Jeffrey Goldberg writes in The Atlantic that Trump is contemptuous of veterans who were wounded or captured. He calls them “losers” and “suckers.”
When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Idiot will do what the Idiot will do and nothing is surprising anymore, it is expected. My concern is with roughly the half of Americans to whom this and every other outrage, atrocity, norm- and law-breaking seemingly means nothing and even deepens their devotion to racist, bigoted, lawless and unconstitutional behavior. Had, for example, Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and on and on even engaged in a fraction of this behavior, I am confident that I and many of my like-minded friends and citizens, would have been on the front lines to oppose any one of them. The problem currently in the White House gives life to nurtures something much deeper than anything about one person.
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that dumpster is the worse potus …. EVER and we have had some doozies.
This is good.
Governor Cuomo re: that dump … https://youtu.be/s1JqnucYfkk
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Veterans groups condemn Trump as ‘a national disgrace’ over reports he called fallen soldiers ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’
Published 2 hours ago on September 4, 2020
Advocacy organizations representing millions of veterans across the United States voiced disgust and outrage late Thursday in response to reports from multiple news outlets detailing how President Donald Trump has repeatedly disparaged American soldiers killed or wounded in war as “suckers” and “losers” in private while publicly presenting himself as the unrivaled champion of the nation’s service members…
“This is not surprising, nor is it the first time President Trump has attacked veterans, but it is a new low, even for Trump,” Will Goodwin, an Army veteran and director of government relations for advocacy group VoteVets, said in a statement. “There is no rhyme or reason for Trump to cruelly attack our nation’s fallen heroes. And it is especially egregious given that he’s the commander in chief of our Armed Forces.”
“Donald Trump does not respect our men and women in uniform,” Goodwin continued. “He does not respect their families. He does not respect veterans. And worse, he has matched his vile language with action. He has abused our military, has made our country less safe, and has put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way for his own political gain.”..
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/veterans-groups-condemn-trump-as-a-national-disgrace-over-reports-he-called-fallen-soldiers-losers-and-suckers/
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Then I guess that means a great uncle of mine and all others buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery a bit farther away from Paris than the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery are also “losers.”
Donald Trump, VSF (Vicious. Stupid. Fool.)
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Appalling, isn’t it?
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Yes!
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Donald Trump, BBP (Bloody. Blooming. Prat.)
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Trump is a vapid empty shell of a human being. He cannot understand anything other than the pursuit of more money and material possessions. He has done nothing during his term other than figure out ways to make the presidency a profitable experience for himelf and his equally vapid family.
It is appalling that Trump has no respect for the sacrifice of our military. He does not even understand the history of this country. His ignorance is shockingly astounding. As more incidents occur between the US and Russia go unanswered or unnoticed, it is clear that Trump does not have the best interests of our country as a priority. Trump’s support among the military is starting to wane as many military commanders have come out in support of Biden. Trump is more interested in appearances than substance. He wants to to make a show of fake support for the military while he personally cannot understand their patriotism and sacrifice.https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/08/31/as-trumps-popularity-slips-in-latest-military-times-poll-more-troops-say-theyll-vote-for-biden/
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Trump is trying to shut Down Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper our service personnel rely on for independent news. Many cannot use phones or internet to read the news due to security precautions.
” Trump wants to kill it.
What conceivable reason could a President who claims to love our troops have for killing something our troops love so much?
The $15.5 million it costs the Defense Department to fund Stars and Stripes represents just 0.002% of its proposed $740.5 billion 2021 budget.
$15.5 million is peanuts to the DoD.
Compare it to the $3.8 billion Secretary Esper was simply able to “find” in his budget to give Trump extra cash to build his vanity wall.
Compare it to the $22 billion the military has wasted on trying to develop a replacement for Bradley Fighting Vehicles over the past 17 years.
Compare it to the $125 billion in military waste the Pentagon uncovered—and then concealed—in 2015.
$15.5 million is all it would cost to continue producing daily newspapers for U.S. military troops around the world and operating a website that is updated with news 24 hours per day.
The problem, of course, is in the news it produces:
Though it is part of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity, Stripes retains its editorial independence and is congressionally mandated to be governed by First Amendment principles.
In other words, Stars and Stripes is everything Trump hates in a news organization:”
https://thedailyedge.substack.com/p/stars-and-stripes-for-the-time-being
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I am really, really sorry to hear this. I’m sure that Cadet Bone Spurs would have no problem with an alternative publication run by an editor he has selected, publishing “news” that has been reviewed for suitability for publication by Stepford Trump Ivanka; Everything Expert Jared Kushner; and Propaganda Minister Stephen “Goebbels” Miller.
You know, something like Pravda for Idiots or not-so-Breitbart or the official propaganda network of the Trump maladministration, Fox Faux News. Perhaps he could set up a Ministry of Truth within the DoD to publish this.
