled Supreme Court to undermine the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. This would be a very controversial move, but it is one of the things that is necessary to rebalance the role of the institutions of the federal government so they function for the benefit of the people and not for an occult led by trump. » Posted By TOCB On May 8, 2020 @ 10:29 am This exchange demonstrates how religions, ALL religions, have attempted to place limits on the Infinite Creator, who also created the distortion of free will to allow ALL realities and experiences to be expressed. » Posted By TOCB On May 8, 2020 @ 7:35 am Don’t give in to the negative energy, as negative energy strives on negative energy. Just continue to FIRMLY think and do positive things. » Posted By TOCB On May 8, 2020 @ 7:22 am My inclination is to allow them to congregate as they wish. However, others should avoid them. » Posted By TOCB On May 8, 2020 @ 7:19 am The only way I see trump winning is that his “people” are able to change ballots, or persuade people not to vote at all, as they did in 2016. I think with everything that has happened, even if trump wins, the masses of people won’t accept it, and there will be a rebellion like this country has never seen. » Posted By TOCB On May 8, 2020 @ 7:13 am Not that Democrats need anything else to run against trump on, but this is something they should expose often. Trump is now requiring federal employees to be loyal to him, rather than to the Constitution. Not that this is new. Trump has been doing this from day one. Michael Cutrone, who has served as Vice President Pence’s top national security aide for South Asia, is expected to serve in a behind-the-scenes role in the Pentagon to measure how loyal other officials are to Trump, two current administration officials told the Foreign Policy. Officials are concerned Cutrone will undermine Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s authority as Trump attempts to remove disloyal officials from the rankings, according to the report. Some said they worried the few officials left to push back on ideas will be removed from their positions or undercut. However, codified law requires federal employees to be loyal to the Constitution, and NOT to ANY president. By requiring or even suggesting that federal employees should be loyal to trump rather than the Constitution, trump is subverting the Constitution, which is a high crime. Again, not that congressional republicans will do anything to hold trump accountable for this. HOWEVER, voters should be informed that this is what trump is doing, AND that congressional republicans are turning a blind eye to it. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/3331 An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: “I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” This section does not affect other oaths required by law. » Posted By TOCB On May 7, 2020 @ 11:49 am REPUBLICANS are accusing Democrats of a double standard related to Biden and Kavanaugh. I know it is hard to believe that republicans would do that, but there it is. “There is a clear double standard between how the media and Democrats treated Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations versus Tara Reade’s allegations,” said Mike Davis, who led the Senate effort to confirm Kavanaugh. Of course, the truth is that MANY media outlets have reported about Reade’s claim for a very long time. Also, who does Reade appeal to? Kavanaugh was being APPOINTED, NOT ELECTED. Republicans REFUSED to vet Kavanaugh at ANY turn. These two facts alone cause the republican crocodile tears to be just that. WHAT??? Are republicans all of a sudden going to advocate for women’s rights in ANY way? WHERE would they start? By bringing forth the over two dozen women who have claimed trump assaulted them, INCLUDING a Jane Doe who claimed trump and epstein raped her when she was 13 years old? Quite frankly, I think this “problem” is self-imposed by Democrats. We had EVERY chance to nominate a woman. In point of fact, we STILL have a chance to nominate a woman. But the most “progressive” political party in the nation is AFRAID to run a woman against trump. REALLY??? I mean, REALLY??? I have to point out the obvious: This situation could have been avoided entirely by nominating someone else. Perhaps, just for argument’s sake, a woman. » Posted By TOCB On May 2, 2020 @ 5:19 am Kayleigh McEnany, during first briefing as White House press secretary, pledges to never lie. And THEN, she went on to LIE about several things. She said Michael Flynn did not lie to the FBI, in spite of Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI, and trump saying Flynn lied. McEnany said the FBI report said, “We need to get Flynn to lie” and “get him fired.” They didn’t. One section of the notes, which you can see below, asked the following: What’s our goal? Truth/admission or to • get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? McEnany also Lied about claims related to trump’s sexual assault allegations. She basically said that since trump was elected in 2016, the American people have forgiven him for his sexual assaults. THAT IS A LIE! She said it was wrong for Democrats to hold Kavanaugh accountable for his sexual assaults. THAT TOO IS A LIE. I suspect that the only reason trump selected McEnany for press secretary is because she is a liar. Trump was probably well pleased with her performance today. » Posted By TOCB On May 1, 2020 @ 5:18 pm Yes, some people need more contact with others than other people do. I walk a lot, since I can’t go to the gym, and I have discovered Zoom. Hang in there my friend. » Posted By TOCB On May 1, 2020 @ 4:50 pm I live in Texas, which was given permission by the governor to partially re-open today. Other than the fact that there were more reported cases the day before the re-opening than any time since we began monitoring the virus, the problems I have with re-opening too quickly are young people who believe they are invincible, and rednecks for, well just being rednecks. » Posted By TOCB On May 1, 2020 @ 4:43 pm God knows I want to support Biden, and I WILL if my choice is between him and