It is easy to accept Trump’s near-daily outrages as normal because they seem to be “the new normal.” It is important not to let this man destroy our sense of right and wrong.
This is the best summary I have seen of Trump’s disastrous year.
It was written by James Mann and appears in the New York Review of Books.
As the illustration shows, this man is taking a sledgehammer to the United Dtates and wantonly destroying our institutions, norms, and values, apparently for fun or to show what a big man he is.
It is hard to say where he has done the most damage, but the judiciary, the environment, and foreign policy are way up at the top, in close competition. There is also the matter of his vulgarity and lack of dignity.
We will be cleaning these Augean stables for years to come to rid them of his stench. In the case of the judiciary, an entire generation may pass before his hardline right wingers are replaced.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This post is’awaiting moderation’ on a different blog site. Maybe this will come through.
This is HORRENDOUS and shows that Trump is a SH**hole president.
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Ten actions that hurt workers during Trump’s first year: How Trump and Congress further rigged the economy in favor of the wealthy..Economic Policy Institute
The tax cut law that President Trump boasts will make his wealthy friends “a lot richer” is just the latest in a series of betrayals of working people by the administration and Congress since Trump took the oath of office on January 20, 2017. In addition to passing a massive tax cut for wealthy business owners, Trump and Republicans in Congress have rolled back important worker protections, advanced nominees to key administration posts who have a history of exploiting working people, and taken other actions that further rig the system in favor of corporate interests and the wealthiest Americans.
Here are the 10 worst things Congress and Trump have done to undermine pay growth and erode working conditions for the nation’s workers.
http://epi.org/140073
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The reason many comments have been delayed in moderation is that I am on a ship cruising the Mekong River and internet service is intermittent.
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I think this is all part of the same mess, desperate people and those with various degrees of derangement, whether intellectual or moral, looking to privatizers or the wealthy or ideologues for drastic change along the lines of reduction in government and promotion of market forces, unfettered capitalism, in place of democracy and government services.
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Ten actions that hurt workers
during Trump’s first year
How Trump and Congress further rigged the
economy in favor of the wealthy
Click to access 140073.pdf
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Thanks so much for posting. Have sent it on to my circle of friends.
Try to turn off and enjoy your vacation. As much as we appreciate your updates, be a little selfish and indulgent for the rest of your trip!
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Excellent summary. Hope your Asian trip is still amazing!
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It is just hideous what Trump and the duplicitous Republican right wingers (a redundancy) have done to this country. The meanness and cruelty of decimating the ACA, not funding CHIPS and forcing Medicaid recipients to seek work is beyond the pale. That’s just a fraction of the damage that Trump and the GOP have done to this country in just a year.
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Joe, I’ve read that 60% of Medicaid folk are working. Supposedly there will be exemptions for fulltime students, people in job training, caregivers for disabled relatives, and more. Unfortunately these people will have to contend w bureaucracy, but it may turn out that fewer people than anticipated will be affected. Let’s hope they get good advice & support. Forcing Medicaid users to work may turn out to be a cause with very limited real change.
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booklady: I read that making Medicaid people work is going to cost states quite a bit of money. It will require constant monitoring of who is working.
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We can’t clean the stables if we don’t take them back.
Our first opportunity to take back the country from the deplorable, ignorant, racist, fascists and lovers of autocrats that support Trump and his ilk is in November 2018.
If every eligible American voted, we’d sweep the GOP out of both Houses of Congress and cripple Trump but not stop him. Nothing will stop Trump. He is used to winning by being a bully, fraud, con-man, and serial liar. Trump has been successful at being a bully and criminal for decades. He isn’t about to change. He sees himself as a success by being a criminal, bully, and liar and he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with that.
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Then Nov. 2020, plus changes in law regarding presidential evaluation and removal.
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Not every person who voted for the GOP in 2016, is deplorable. Many decent, good Americans voted GOP last time. Name-calling is what is deplorable.