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Trump is ticked that the military personnel are tiring of his shenanigans. They are tired of shedding blood for the country yet are unable to make enough money to support their families stateside (many military families use food banks and live in substandard housing). I can’t wait to hear what Lloyd Loftus says about Stars and Stripes possibly being defunded (Congress has a say in this…so it’s not a done deal). Likely, this is just another distraction on the lead up to the October surprise!!…..(my thoughts).so many need to be pardoned, including Trump, that I believe he will resign and leave Pence in charge to do the pardoning and DJT will get on a plane and fly off to some warm island to live out his remaining days.
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As an elementary school student and military dependent living in Germany, Stars & Stripes was the first newspaper I ever read regularly. Before the mass media age, it was the best connection the military had to the home. Severing this connection, even today, is criminal.
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Back during the Bush, Jr., administration, Stars and Stripes ran a front-page story about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan entitled “10 Years on, Why Are We Here?” The story covered and raised questions about the changing and conflicting justifications for these wars. A friend who is a career officer sent it to me.
Independent journalism with integrity. Precisely what Trump loathes.
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Donald: The portrait of Oceania, in 1984, was not meant as a model for public policy.
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My family read the “Stars and Stripes” when we were stationed in Germany in the mid-70″s. Although we are retired from the service we still read the “Stars and Stripes” today on line. We have family working with the military in Italy. It helps us keep up with what is going on in their part of the world.
We of course know Trump does not like to read, only look at pictures, so it is reasonable that he would not want to continue something printed words.
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Christine Langhoff: Stars and Stripes will not be closed down. Here is one article that was published. It is one truth that Trump doesn’t want known.
……………………………………
More than 3,000 VA patients have now died from the coronavirus
By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: September 4, 2020
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs hit a bleak milestone Friday when it reported the coronavirus has killed more than 3,000 of its patients.
The VA reported that 3,044 veterans and 53 employees had died of the virus as of Friday afternoon. That comes less than 40 days since deaths surpassed 2,000 on July 28. The agency reported its first coronavirus-related death March 14.
In total, the VA has reported nearly 53,400 coronavirus cases since March, and 47,000 of those patients have recovered. The number of still-active cases includes 2,600 veterans and 164 VA employees, according to available public data…
https://www.stripes.com/new…
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Ever since Trump jumped into politics…
“His schtick is to provoke rivals to the point where they drop what they’re doing and spend their time screaming at him, which from the jump validates the primary tenet of his worldview, i.e. that everything is about him. Political opponents seem incapable of not handing him free advertising. They say his name on TV thousands of times a day, put his name on bumper stickers to be paraded before new demographics (e.g. “BERNIE BEATS TRUMP”), and then keep talking about him even off duty, at office parties, family dinners, kids’ sports events, everywhere, which sooner or later gets people wondering: who’s more annoying, the blowhard, or the people who can’t stop talking about the blowhard? “
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Yeah, wasn’t it just peachy that people didn’t dare talk about Hitler and Mussolini and Stalin when they had assumed power?
I emphatically do not agree.
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It is extraordinarily important that people say the truth about Trump again and again, in public, especially right now.
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This very story, about his comments about veterans, might well be Cadet Bone Spurs’s undoing. The one that finally punctures the inflated caricature balloon of a comic book supervillain that is Donald Trump.
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The non response to the bounty on U.S. soldiers, which I still believe is the greatest of innumerable great scandals in the past four years, barely registered a blip. It certainly didn’t change any minds of his cult. Nothing does.
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Agreed. That and withdrawing support for the Kurds and withdrawing from the INF and the Open Skies treaties at the very time when Russia has developed hypersonic nuclear missiles. Treason.
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Some day, historians or journalists will reveal why Trump is so deferential to Putin. When he is in the presence of Putin, he becomes submissive and meek. What’s that all about?
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Well, it’s clear enough. The Russians started cultivating Trump way back in 1987, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. And now they own him. Classic intelligence work on their part, compromising and then using a foreign asset.
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Nothing you can say about Trump sims the enthusiasm of his base.
I overheard a conversation where a Biden supporter tried to persuade a Trump supporter. Impossible. The answer to every statement about Trump was that Biden is demented, feeble, will be controlled by Harris, who allegedly is very radical.
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Diane: ALL facts come from ‘fake’ news. These media are ALL lying because everything Trump does is wonderful. He is the master who proves greatness is leading our country.
Facts never make a difference to Trump supporters. There is NO way to get into their minds that are made up.
Videos of Trump saying something criminal don’t even turn their thoughts a wee bit.
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Re: why Idiot is deferential: I think it’s three simple reasons that won’t take much investigational reporting; 1) money and greed, as I’m sure Michael Cohen will soon detail about the Idiot Tower in Moscow; 2) first word begins with the letter “p,” second word begins with letter “t”; 3) he doesn’t have penis envy, he has dictatorship envy (see what I did there?).
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https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/19/trump-first-moscow-trip-215842
And then, after the bankruptcies of his casinos in New Jersey, who bailed Trump out? Yup.
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If I were Pelosi or Schumer, or any Dem, for that matter, I would not consume any tea in public places. Fat dictator wannabe see, fat dictator wannabe do.
