I don’t know exactly how appropriate it is for the President to commend a world leader on the consolidation of power, but I certainly know that it’s super messed up that he hopes he can do the same thing in this country. It’s a real shocking and scary thing for him to suggest that he should be aiming to copy Xi Jinping and the idea of a president for life. It’s rhetoric like that that makes me flabbergasted that people think he’s some grand national savior.
So Trump is…I don’t know if I’d call it a 180 on gun control provisions…but he’s definitely sounding…dare I say…somewhat reasonable? It’s weird to see him step so far away from his base’s views on anything. I mean, the VAST majority of Americans overwhelmingly favor some new measure of gun control. That is indisputable, but the very vocal minority, the people who comprise the loudest segment of Trump’s base, do not. So for Trump to come out and say he’s down for confiscating guns from mentally ill people, and for raising the age of purchase on certain firearms…I mean it’s a weird pivot that I’m not sure anyone saw coming. It’s a welcome one. But it also is so out of character for him that I would feel weird trusting it. I don’t know whether to expect him to go back on it tomorrow and say he never said any such thing in the first place.
Hope Hicks, the now ex-director of strategic communications for the White House, said that it was part of her job to tell “white lies” for the President. Given her lack of elaboration on that fact, people are left with a lot of questions about such a response. What does she consider a “white lie”? Who exactly was she lying to? If she saw it as part of her job, then how often was she lying? On what topics did she lie whitely over? If she admitted to lying, was she lying about the lying? She claims that she hasn’t lied over matters relating to the Russian Investigation, but is that a White Lie too? So many questions…
So Donald Trump seems pretty convinced that he would have pulled a Die Hard during the Parkland shooting, and I had a pretty good laugh about it. He says “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.” I can’t tell if that’s a lie or if he actually believes that about himself. I mean, Donald Trump is famously squeamish about blood. He admits himself that he can’t be around blood in even small amounts without getting sketchy. But his inner Harrison Ford would have DEFINITELY kicked in to take down a terrorist.
So the Republicans and Right Wing Media outlets are really trying to push this narrative that the Russians colluded with the Democrats. That THAT is the real story and not potential collusion with Trump. I mean they make a good point. I mean, only by working with the Russians could they have tanked the 2016 elections so hard. It’s a damn goofy claim that flies in the face evidence and…you know, reality? I mean, I’m willing to take the word of right-wing armchair philosophers over a vast network of non-partisan intelligence gatherers whose job and expertise involve this very thing.
So, a young woman, Lauren Hogg, called out Melania Trump, suggesting that if she aims to combat cyber bullying, a good place to start would be at home, where Donald Trump, Jr. called her and her family “Crisis Actors”, effectively putting a target on her and her brother’s back. It’s a tragic outcome, and Don Jr. should be ashamed of himself, even though he obviously isn’t. And it really, again, brings into stark relief the irony of Melania Trump’s campaign.
So, the Dems released a memo of their own. And despite having some redactions, it’s a pretty comprehensive rebuttal to the one Nunes released a few weeks back. It has several more detailed pages regarding the FISA requests and the evidence regarding it, and just all the things that took place behind the scenes of the surveillance of Carter Page and the early investigation into Russia’s interference. Trump of course is leading the charge of the pushback, saying that the whole thing nothing, fraudulent, and suggesting that Adam Schiff broke the law. Basically all the same things the Dems said when Nune’s memo came out. It’s the political Circle of Life.
So Trump held a “listening session” at the White House on Wednesday, so people affected by the tragedy in Florida could express themselves to him. The session is hard to listen to, as you’re having to hear the rawest emotions from people who were struck by the most horrendous act of human hatred, and having to be composed and responsive…well I don’t know that I can blame someone for having some structured notes to make sure when they were asking questions, they could get to the heart of the matter. So I can’t in good conscience give Trump guff for having notes, even though they were clearly written by someone with better handwriting then him. But what I can take note of is the fact that on the bottom, number 5) was a clear note for him to tell these poor people that he hears them. To suggest that Trump would need a reminder to say something like this shows that the people around the President are concerned that he can’t project his sincere attention.
Trump and friends are now floating around the idea of arming teachers in the wake of Parkland. I know it’s not a new idea, but it’s a particularly bad one. Seriously, it’s dumb. It’s a bad idea for a multitude of reasons, where the benefits are haphazard at best. A teacher holding a gun is expected to get into a standoff with a mentally unstable person, perhaps shoot the person, who is hopefully not wearing any kind of body armor, and will hopefully, in a high stress situation, not misfire the weapon, or shoot an innocent person in the crossfire. All of this doesn’t even take into account the idea of having a stressed out teacher having a firearm within reach while thinking about a frustrating problem child who won’t shut up…Just sayin’….
The Florida House of Representatives has declared Pornography a health risk. The bill, which was voted on and passed, took precedence over state gun control legislation, which some might argue, is a bit more urgent in light of recent events. But no, the Florida legislature might be going to war with porn, which is, if nothing else, entertaining.
Mind the Exit 