If every person who voted for Pres Obama, had supported the democratic ticket in 2016, the results might have been different. Many people chose to stay home, and not cast a ballot. (Don’t castigate me about alleged voter suppression). People were indifferent.
The maxim in law is “Quietat es consenteri”- “Silence gives consent”. The indifferent democrats who chose to opt-out of the 2016 election, are seeing the results of their indifference.
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Many that voted for Trump said they were voting against Hillary Clinton and not for Trump. As long as they don’t worship that serial lying, failed businessman, and fraud, then I don’t think they were being deplorable.
But the Trumpists that respect him and cheer him on, are all deplorable, and that isn’t name calling. It’s calling a rock a rock.
I find it interesting that so many conservative media talking heads call anyone that disagrees with them endless names but once someone that is left of far, alt-right does the same thing, the far right crucifies them.
For instance,e, “The 424 People, Places and Things Donald
Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List”
I call someone that supports Trump deplorable, and they attack me but continue to support a lunatic, man-child that has an assembly line of insults he throws at people all the time.
Ad hominem attacks (calling someone deplorable because they STILL support Donald Trump) is not name calling.
An ad hominem argument pointing out why each person can’t be trusted could have a lot of merit. … if the original argument relies on independently verified facts then it would not be acceptable to just ignore the point.
Donald Trump has a long, long, long history as a serial liar and a failed businessman that resorted to bully tactics, bankruptcies, and laundering dirty Russian money through his real estate sales to survive. That is not “fake news” and the evidence has been documented for decades long before he ran for president.
And I wrote a reminder about that Trump for those who are deaf, dumb, blind and probably deplorable because they still support him.
https://lloydlofthouse.org/tag/who-is-the-real-donald-trump/
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No matter how many people protest Trump and his policies, nothing will change. The only possibility for change is a Blue Tsunami that could neutralize Trump’s impact and damage. However, for this to occur, Democrats, known for snoozing through the mid-term elections, need to show up in great numbers to cast their votes.
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Those protests will mobilize that Blue Tsunami
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Get this: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bike-tax-benefit-gop-tax-law_us_5a57aaa8e4b018a4f8b6d91f
This tells me that: the dump’s people don’t ride bicycles to and from work. Do they wipe their own butts after using the toilet?
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To answer your question: yes, they prefer copies of the Constitution (especially the amendments, excepting the 2nd, which is reserved for repeated bathroom reading sessions), Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address, anything associated with the New Deal, and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. More affluent homes have also the tax code available.
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Dr. King definitely says a truth,”I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
President SH**hole speaks terrible things.
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America Is Diminished Today in the Eyes of the World
By Dan Rather, Dan Rather’s Facebook Page
14 January 18
Trump’s comments about immigrants from “shithole countries” is among the worst statements he has ever uttered. It might very well be the worst.
To have this outrage come as we approach the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is to cast in sharp relief the moral gulf between America as envisioned by the civil rights activist and our current President. It was Dr. King who said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” By all accounts, Mr. Trump does not now and has never believed in such an America.
This is undeniably and clearly outright racist. It simply cannot be allowed to continue by anyone who cares about the future of this country. This is sad. It is hurtful. It is dangerous. It is unpatriotic. Each elected official, each American, has a choice: where do you stand? Some may say this helps the President with his base. What about how it debases the values of our nation? This rhetoric has to be damned at every turn, at every time. That millions of hard working men, women, and children have lives that hang in the balance at the whims of this President only makes this moment all the more tragic. Make no mistake, America is diminished today in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of history. It will be up to every decent person to make sure that this is not our destiny.