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Alexei Navalny is being treated at Berlin Charité, which has unequivocally found that he was poisoned with the same substance with which other Putin dissidents were. The Merkel government has stated that there is no doubt that he was poisoned by Russian agents. NATO has condemned the act. Meanwhile Pompeo professes ignorance and the Idiot claims he doesn’t know what happened and “we have no proof yet.” Is it any wonder that Europeans are devising a containment strategy for the U.S. if the Idiot stays in office? Containment was the most important and under-appreciated strategy of the Cold War. The difference today as compared to then? The Soviet Union was a known, predictable entity. American fascism is not.
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Trump said Navalny might have been poisoned by China. He asked, “Why does everyone always blame Russia?” I’m not making this up.
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Well said, Greg.
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From the NYT: Trump vehemently denied The Atlantic’s report. “I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes. There is nobody that respects them more,” a visibly angry Trump told reporters last night. “What animal would say such a thing?”
Earlier, while speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask and once again encouraged his supporters to try to vote twice if they vote by mail. end quote
We cannot be rid of this gangster/mobster fast enough, he is beyond redemption. By any reasonable standard, Joe Biden should win by a landslide, an avalanche, an historic tidal wave of justifiable outrage. However, what should be and what will be are often not coincident.
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No one should be shocked. No one should be surprised.
This is how Donald Eek Thinly Skin Always Laying and Cheating Trump THINKS. This is exactly who he is!
Eek thinks he was smart because Eek had five deferments to avoid the Vietnam draft/war. Eek had his dad bribe a doctor to write a letter for the 5th deferment that said Eek had bone spurs and couldn’t serve. To Eek, anyone that did not do what he did to save himself from the risk of death or being wounded for his country is a stupid loser and doesn’t deserve respect.
Eek also “Boasted of Avoiding STDs While Dating: Vaginas Are ‘Landmines … It Is My Personal Vietnam'”
https://people.com/politics/trump-boasted-of-avoiding-stds-while-dating-vaginas-are-landmines-it-was-my-personal-vietnam/
To Eek, dating is the same as war. To Eek, business is the same as war. To Eek, being president is the same as war.
There is a proverb for that way of thinking: The proverbial saying ‘All’s fair in love and war’ expresses the idea that, like war, where any strategy is accepted, affairs of the heart are also no-holds-barred contest.”
Eek extended that proverb to include business and leadership. That why the U.S. Constitution and all laws do not apply to Eek, and he will do ANYTHING to win even if it meant killing billions of people around the world.
WIth Eek, we are witnessing what a malignant narcissist and psychopath born into wealth and power does to win and get revenge.
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Remember, during the 216 campaign, Trump said it was smart not to pay taxes.
So, only “losers” serve in the military and only “losers” pay taxes.
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Earth to Trump. What’s up with the confederate statues? Aren’t they all losers?
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Here’s an opinion piece that comes from Canada. Trump is NOT liked.
…………………….
We are all witnessing the Great American Implosion
Adnan R. Khan: Trump’s paranoid gang of conspiracy theorists are armed and angry, preparing for war. It’s starting to feel downright apocalyptic here—and I’ve barely mentioned the pandemic
By Adnan R. Khan
September 3, 2020
…They think back to 2016 and the rosy glow of confidence that was so brutally crushed when Trump won the election. They worry about how the current regime in the White House is laying the groundwork to contest the results if he loses. They envision a scenario in which Trump riles up his minions with nightmarish visions of a Marxist takeover, where gay people and feminists and Washington’s baby-eating cultists upend the natural order and impose their degenerate views on Betty Crocker and the Beavers.
We can laugh at the absurdity of it all but it is, quite literally, the argument Trump is now making in his campaign. It was what four days of the Republican National Convention were all about. It’s what we are witnessing on the streets of Kenosha, Wis., and Portland, Ore.: Trump’s paranoid gang of conspiracy theorists, armed and angry, preparing for war.
READ: The rise of the far right
That so many people, including Canadian politicians, buy into the conspiracies that feed the far-right tells us that this is no laughing matter. We have reached a point now where we have to take stock of what social media is doing to us.
The U.S. is our cautionary tale. It’s starting to feel downright apocalyptic here, and I’ve barely mentioned the pandemic, which is killing a thousand Americans a day and, according to most experts, is only going to get worse as schools reopen and winter sets in.
Its response is starting to look like the sign an anti-lockdown protester in Tennessee was photographed holding: “Sacrifice the Weak,” it read. Trump recently said more or less the same thing, arguing that only those who are healthy and die of COVID-19 should be counted as pandemic deaths. Dr. Scott Atlas, one of Trump’s top medical advisers, is now peddling the herd immunity argument, which experts believe would lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths…
https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/we-are-all-witnessing-the-great-american-implosion/
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Trump despised John McCain, who actually served in Vietnam. McCain couldn’t prevent his North Vietnamese capture. ☹️
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Trump despised John McCain, who actually served in Vietnam. McCain couldn’t prevent his North Vietnamese capture. Trump sucks! ☹️
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Trump totally forgets, if he ever knew, that all these “loser’s and “suckers’ have made it possible for him, a total loser and coward, to enjoy his wasteful and unimportant life.
