Trump 2017: Year Zero

[allegro]

A lot of Trump supporters are not all that intelligent, and I don't mean that in a derogatory "us vs. them" way; I mean it as fact. They're fucking stupid. And gullible.

The vast majority of voters cast their votes based on emotions, and this seems to be especially true with Trump voters who want "change."

But it tends to take a long time for real change to happen, especially if that change involves long-held emotions.

Personally, I don't try "educating" people or changing their minds. I have many better things to do with my time. I don't pontificate; I realize that we're all different, and stupid is stupid.

I don't care if Trump voters "finally come to realize" anything. That makes zero difference, other than those who love saying "I told you so" and those people tend to be assholes, in my opinion.

The only time my own opinion of something has changed has been with (a) age, (b) circumstances, (c) education and research, (d) modern developments. I have rarely, if ever, had my opinion change based on online discussion and I've been online longer than probably anybody here. And I question the importance of an opinion that was changed via online discussion.

This country is totally polarized between "us vs. them." We have a shitload of underlying, institutionalized racism and sexism and economic disparity and religious fervor. We can't hope to change that anytime soon until we have a more educated populace.

My husband gets into Face Book arguments with these "other" people and it works him up so much, I swear it elevates his blood pressure to stroke levels and then he brings that shit HOME. I will no longer discuss this shit at home, even though G and I AGREE on pretty much everything. He vents and rants and sometimes sounds just as crazy as the people on the other side. And, sorry, but fucking NOTHING is gonna effect change in my kitchen while I'm trying to make DINNER.

I have deliberately separated my self from ANYBODY "Trump" in my life; I like my little echo-chamber of a life, surrounded only by friends and family who (a) think like me or (b) never discuss politics. I just don't need that shit shortening my life.

[Louie_Cypher]

A lot of Trump supporters are not all that intelligent, and I don't mean that in a derogatory "us vs. them" way; I mean it as fact. They're fucking stupid. And gullible.

The vast majority of voters cast their votes based on emotions, and this seems to be especially true with Trump voters who want "change."

But it tends to take a long time for real change to happen, especially if that change involves long-held emotions.

Personally, I don't try "educating" people or changing their minds. I have many better things to do with my time. I don't pontificate; I realize that we're all different, and stupid is stupid.

I don't care if Trump voters "finally come to realize" anything. That makes zero difference, other than those who love saying "I told you so" and those people tend to be assholes, in my opinion.

The only time my own opinion of something has changed has been with (a) age, (b) circumstances, (c) education and research, (d) modern developments. I have rarely, if ever, had my opinion change based on online discussion and I've been online longer than probably anybody here. And I question the importance of an opinion that was changed via online discussion.

This country is totally polarized between "us vs. them." We have a shitload of underlying, institutionalized racism and sexism and economic disparity and religious fervor. We can't hope to change that anytime soon until we have a more educated populace.

My husband gets into Face Book arguments with these "other" people and it works him up so much, I swear it elevates his blood pressure to stroke levels and then he brings that shit HOME. I will no longer discuss this shit at home, even though G and I AGREE on pretty much everything. He vents and rants and sometimes sounds just as crazy as the people on the other side. And, sorry, but fucking NOTHING is gonna effect change in my kitchen while I'm trying to make DINNER.

I have deliberately separated my self from ANYBODY "Trump" in my life; I like my little echo-chamber of a life, surrounded only by friends and family who (a) think like me or (b) never discuss politics. I just don't need that shit shortening my life.

i hear you i know why it's interesting to me, but i can't understand why i can't look away i remember when i was really little asking my parents what was going on with the Water in DC did their faucets not work? I remember my dad laughing and it did have something to do with "plumbers" but it was adult stuff and he would explain when i had a better understanding of things thank god there were no Mario bros or I really would have been confused any ways there's something much deeper going on behind the scenes the timing and content of trumps tweets the timeline is off confusing and how things are connected like rice Flynn and Devon way out of trumps league maybe the best thing to do go on a media fast, i did that once during the OJ Simpson trial I was very into cyberpunk at the time and not hearing the soothing sounds of my 2600 baud modem connecting to the Well was tough but probably kept me sane a few days longer good luck and goodnight
-Louie

[allegro]

sounds of my 2600 baud modem connecting to the Well was tough but probably kept me sane a few days longer good luck and goodnight
-Louie

Hahaha you were on the Well? I was using Pico back then on a Hayes 1200 bd modem via PC Pursuit!

Anyway, I'm not on a "news fast," myself. I watch selective stuff; I like the ladies on The View, I love Chuck Todd, I like Chris Matthews and Hardball, etc. And I read the Chicago Tribune every day and watch the local news.

I just don't want to DISCUSS it. It gets too heated, forget it.

I worked in a LAW OFFICE during OJ Simpson, which was particularly fun. We all gathered around a small TV in my boss's office to watch the verdict come down.

[M1ke]

On a personal note, every time I read about Trump, and what's happening in the states, I can't help but be reminded of what it was like living with my ex.

It took me years to realize the reality of what was happening, if she was upset about something, she'd say something that had no basis in reality, not because she believed it, but because she wanted to exhaust me. She'd know it was bullshit, but she'd argue it non-stop and not even let me sleep if I didn't agree with something that was obviously false, so that I'd argue back, and as soon as I was exhausted from arguing over the bullshit she had just fabricated she would scream that "YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE RIGHT" and try to demonize me for arguing, and for being unwilling to compromise.