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How reviling to wake up to Trump news on the radio. Turn on the t.v., Trump. Open up FaceBook, Trump. Go on the web, Trump. People at the proverbial “water fountain” at work, Trump. What stupid thing did he say today? Who did he insult? What regulation did he turn back? Where will profiteers be taking over today – the environment? Student loans? What pissing contest will he start today? How will be prove hour by hour how little he knows about governing? How many times this week has he golfed? Will we be nuked? Frankly, it is literally making me ill. I have stopped awakening to my radio; I use my phone’s alarm instead. I watch just a little news, avoiding CNN, MSNBC and in particular the lying turds at Fox who do nothing but stir the pot. Is Fox News running the country? It sure seems so when our Liar in Chief puts “@Fox&Friends” in nearly every one of his insane inflammatory tweets – and I don’t even tweet and I’m subjected to the moron’s tweets. I can’t take it anymore. I’m saturated and need a wringing out.
May we never become numb, however, to the words, action, lies, inaction and outrageous malevolence of D. Trump, because then we normalize him and there is zero normal about him. I keep hoping for an indictment, an impeachment, a resignation. Never give up hope.
I didn’t vote for him, but I decided when he was elected to give him a chance. I feel harmed.
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You are not alone. I avoid Trump crap as much as possible. Especially before going to bed. Instead, I listen to music before sleep. It helps. I’m working on banning Trump from my mind.
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Lloyd,
He infiltrates the brain. He is a virus. Like a spoiled child, he wants to be the center of attention at all times.
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Diane, I agree. I wake up in the morning and wonder what vile thing he has done today. So far, I’m never disappointed because there is more garbage that has been spewed. His Tweets are rantings posted in the early morning which come off of the top of his head.
I have a friend in Australia that prayed during our elections that Trump wouldn’t win. I have an English friend who lives in Malaysia who said Americans wouldn’t stupid enough to vote for Trump. My Muslim friend who lives in KL says she would never come to the States while Trump is president. A Canadian friend regularly sends me emails that are jokes about Trump.
I read the Straights Times that comes from Singapore and it accurately reports what Trump is doing. I get the South China Morning Post from Hong Kong and it regularly has opinion articles about Trump. None of these are complementary.
Trump is a disgrace to this country and people around the world know. He is the center of attention and he is degrading this country.
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I think that is why so many call Trump a man-child. He’s like the infant that never stops screaming because all the screaming gets him lots of attention.
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I thought the purpose of the huge tax break for the wealthy and corporations was so that they could provide decent salaries and improve decent working conditions. Guess that message didn’t get through to Bezos. How can someone have $108 billion in wealth and expect his workers to work in unhealthy conditions and receive salaries low enough to need food stamps to survive? The next GOP thing will be to cut food stamp benefits since the lazy poor need to start working. They’ll feel so much better when they do.
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Bezos Gives Millions to DACA, Amazon Staff Need Food Stamps
By teleSUR
14 January 18
Forbes lists Jeff Bezos’ wealth at US$108billion, meaning his “philanthropic” donation to DACA recipients equates to roughly 0.03 percent of his total fortune.
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been hailed for donating US$33million of his fortune to a scholarship fund for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, while more than 700 Amazon employees have to rely on foodstamps to feed themselves.
News outlets CNBC, Politico, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times published glowing reports on his philanthropic gesture benefitting immigrants, which comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump promising to revoke immigration protection for some 200,000 El Salvadorans living in the United States and referring to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.”
But a recent study by Policy Matters Ohio indicates that more than 700 local Amazon employees – the bulk of Bezos’ staff, who ensure products are correctly sorted, packaged and dispatched – have to rely on foodstamps to survive.
Amazon reportedly received more than $17million in tax breaks in Ohio to open its first two distribution centers, according to The Daily Beast. This act of corporate welfare, which was recorded in 2015, was hailed by lawmakers as a job-creator.
Yet the company has also faced multiple lawsuits and complaints. According to a report by The Morning Call, Amazon employees in Allentown, Pennsylvania, worked in a warehouse where the heat index reached some 102 degrees Farenheit. At least 15 collapsed from heat exhaustion.