I have said it before and I will say it again. If had actually had the intestinal fortitude to go to Viet Nam we would not be having any of these discussions. The GI in those days would have insure this loser would have returned home in a coffin.
I was drafted in 1967. Went through all the crap that military personnel received during that period in our country’s history. Now we have coward for a president who is doing it our military personnel all over again.
I am proud to be a retired “loser” and “sucker”. It was a privilege for me to serve this nation and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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“forgets” implies one once had knowledge about something. The Idiot has no knowledge upon which to base forgetting. At least a rock knows something about its geological history.
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Very true. Thank you for the clarification. I have expectations that most people have some working knowledge of US history and our military’s contributions to that history. In the case of Trump my expectations are far higher than should ever be allowed.
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Woodrow Wilson gets a bit of a bad press these days (too much, in my view), but I was impressed about how he personally reacted to crowds cheering our nation’s entry to WWI. The burden of the knowledge that he would be sending Americans to their deaths (and worse for many) while fighting for a principle weighed heavily on him. He did not cheer with the crowds and jingos, he prayed for strength and guidance.
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Yeah im sure he said this…lol. “Multiple news outlets” hahaha. One reported “source” said it to the Atlantic and multiple news outlets rewrote it after they did without any evidence what so ever. Why doesnt the person who heard it step forward. Yeah right im sure that will happen. This is the democrats and media trying to take away part of his base. How desperate!!
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Ariel,
Did he not mock Captain Khan, who gave his life for this country, in public? Did he not say in public that John McCain was a “loser” because he was captured and spent five years in Vietnamese custody? Did he not say that he preferred those who never got captured? Did he serve in Vietnam and forgot to mention it? Didn’t he get five deferments for “bone spurs”? Do his “bone spurs” in his feet prevent him from golfing?
You are the kind of Trumper who trusts no one, not even his own public statements.
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Too bad all journalism is garbage tabloids now. No integrity. Just fake news and fake sources.
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Stephanie,
Clearly your only source of news is FOX. You are brainwashed. Wake up!!!
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Are you aware that it was confirmed by two senior Trump aides? And
a Fox correspondent named Jennifer Griffin? Trump got freaked out and asked Fox News to fire her.
Hilarious!
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Bad news for outrage today. John Bolton, hardly a Trump supporter, denies Trump made those comments in that discussion:
“He got support from an unlikely source on Friday when John R. Bolton, his former national security adviser who has broken with him and called him unfit for office, said he was on the trip in question and never heard Mr. Trump make those remarks. “I didn’t hear that,” Mr. Bolton said in an interview. “I’m not saying he didn’t say them later in the day or another time but I was there for that discussion.””
Of course, no one here will believe he didn’t say it because you all still believe da Russkies paid the Taliban bounties for American soldiers that they’ve been at war with for 19 years and which has been debunked anyway.
But it’s much better to spend our days ranting at Trump regardless of the truth than it is to worry about the millions who are unemployed, uninsured, food insecure and facing eviction, amiright?
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Ah, Dienne, we can count on you to rush to Trump’s defense. Did you not hear him insult John McCain? Did he not skip the ceremony honoring veterans of the First World War because it was raining? Really? Did he not get five deferments from military service because of his “bone spurs” in his feet, which do not affect his golf game? Is that all fiction?
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Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…wait, wait, let me catch my breath…ha-ha-ha. When FOX Spews’ Pentagon correspondent confirms the story, kind blows the rancid hot air out of the sails, don’t it?
https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-correspondent-confirms-trump-said-dead-us-troops-losers-2020-9
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The people who believe he actually said this are the same people who people he said “all
Mexicans are rapists and drug addicts” and that he was referring to neo Nazis when he said “fine people on both sides” when it’s easily fact checked. All president speeches are public record and available in their entirety to view instead of the small excerpts taken by dishonest media. This is the normal lies by democrats who have no values or integrity. Democrats cannot tell the truth if their lives depended on it. They are not good people. The proof is in the hate they’ve been stirring since the beginning. They have no accountability or responsibility. They blame everything on someone else. It’s really sickening to watch our country fall apart and watch the Democrats not care at all and cheer for the death of America
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You dare to say “all Democrats are liars” on behalf of the biggest Liar innUS history?
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The trolls seem to be coming out of the moldy woodwork, Diane. Must mean your voice is having some effect. Otherwise, they would ignore you. And the “…easily fact checked…” line, especially when put into the context of rest of the rant is, as my former Southern neighbors used say, high-lair-eee-usss!
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Stephanie Bennett-Henry: “Democrats cannot tell the truth if their lives depended on it. They are not good people.”
What planet did you come from?