trump. HOWEVER, we still have time to replace Biden IF Reade’s story is credible. I have seen reports of people corroborating her story. NOW is the time to properly vet this story, so our choice won’t have to be between the Devil and the Devil’s son. » Posted By TOCB On May 1, 2020 @ 9:20 am I disagree. Trump is stupid AND incompetent. We used to use this phrase in the military, “if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit”. This is what trump does. The problem is some people actually THINK he is smart simply because his father left him a lot of money, and he gives the appearance that he grew it substantially, in spite of evidence that he actually pissed it away, although he is using the power of the presidency for financial gain, and if he is not put in prison when he leaves the White House, he would have actually successfully conned the United States government. This country, 35 years ago, adopted a strictly “pay-as-you-go” budgetary philosophy. How do you accumulate a $20T budget deficit by using a pay-go strategy??? If the USA government used its power to create its own currency without using the Fed, there would be no federal budget deficit, and even as they DON’T do that, as Dick Cheney once said, “deficits don’t matter”, at least when you are using the government to do what your party wants to do. Deficits only matter when the other party is in power, per “conservatives”. » Posted By TOCB On April 29, 2020 @ 4:13 am Airborne spread has some very serious implications if precautions are not taken, especially in crowed areas. Everyone wants to re-open, but if we do it in an unsafe way it will be devastating. Many state governors are saying wearing facial protection to prevent you from spreading to others is “optional” and not mandatory and carrying a fine if not done. Airborne spread would require not just facial protection, but N95 type masks for EVERYONE who goes out before mass testing and a vaccine. » Posted By TOCB On April 29, 2020 @ 3:30 am Elections are often more about fear than about ideas/progress. I think more people fear that trump actually has a chance of wining, more so if the dipshits who actually like him turn out in high numbers, than if those who voted against Hillary vote for him again. These people seem to simply discount the very large segment of the population who did not vote at all in 2016. I REALLY like Julian Castro as a VP candidate, and I think he would bring a lot of excitement from the Latinx community. Although I would like to see a woman of color, I think it might be too risky this cycle, EXCEPT for Harris. I liked Warren for president and I think she is a more strategic choice than the minority prospects in this time of fear. » Posted By TOCB On April 29, 2020 @ 3:21 am Sometimes when I read you AdLib, I think I am reading my own thoughts. We definitely seem to be on a very similar frequency. I hear many “experts” say trump has a strong chance of winning re-election for sundry nuanced reasons. From my perspective the ONLY way trump wins is that a very large segment of the population who thinks he is a complete buffoon, just don’t show up to vote, OR that the voting process is seriously breeched. If he wins for any reason though, the world in FUBAR. » Posted By TOCB On April 29, 2020 @ 3:08 am Even IF the Bank of China sold this loan shortly after it was issued, without the Bank of China it would not have been closed in the first place. Is trump influenced by this and other private deals he has all over the world? Has trump been hard on China? Not by placing tariffs on imports from China, the cost of tariffs are borne by the customers of the importers, rather than the exporter itself. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/trump-biden-china-debt-205475 » Posted By TOCB On April 25, 2020 @ 7:26 am I don’t doubt or question your knowledge of how the system is promoted, and I respect your knowledge. However, the way the system is promoted AND used is NOT how it actually works. As intelligent as you are, you MUST realize that. The Federal Reserve can raise $4 trillion at the blink of an eye by selling treasury notes??? REALLY??? And not just $4 trillion, but whatever it takes, which could be double or triple that, depending on the political will to take care of the needs of Americans during this pandemic. During the 2008-2009 financial meltdown (that the Fed was actually responsible for) they created, I believe the number was over $2 trillion via quantitative easing, that was “off the books” of the federal budget. They were “creating” $80 billion a month, without any input from Congress. Conspiracy talk, or the plain truth??? https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-quantitative-easing-definition-and-explanation-3305881 » Posted By TOCB On April 25, 2020 @ 6:54 am Treasury doesn’t have to print all those greenbacks because it can simply borrow the $2 trillion from investors by selling U.S. government bonds. The money that investors use to buy the bonds could come from their cash accounts, but more likely it will come from selling other investments, like corporate bonds. During a time when the value of ALL assets have declined due to the economy shutting down, WHO is investing in ANYTHING? Even when the economy is humming along, big money don’t “invest” anymore. They only “trade”. I think you have a very good grasp of how the monetary system is promoted. Unfortunately, the way it is promoted is not how it actually works. Congress did give The Federal Reserve the power to print treasury notes, i.e., paper money, and retained the power to coin money for the government. However today, as you are aware, most currency is in the form of inside money, i.e., digital money that is created by the stroke of a computer. Although the Fed’s member banks are somewhat limited in how they can use the fractional reserve system, the Fed itself has unlimited power to create inside money. I suspect you also know that “greenbacks” were taken out of circulation after the Lincoln assassination. Lincoln instructed the Treasury to print greenbacks to finance the Civil War, after the central bank at the time attempted to charge him