“I never felt like passing out in a warehouse and I never felt treated like a piece of crap in any other warehouse but this one,” said Elmer Goris, who worked at the Lehigh Valley site.
Three plaintiffs sued Amazon in 2015, claiming that the company violated wage and hour policies in San Bernardino, California. Two years later, Amazon workers in Sacramento said they were denied overtime pay and rest breaks, according to Salon.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Amazon has been criticized in Scotland for not signing up to the government’s “fair work” program, despite having received more than £5.3million (US$7.28million) of taxpayers’ money to help spur job growth.
Forbes lists Bezos’ wealth at US$108billion, meaning his “philanthropic” donation to DACA recipients equates to roughly 0.03 percent of his total fortune.
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I think that complaining about a $1 trillion deficit over 10 years is pot calling the kettle black. Obama doubled the national debt adding at least $10 Trillion to it. He added more to debt than all other presidents combined.
Boy we sure do have a short-term memory in this country which includes both the people and the federal government.
Obumacare is not affordable. Many saw their premiums go up and could not keep their doctors as Obama said they could. It was rammed down our throats during a time when we needed jobs. So instead of giving all of us those shovel ready jobs (which apparently did not exist) he rammed this through Congress. He boasted that he gave healthcare to millions, when many of them did not want it. He did not give them healthcare as much as he forced many others to get it.
The US Supreme Court said that it was constitutional because of the federal government’s ability to tax. Really? Then anything and everything is constitutional. So, the US Supreme Court is wrong again! The minority opinion had it correct. It is a 10th Amendment issue.
I had healthcare through my employer, in my 20s but I did not need it. I never used it.
So far as Lock her up goes, maybe she will be one day as she may have broken laws. That is why Trump said that not to silence a rival but because she broke the law, as is his belief.
Trump is not the typical politician which is what his supporters wanted. The typical politicians got us into this morass and they will not get us out of it. He was hired to drain the swamp some of which he has done but not nearly enough.
He says what he thinks or tweets it. Other presidents wanted to move that embassy in Israel but he is going to do so.
Insofar as, immigration from Haiti and Africa goes he wants immigrants that can help us, well educate immigrants and not ones that will be drain on our welfare system. Many immigrants come here go on welfare shortly becoming citizens.
Maybe we should not be in NATO (maybe is no longer needed) or the UN for that matter. We are footing the bill for most of the rest of the World’s defense. Again, we are doing this and giving money to other countries that we do not have.
You are quick to cite two elections as a condemnation of Trump. The Alabama race was tainted with 30-40 year unproven accusations that may have turned off his supporters or other voters that may have voted for him.
Why did they come forward just at election time? This is a bit too convenient. They waited 3-4 decades to come forward? They pick now?
Also, mid-term elections tend to have part of Congress change hands regardless of who’s in power. It happened in both of Obama’s mid-term elections. In the first the Democrats lost the House and the Senate in the second.
Insofar as his travel ban goes it was not against a religion. The ban was not against Indonesia and it is the biggest Muslim nation on Earth. If it was against Muslims then it would include Indonesia and part of the Philippines as well. 20% of Mindanao is Muslim.
Insofar as, Trump and his Secretary of State goes. Obama kept his Secretary of State even after the Benghazi affair. She should be fired after that fiasco.
The pundits have been wrong about Trump, with their predictions, ever since he entered into the race. These idiots should be fired as well. They’ve been vindictive. They still do not know why they were so wrong. The liberal leaning MSM have made a special point to harp on every word that Trump says as evil and dangerous but everything Obama did or said was gold. Neither of which is correct.
I am offended by the term, which I just learned about, flyover country. I have lived in it my entire life save maybe 6 months in the Northeast, a long time ago. This was an election about the Northeast right coast and the left coast (Clinton country) vs flyover country. We did not have much in the way of protests, except maybe a few large cities. It also was about big cities vs smaller ones. I am wondering just how these people feel about the middle of the country.