The Republicans stand up for lying, ignorant, unfit Trump. He has lied over 20,000 times and this is perfectly acceptable? He works to destroy the environment, puts people into positions where they destroy their offices, believes Putin more than our intelligence agencies, bows before dictators who know how to manipulate him due to his ignorance and need for attention, has been declared mentally unfit by medical professionals, makes fun of people with disabilities, believes that neo-Nazis are ‘very fine people’, has spread bigotry and hatred throughout the country, claims to be a “Christian” but knows nothing about religion especially the part where Jesus says help the needy and those who are ill, wants to destroy public school education, thinks its fine to take children from their parents and put them in cages, denies that COVID-19 is still a danger even though over 183,000 Americans have died, says any media that tells about his criminal activities is ‘fake’, is a misogynist and xenophobic, bigoted, racist person.
You may like someone like that but I prefer someone who has some sense of morality and compassion and truly uses his power to make lives of everyone better, not just more money for himself and his wealthy family and friends. [That’s assuming he has buddies. I’d say nobody befriends him that isn’t a grifter.]
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Instead of trying to argue with people who want “proof” which is a common demand upon what is obviously true, as a way of not having to deal with what is true…I invent ways of battling back, even if just to console myself. So at the Ymca…not all that crowded, but with some Trump is God types always there…we are not supposed to cause trouble by telling them Trump is not God…I said to somebody who asked how’s it going…that I had said a prayer of thanks that I was not one of the 23,000 soldiers who were killed in 1970 for not performing well enough to come home alive. My family would have been embarrassed for people to know I was a loser and and a sucker. A couple of those bozos heard it–not loud…but very clear.
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You are correct. They don’t want proof. They have rhetorical caveats and ideological certainty grounded in bigotry and hate to buttress their cynical, circular illogic and willful ignorance.
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The 2020 Election, a Race in Which Everything Happens and Nothing Matters
If a pandemic that has killed nearly two hundred thousand Americans can’t significantly hurt Trump’s support, can anything?
By Susan B. Glasser
September 3, 2020
Does anything matter anymore in American politics? In the week since Donald Trump’s Convention ended with a personality-cult party on the White House lawn, the President has completely refocussed his campaign on threats to law and order from “Rioters, Anarchists, Agitators, and Looters.” He has suggested there will be a “Rigged Election”; urged supporters in North Carolina to commit election fraud, by voting twice; and likened protesters demanding racial justice to “Domestic Terrorists.” The President personally ordered a review of federal aid, with the goal of withholding funds from “anarchist” Democratic-run cities that have allowed “themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.” And he has baselessly alleged that his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, is taking some sort of “enhancement” drug, and claimed that Biden is the pawn of shadowy “dark forces.”
On his Twitter feed, Trump repeatedly promoted misinformation about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic while also attacking “Crazy Nancy Pelosi”; the “highly political” National Basketball Association; the governor of Oregon; the “wacky Radical Left Do Nothing Democrat Mayor of Portland”; the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, and his brother, CNN’s Chris Cuomo; and various other figures in the “Enemy of the People” media, including the conservative Internet aggregator Matt Drudge and MSNBC’s “very untalented” Joy Reid. Trump’s Administration, meanwhile, is withholding briefings on election interference by Russia and other foreign powers from congressional intelligence committees and telling leaders in key battleground states to be prepared for a coronavirus vaccine, which may be approved by the government just days before the election. And that’s just this week.
The rest of the news in Trump’s America, two months before Election Day, is equally gutting: twenty or so U.S. states have rising cases of covid-19, and, as many schools and universities reopen, the numbers are expected to grow. On many days, more than a thousand Americans die as a result of the pandemic. By comparison, in the worst week of the Vietnam War, just more than five hundred American personnel died, the national-security expert and former C.I.A. official David Priess noted. All told, American deaths from covid-19 are approaching two hundred thousand. Mass unemployment continues, and many companies are bracing for new, more permanent layoffs. Food banks are overwhelmed. Congress, stuck in an impasse between House Democrats and Senate Republicans, has failed to pass a new round of economic relief, and the initial aid package for small businesses and the unemployed has run out. The national debt as a share of the economy has reached its highest level since the Second World War.
None of this, apparently, has any electoral consequence…
It’s long been apparent how bizarrely consistent and impervious to events Trump’s approval ratings are. Through impeachment and scandal and now pandemic and recession, a more or less straight line of roughly forty per cent of Americans have supported the President, no matter what he does or says and regardless of what is happening in the country or around the world. Previous Presidents—all of them—saw their ratings go up and down depending, at least in part, on their performance in office. Not Trump. He appears to be living a politician’s dream: a Presidency free of consequence and devoid of accountability. What this means for the nation, for American democracy, is a different issue altogether….
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-2020-election-a-race-in-which-everything-happens-and-nothing-matters?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker
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Subject: I just signed this petition — will you?
Donald Trump is going to absurd new lengths to try to undermine the integrity of our elections. He recently urged his supporters in North Carolina to commit a felony by voting for him twice.