over a 30% interest rate to finance the war. What Lincoln did with greenbacks is how every sovereign nation SHOULD control its currency. If that method were used, there would be ZERO national debt, AND the government could fund ANY need our society has. » Posted By TOCB On April 25, 2020 @ 6:36 am Very well stated. The primary problem with trump, other than being a total crook, is that he is simply not capable of discharging the responsibilities of ANY leadership position, especially President of The United States. I think he is THE dumbest supposed wealthy person I have ever been exposed to. Of course, there are effective uses for disinfectants and UVL to combat covid-19. One such use is UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) that can be used to sanitize rooms where there are large gatherings. This could be helpful to restaurants in a covid-19 environment. I think restaurants can safely reopen dine-in activity by using UVGI and other social distance precautions, like limiting the number of people in the rooms, not necessarily to ten people, but certainly not packed houses. » Posted By TOCB On April 25, 2020 @ 6:14 am With all due respect Steppenwolf, THAT is what the Fed and the powers that be want people to believe, but it is BS. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve ( a quasi-governmental entity) the power to create money out of thin air (before that, the power was granted to The First Bank of The United States and The Second Bank of The United States, both privately owned banks), and yes the Treasury can print any amount of money to support the fiat currency. After Congress passes a bill authorizing debt and the president signs that law, the Constitution REQUIRES/OBLIGATES it to be paid. Fourteenth Amendment The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. And this admittedly controversial law allows the Secretary of Treasury to mint a platinum coin of ANY value, which can be used for ANY constitutionally authorized purpose. 31 U.S. Code Section 5112(k) The Secretary may mint and issue platinum bullion coins and proof platinum coins in accordance with such specifications, designs, varieties, quantities, denominations, and inscriptions as the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, may prescribe from time to time. PLEASE explain WHO can or will purchase any assets that are owned by the United States government right now, when the entire world economy is completely shut down? The ONLY thing that backs the value of the U.S. currency, or ANY nation’s currency for that matter, is the “full faith and credit” of that nation. The world’s private monetary system is a complete farce. The United States government owns fantastic amounts of property. Yeah, they own it: millions of acres of land, millions of buildings, roads and bridges, and on and on. They hock it. In fact, they have just hocked the country. » Posted By TOCB On April 24, 2020 @ 4:54 am Did you notice the expression on Dr. Birx’s face as trump was suggesting that people could ingest disinfectants and ultraviolet light? Her expression is PRICELESS!!! I must confess though that when I read a few months ago that any kind of soap would kill the virus, I called my daughter, who is a physician, and asked her if it were medically possible for people to ingest soap. She explained to me why that is not possible. HOWEVER, I am not the leader of the free world, and the whole world did not hear me ask my daughter that question. So, I guess I don’t fault trump for asking the question, but asking it in that forum and being President of The United States of America was probably dangerous for him to do, because so many idiots think he is actually a stable genius. I don’t think ANYONE, including my daughter, thinks that I am a stable or even an unstable genius. lol. » Posted By TOCB On April 24, 2020 @ 3:40 am I support anyone who wants to reopen whatever they want to reopen, to go ahead and do so. They know the risks and they chose to disregard them. I also think that anyone who participates in congregating should not be accepted in hospitals and first responders should take them back where they found them if they discover they willfully put themselves at risk. » Posted By TOCB On April 19, 2020 @ 2:48 pm Trump is more concerned about staying in the White House than he is about managing covid-19. He probably figures that since a disproportional percentage of deaths are among black and brown people, that will result in fewer Democratic voters and give him more of a chance to win the election. » Posted By TOCB On April 19, 2020 @ 5:15 am The federal government is on its way this year to spending nearly $4 trillion more than it collects in revenue, analysts say, a budget deficit roughly twice as large relative to the economy as in any year since 1945. To support such borrowing, the Federal Reserve has dropped interest rates to zero and added more than $2 trillion of loans to its portfolio in the past six weeks — as much as in the four years following the Great Recession. “Who’s going to buy all these Treasurys? Foreigners? Private investors?” Slok asked. “It all adds up to supply growing at levels we have never, ever seen before.” So the burning question in my mind is where does the Federal Reserve get $4 trillion to loan to the United States federal government, at zero percent interest, when the borrower is already $20 trillion in debt? That’s a good question. You answer it, Lord. » Posted By TOCB On April 19, 2020 @ 4:59 am I thought I read someplace that trump doesn’t drink alcohol, but it appears that he is under the influence of some kind of drug when he gives those covid-19 “briefs”, which are not so brief. The man cannot make a coherent thought. » Posted By TOCB On April 18, 2020 @ 2:31 pmComments Posted By TOCB
“He is pushing to replace and remove civilians in OSD [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] that are not aligned with the White House,” one current senior administration official said. “Esper has no say in who the key people are going into senior positions.”
5 U.S. Code § 3331.Oath of office
Section 4.
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