I had heard that California may secede if Trump got elected. Why didn’t you? Also, some celebrities vowed to leave the US If Trump got elected. Why are they still here?
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“I am offended by the term, which I just learned about, flyover country”
Took you rubes long enough to hear about it. We’ve been using that term in first class as we fly over you for decades.
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“I think that complaining about a $1 trillion deficit over 10 years is pot calling the kettle black. Obama doubled the national debt adding at least $10 Trillion to it. He added more to debt than all other presidents combined.”
Most of the increase during Obama’s 8-years as president came from the interest on the national debt he inherited from every president since World War II.
There is a difference between what he actually added and the increase.
There are also two parts to the national budget.
discretionary spending
mandatory spending due to previous legislation passed by Congress
And Congress has to approve any budget that Obama submits to it.
Politicafact.com fact-checked your allegations that really aren’t yours but come from the far right lying, conspiracy theory generating media.
A chain e-mail circulating in New Jersey claims that Obama has “added” $6.5 trillion to the national debt, while his 43 predecessors added $6.3 trillion combined.
But the chain e-mail is wrong to suggest the additional debt during Obama’s tenure already has exceeded the level of his predecessors. In terms of both debt held by the public and total debt, the Obama administration has added less debt than the amounts in place when he took office.
Still, the national debt is projected to keep increasing. The amount of added debt held by the public may exceed Obama’s predecessors by October 2013, according to White House projections.
We (Politifact) rate the statement Mostly False.
http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/may/04/chain-email/obama-has-added-more-national-debt-previous-43-pre/
FactCheck.org also weighed in on this allegation
Analysis
Mitt Romney claims President Barack Obama’s spending amounts to an “inferno.” But who is really responsible for the huge jump that took place in fiscal 2009? Here are some undisputed facts:
How Much Did Obama actually add? Click the link and learn something for a change instead of falling for the latest misleading vomit from the Alt-Right.
https://www.factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-spending-inferno-or-not/
Spending
The federal government spent $2.983 trillion in FY 2008, more than its budget of $2.902 trillion.
Most of the budget debate in Congress was about discretionary spending, which is that part of the budget that is negotiated between the President and Congress each year as part of the budget process. The Mandatory Budget is the estimates to fund the Acts dictating Social Security, Medicare and other social programs.
In 2009, Obama requested $2.7 trillion dollars from Congress when he submitted his budget6 request to run the federal government. Congress approved $2.186 trillion but actually spend $2.105 Trillion.
If you learn how to think for yourself, you can actually do what I’m doing right now and fact check everything on your own.
Learn about discretionary spending.
Learn about mandatory spending.
Learn that the president is not in charge of how much is spent each year. He can only ask Congress for what he thinks it will cost and then Congress is allowed to negotiate in Congress and change the requested budget and after they are done, submit it to the president for his signature.
If you are a couch potato and addicted to watching small or big screens mostly tuned into Fox News, here’s a video to help you learn something about the budget that Fox will probably never teach you.
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Lloyd: The government definitely should cut military spending. We need social security benefits, medicare, and medicaid. We don’t need to spend $600+ billion on the military when we spend more than the next 7 countries combined. We need to raise taxes on the wealthy, who can well afford to pay much more, and tax corporations and close tax loopholes …just the opposite of the new tax scam. [It ONLY adds $1.5 trillion additional to the deficit while the wealthy political donors benefit. I can hardly wait to spend all of the HUGE amount of money that I’ll be receiving. Maybe I’ll get a tax deductible jet since my medical expenses no longer can be itemized.] Sarcasm!
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There should be a law that says the U.S. can’t spend more than what the 2nd ranked country spends for its military. That would be China and China spent about $215.7 billion US in 2017, because China is not building a military to dominate the world but only to defend its own turf against the biggest aggressors in the World: Russia and the United States.