I just signed a Common Cause petition calling on the Justice Department to condemn Trump’s remarks.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/trump-tells-supporters-to-break-voting-laws-doj-must-condemn/?source=email&
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Donald Trump’s campaign website shows that he is soliciting names of people as potential supporters for his re-election. Part of the website refers to “coalitions.“ Many of these are nothing more than invitations for people to sign up as supporters, giving Trump’s campaign organizers all of their personal information and the option of checking several ways they might contribute to the campaign (commit to vote, volunteer, donate). At the top of the sign-up form is an “x.” Click that to a “visit the coalition” website.
One of Trump’s coalitions, titled “Veterans,” has 35 advisors.
Here is the pitch to others:
“Donald J. Trump has done more for our nation’s heroes than has any other President in history. In 2016, President Trump campaigned on giving our great veterans the care, benefits, and respect they deserve, which is why he won their votes by a 2 to 1 margin. Veterans for Trump will highlight how President Trump has delivered on his promise to reform the VA, including signing key veterans legislation like the VA MISSION Act and the Forever GI Bill. Beyond that, the Trump economy has led to the lowest unemployment rate among veterans EVER. Re-electing the President ensures that veterans will have a leader in the White House who will fight for those who have answered the call to defend our great country. Together, with President Trump, we will Keep America Great!”
I will never forget the gut punch I felt when he called John McCain a “loser.” In the light of new disclosures from the Atlantic article and making news, I have been looking at the LinkedIn profiles and other sources of information about Trump’s 35 advisors for his Veterans Coalition. Here is a small sample of what I have uncovered.
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF LANDRY – CO-CHAIR Louisiana. A business owner, attorney in private practice, served one-term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Louisiana Army National Guard. Former sheriff’s deputy and police officer. Anti-masker who acquired Covid-19 and was unable to meet with Mike Pence.
SCOTT O’GRADY – CO-CHAIR Air Force Veteran / F16 Pilot, Author “Return with Honor.” Masters degree Dallas Theological Seminary. Professional speaker fees at $20,000 and up.
JESSIE JANE DUFF-CO-CHAIR also an advisor for Women for Trump. Retired Gunnery Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps, 20 years, active duty. Senior Fellow, London Center for Policy Research. Provides articles, op-eds, television and radio reports on military, veteran, national security, and politics. Frequent Fox News guest.
JOHN “TIG” TIEGEN Colorado. Veteran US Marine Corps, four years Infantry Sergeant. Worked for Blackwater Security in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. He then joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Global Response Staff with lifesaving service on the Benghazi Annex Security Team, not affiliated with the US Armed Forces. Blackwater forces were mercenaries, lead by Betsy Devos brother.
STACY WASHINGTON. Journalist and conservative commentator (FOX and others). U.S. Air Force veteran, enlisted as a weapons system analyst, served in Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Shield. Also serves as an advisory board member for Black Voices for Trump.
CHUCK MCDOUGALD. Ph.D. Green Beret/Vietnam service. Chairman, San Mateo Republican Party. Was head of California Veterans Coalition for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign.
MAJOR GENERAL PATRICK BRADY South Dakota. Retired US Army. Medal of Honor for valor in Vietnam war among many awards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Henry_Brady#Military_awards
As you can see, Trump’s disparaging remarks about the military have not turned off all veterans, not even the Medal of Honor winner, or the Vietnam era Green Beret who worked on the late John McCain’s campaign. Three members of my family served in the military, one a Green Beret, one in the US Army, one a fighter pilot in Vietnam. I am relieved they did not live to see this list of Trump supporters.
I have not yet looked at all 35 of Tramp’s Veterans coalition advisors/fundraisers listed at his campaign website.
I also hope to look at the people listed as Lawyers for Trump, evidently people who are more fond of William Barr than the rule of law.
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Bernie:
Donald Trump is a pathological liar. According to documented reports he has told more than 20,000 lies and distortions since he has been president. This is, obviously, deeply disturbing behavior for anyone who is president of the United States.
But what is even more disturbing is that Trump is now using his lies and misinformation to sow confusion and chaos in the election process and undermine American democracy. In other words, he does not intend to accept the results of the election if he loses and leave office voluntarily. This is not just a “constitutional crisis.” This is a threat to everything this country stands for.
In order to be effective in combating Trump’s attempt to sabotage the November election, it is important that you, and everyone you know, recognize the warning signs as to what he and his Republican allies are doing.
For months now Trump has been signaling that he may not accept the outcome of the November election if he loses. In a July interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, Trump was asked a simple question. Would he “give a direct answer that you will accept the election?” Trump refused. He said, “I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.”
I want you to know that the concerns I am bringing you today are not just shared by progressives.
Miles Taylor, a lifelong Republican who previously served as chief of staff inside the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security, warned that there is nothing that Trump will not do or say to defeat Biden.
“Put nothing past Donald Trump,” Taylor told The Associated Press. “He will do anything to win. If that means climbing over other people, climbing over his own people, or climbing over U.S. law, he will do it. People are right to be concerned.”