China now has one overseas military base in Djibouti and one aircraft carrier and that ship was more than twenty years old when China bought it from Russia.
The U.S. has 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories outside of the U.S. The U.S. has 19 ships that are actual aircraft carriers and 10 of those are supercarriers that no other country in the world has. The rest of the world combined has only 10 in service and none in reserve.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/g2412/a-global-roundup-of-aircraft-carriers/
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Thought you’d like to read the latest bloch-up from the WH. I feel so much better after reading it. Want to spread the happiness. After all, Dump is interested in helping people like me and wants to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and help American workers get jobs. He did a marvelous job of helping Carrier in Indiana. They recently announced another lay-off of 200-300 workers.
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Thank you for taking the time to express your views regarding policies that will strengthen the American economy.
My Administration is working to restore strong economic growth, which will improve the lives of our citizens, raise stagnant wages, and unleash a new era of American prosperity. For our economy to reach its full potential, however, we must make it easier for companies to do business in the United States. Burdensome and unnecessary regulations kill industries and stifle ingenuity. That is why I signed an Executive Order requiring that the promulgation of each new Federal regulation be accompanied by the elimination of two old regulations. We must also enact tax reform that lowers tax rates so that middle-income families and small businesses are able to flourish.
For too long, America’s middle class has been forgotten. But they are forgotten no longer. I am bringing back the middle class through smarter policies that protect America’s industries, return factories from overseas, and provide millions of jobs. Working together with Congress, we will rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, invest in American workers, and renegotiate fair trade deals.
Please visit http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/trade-deals-working-all-americans. to read more about my trade policy vision and proposals. You may also wish to visit http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/bringing-back-jobs-and-growth to learn more about the steps My Administration is taking to help American workers and businesses.
Thank you again for your suggestions. As President, I am focused on growing our economy, strengthening our leadership, and protecting our citizens. As we look to the future, we know that no challenge will outmatch the fight and spirit of the American people.
Sincerely,
Donald Trump
Visit WhiteHouse.gov
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Who can state that tRump isn’t racist?
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Five Decades of White Backlash…The Atlantic
President Trump is the embodiment of over 50 years of resistance to the policies Martin Luther King Jr. fought to enact.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. In response, a week later President Lyndon B. Johnson scrambled to sign into law the Fair Housing Act, a final major civil-rights bill that had languished for years under the strain of white backlash to the civil-rights movement.
Five years later a New York developer and his son—then only a few years out of college—became two of the first targets of a massive Department of Justice probefor an alleged violation of that landmark act. After a protracted, bitter lawsuit, facing a mountain of allegations that the two had engaged in segregating units and denying applications of black and Puerto Rican applicants, in 1975 Trump Management settled with the federal government and accepted the terms of a consent decree prohibiting discrimination. So entered Donald Trump onto the American stage…
Read More:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/trump-massive-resistance-history-mlk/550544/?utm_source=eb
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The misery put out by Trump never ends. I am totally disgusted. I thought Trump liked Christians? Not if they are brown.
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Indonesian Christians try to block their deportation from the US.
SOMERSWORTH — Attorneys representing local Indonesian Christians will return to federal court in Boston Wednesday for a hearing on their request to prevent deportation before they have been given an opportunity to reopen their asylum cases.
In September, attorneys at Nixon Peabody LLP, with offices in Boston and Manchester, filed a a motion for a temporary restraining order, a class-action complaint, and a preliminary injunction.
The 51 people in the suit are members of the local Indonesian immigrant community who fled religious persecution, but were denied asylum in the United States.
They have been under orders of supervision and have been allowed to stay in the United States, some for 20 years. Many now have children born in the United States.
Attorney Dan Deane, of Nixon Peabody, said in September that they are not seeking to litigate their individual immigration cases, but to prevent ICE from deporting these individuals before they have had a chance to raise some new arguments…
http://fosters.com/news/20180115/indonesian-case-to-be-heard-wednesday
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