Well, I agree with Mr. Taylor. I am concerned. I am very concerned.
But it’s not just me. There is a reason why a large number of Republicans have come out in opposition to Trump and in support of Biden. Trust me, these people surely do not believe in our progressive agenda. They don’t even believe in Biden’s more modest agenda. But they do believe in democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, and they understand that Trump does not.
Over the course of the past few weeks, Trump has consistently sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the coming election. At a time when he is behind in almost every national poll and in most battleground state polls, Trump recently stated, “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.”
Think about what that means. What he is saying is that if he wins the election, that’s great. But if he loses, it’s rigged. And if it’s rigged, then he is not leaving office. Heads I win. Tails you lose.
And then, while telling us that the election is going to be rigged, he urges his supporters in North Carolina to commit voter fraud by voting twice — a felony.
Trump is not only trying to create chaos and delegitimize the election process. He and the Republican Party are now spending tens of millions of dollars in the courts to make it harder for people to vote. They are attempting to defund and destroy the U.S. Postal Service so that people will not be able to cast mail-in ballots. And their allies in state legislatures like Pennsylvania’s are refusing to pass legislation to ensure all legitimate votes are counted in a timely manner.
So now, what do we do?
Well, first and foremost, we have to do everything we can to ensure Joe Biden wins by the largest possible margin on November 3. The better Joe Biden does, the harder it is for Trump to overturn the election.
But now we have to consider a scenario that is unprecedented in American history. What happens if, after the voting is completed, Trump loses but refuses to abide by the results and does everything he can to hold onto power?
This is scary stuff, and I can hardly believe I have to write to you about Trump’s threat to our Constitutionally-enshrined system of the peaceful transition of power.
But sadly, that is the situation we are in.
And what we must do, in response, is demand that our government and media institutions prepare our nation for what happens on the night of November 3 — and beyond.
First, with the pandemic and a massive increase in mail-in voting, state legislatures must take immediate action to allow for votes to be counted before Election Day, as they come in. We recently had an election in Vermont where, with mail-in ballots constituting 70% of the total votes, ballots were counted for days before Election Day and it ran very smoothly. Florida is expected to begin counting ballots days before Election Day for the same reason. In fact, 32 states allow for the counting or processing of absentee ballots — verifying signatures, for example — before Election Day. The intent behind these laws is clear: to help ensure a reliable and dependable election process, and timely reporting of the results.
What we must avoid is a situation where battleground states like Pennsylvania are counting millions of votes for days and weeks after Election Day. Right now, the Republican-controlled state legislature in Pennsylvania is blocking legislation that would remedy this problem. They know, and independent studies confirm, that the overwhelming majority of Republicans plan to vote in-person on Election Day while a strong majority of Democrats will be voting by mail. That means that on election night, Trump, and other Republican candidates, will likely appear to be doing much better than the final results will show once all mail-in ballots are counted. All of this gives Trump the opportunity to shout “voter fraud” as the mail-in ballots are tabulated days after the election. The situation is similar in Wisconsin, another battleground state, where ballots aren’t counted until Election Day, despite concerns expressed by local election officials.
Second, the news media needs to prepare the American people to understand there is no longer a single Election Day and that we may not know the results on November 3. Education is critical. We know enough to know that a number of key states will likely be counting votes for a period of time after Election Day and that those votes may be determinative in this election. The national news media must lead a conversation about what that process may look like and set expectations in advance for what to expect. Absent a national conversation about that reality, conspiracy theories and disinformation will likely thrive in the chaotic environment that we will see after November 3.
Third, social media companies must finally get their act together and stop people from using their tools to threaten and harass election officials and spread disinformation. Currently, social media platforms have the technology to stop their users from threatening and harassing prosecutors, judges and other public officials. It is time for them to expand those protections to the people who administer our elections. Otherwise, the entire election process could be compromised. Further, Facebook and other platforms have to act to prevent increasingly emboldened and violent right-wing extremists from organizing voter intimidation and disinformation on their sites.
Fourth, we need Congressional hearings with local officials to learn how they plan to handle the Election Day process and the days that follow. Every agency of government, at the federal, state and local level, must do everything possible to ensure that we have a free and fair election where every eligible voter can vote without intimidation, and where no one has to put his or her health or life in danger to cast a ballot.
Here is the truth:
In the United States we have an antiquated and inefficient process for conducting elections. And, today, that system is operating under the additional strain of the coronavirus pandemic. Sadly, instead of trying to improve this flawed situation Trump and many Republicans appear willing to exploit it to maintain power.
I hope this nightmare scenario does not come to pass.
So, in the coming weeks, let us work hard to deliver Joe Biden an overwhelming victory on election night. But, we must also stay vigilant, and do everything possible to prevent Trump from staying in power if he loses.
Nothing less than our democracy is at stake.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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Shame on John Dean. And bless his heart.
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Howard Dean, Not John Dean. (no excuse that it was a long week)
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I posted the this article from The Atlantic on my personal Facebook page. I started out by saying I was appalled because my father served in WWII, my husband was killed in an F-4 during a training mission for the AF, my nephew served in the Army, my nephew-in-law served in the Marines, and I have many Veteran friends. Well, a far Right Republican, went ballistic and said all of this article is based on lies. She said Trump has gotten the Military where they should be. Then other people chimed in for or against. What a mess. This is why I usually avoid the subject. You can’t argue with these people.
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I fear for Snowden’s life if he ever returns to the U.S. It says something about our system having gone bad when someone who blows the whistle on the wrongs done by our government has to live in seclusion in Russia.
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Full Interview: Edward Snowden On Trump, Privacy, And Threats To Democracy | The 11th Hour | MSNBC
Sep 17, 2019
MSNBC
On the eve of his memoir ‘Permanent Record’ being published, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden talked at length from Moscow with MSNBC’s Brian Williams in an exclusive interview. This is their discussion in its entirety, edited down slightly for clarity.
Aired on 9/17/2019.
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Aside from who he is, and what role he has taken in the declining status of American journalism, I think this piece is highly credible–compared to most of his pieces. Even former Trump aides and conservative media (National Review and Fox News) confirmed. Trump got so mad that he asked Fox News to fire Jennifer Griffin, its correspondent.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/05/media/the-atlantic-trump-military-fox-news/index.html
To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Jeffrey Goldberg. Based on my research on his background, he has a history of tweaking incendiary war-mongering articles promoting US invasion of Iraq. Sad thing is that very few people seem to care what he has done in the past, mainly due to resistance journalism culminated in the Trump Era. American journalism has been corrupted long before Trump took office in January 2017, but it’s becoming even worse.
This is one of the very few things I can give him a praise.
But I certainly would not consider him as a long-time ally and friend of democracy, even though Trump was gone.
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Trump can’t stand any criticism but he dishes it out. What a loser!! I will be SO glad when he is in prison. Trump didn’t want to go to one cemetery because he would get his hair wet.
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GOP lawmaker defends Fox reporter after Trump calls for her firing
BY MORGAN GSTALTER – 09/05/20 02:10 PM EDT
Trump went after Griffin, a national security correspondent, after she reported that former officials had backed up some details of an explosive report about Trump published this week by The Atlantic.
“She’s one of my favorite reporters. Fair and unafraid,” Kinzinger wrote in response to Trump calling for Griffin to be fired…
Griffin said on the air on Friday that sources had told her Trump said the Vietnam War was “stupid” and anyone who fought in it was a “sucker.”
Griffin, citing a former Trump administration official, reported that Trump “was not in a good mood” during his trip to France in 2018 and “questioned why he had to go to two cemeteries.”
She also reported that Trump was adamant flags not be lowered to half-staff when the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a fierce critic of Trump, died in 2018…
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/515267-gop-lawmaker-defends-fox-reporter-after-trump-calls-for-her-firing
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Mentally unfit Trump will do or say anything to win re-election. His toady Barr is no better.
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Just Like His Boss, Attorney General William Barr Is Ratcheting Up the Conspiracy Theories
By Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Facebook Page
05 September 20
Just like his boss, Attorney General William Barr is ratcheting up the conspiracy theories and propaganda as the election nears. It was nearly impossible to keep up with every one of the false claims Barr made in an interview with CNN yesterday.
He claimed widespread mail-in voting is “very open to fraud and coercion,” despite decades of evidence showing it is safe and secure. He doubled down on the conspiracy theory that foreign entities will interfere with mail-in voting, and when pressed on his claim, admitted that he had no evidence to back it up and that he was “basing it on logic.” He also downplayed Russia’s well-documented and far-reaching efforts to help Trump in both the 2016 election and our current one, despite intelligence officials’ repeated warnings that Russia has already begun to meddle again.
In addition to those lies, Barr also made a series of baseless claims regarding the Black Lives Matter movement and the historic protests against racial injustice and police killings. He claimed the police shooting of Jacob Blake was justified because Blake was armed; there is no evidence that Blake was armed. He asserted that systemic racism in policing is “simply a false narrative,” despite multiple studies finding that Black Americans are far more likely to be shot by police than white Americans. And he even backed up Trump’s conspiracy theory that members of the anti-fascist movement travel around the country attending protests and stirring up violence, without offering a shred of evidence to support his claim.
One thing is clear: Bill Barr’s only job these days is to do Trump’s bidding and back him up no matter what. When we vote Trump out in November, we vote out William Barr, too. It’s a win-win.
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Here is another revelation from ex-Melania friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s tell-all, Melania and Me.
Politico:
— Donald Trump wanted his inauguration to look like a North Korean military parade. When discussing the parade with Winston Wolkoff and Ivanka during the transition, Trump said: “I want tanks and choppers. Make it look like North Korea,” he told them.
Winston Wolkoff wrote: “He really wanted goose-stepping troops and armored tanks? That would break tradition and terrify half the country.”
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