Trump tells lies, which results in the media calling him out as a liar, so that he can point to their criticisms of him and say "look, they're not being fair to me, I'm not really as bad as they say I am". And he gets so much negative press that his supporters start to feel sorry for him, and believe that he's being picked on by the media, and feeds the "underdog outsider" mentality that his supports eat up.

I got it to stop, by moving out of the house, and minimizing my interactions with her. But if you're the media, and he's the president, do you have that option? You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you let his lies go, "alternative facts" win the day, and the media becomes irrelevant. If you call him out on his lies, you're making his supporters buy into this "underdog outsider" mentality more and more.

For years the republican party has walked a fine line, publicly pretending to be on the side of the "hard-working, average american", while still slashing anything that doesn't help the rich. Now they've got a president who has dropped the facade and gone into hyper mode making the country worse for everyone but the rich. I hate to say it, but maybe this is what the country really needed.

The republicans have always made things worse, but they've never done it to the degree that Trump is doing it, and so they were able to maintain the facade. Trump may be bad enough to break the illusion. Sometimes things have to get worse before they can really get better. Maybe the media should let his lies run rampant, let the country descend worse than it already is, so that people can see that it's not the criticisms of Trump that's the problem, it's the Trump that's the problem.

[Louie_Cypher]

Hahaha you were on the Well? I was using Pico back then on a Hayes 1200 bd modem via PC Pursuit!

Anyway, I'm not on a "news fast," myself. I watch selective stuff; I like the ladies on The View, I love Chuck Todd, I like Chris Matthews and Hardball, etc. And I read the Chicago Tribune every day and watch the local news.

I just don't want to DISCUSS it. It gets too heated, forget it.

I worked in a LAW OFFICE during OJ Simpson, which was particularly fun. We all gathered around a small TV in my boss's office to watch the verdict come down.

simpler days i suppose things seamed so fresh and new like we were on the cusp of a new revolution learned most of my Unix scripting chops back then the underground scene seemed alive and vibrant, you weren't bombarded with adverts every waking moment, you felt special because you knew something every else didn't like burning man or raves even NIN or skinny puppy and the like, now I'm just waxing nostalgic *sigh*, I tend to try to take in a variety msnbc, but also fox, til it makes me crazy enemies close an all that be well rounded and well informed
-Louie

[onthewall2983]

Steve Bannon removed from NSC

[Art Vandelay]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b0d0b7e1660ba4

Louis CK's comments on Trump last night on Stephen Colbert, he calls Donald Trump a "gross crook dirty rotten lying sack of shit".

[Louie_Cypher]

Bannon gone i bet they will find ties to Russia
-Louie

[Deepvoid]

Trump' statement on the chemical attack in Syria.
"It crossed a lot of lines for me.” “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal ... that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line. Many, many lines.”

I'm always amazed by Trump's vocabulary. You guys know a lot more about US history than I do but I would be the farm he's the worst POTUS speaker.

[Louie_Cypher]

Trump' statement on the chemical attack in Syria.
"It crossed a lot of lines for me.” “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal ... that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line. Many, many lines.”

I'm always amazed by Trump's vocabulary. You guys know a lot more about US history than I do but I would be the farm he's
the worst POTUS speaker.

rival's only by GW say NU- cle- ur not new clear
-Louie

[marodi]

When I hear Trump speak, I visualize his speech as a Wikipedia entry; a bigly bad one. It's full or blanket terms, weasel words and it's missing accurate sources. Editors would not know where to start fixing it.

[WorzelG]

Shouldnt Trump try to get Putin to stop aiding Assad if he cares so much about the babies?

[Louie_Cypher]

won't do anything because he's in bed with Russia a liar hypocrite and a fool meanwhile behind closed doors sending 1000 of troops into Syria with out telling congress or more importantly the American people, hold this idiot child accountable
-Louie

[bobbie solo]

Considering we've already been low-key add 500 troops here, 500 troops there over in Syria, Trumps "response" to the chemical attack is simply his out for now having our military more heavily involved over there. He needs an out b/c he's been on the record for years saying we should have nothing to do with Syria.

But like everything else, his isolationist rhetoric on the campaign trail seems to have been a lie and now he will use this incident to get us more heavily involved like the great military industrial complex always forces us to. They always get their way, and it's arguably the second biggest problem our gov't faces (next to campaign finance reform).

[Jinsai]

Bannon gone i bet they will find ties to Russia
-Louie

Regardless of the reasons for him being ejected, this is almost certainly a good thing. Fuck you, Steve.

[Louie_Cypher]

last man standing who'd guess white house the new celebrity apprentice question now is who he will throw under the bus to avoid treason charges trump's career it's already very crowded under there
-Louie

[Deepvoid]

Gorsuch is done deal after GOP nukes senate rule.

[Deepvoid]

They already did. We are now just waiting for the formalities of the senate debate before they move to confirmation.


So uh... Ginsburg is 84 years old. How much longer do you think she will hang on?


It's worth reflecting on when Dems "took the nuclear option" for all other POTUS nominations a few years ago. It's funny how Dems were all "We live in a country as a democracy where a simple majority is the vision of how we make decisions. The majority makes decisions, not the minority." and GOP was all "When you go simple majority you basically turn it over to one party and many times you get the harshest of the harsh, I think they did the Senate a disservice."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politi...-donald-trump/

Yeah I meant to write that in the "breaking news" verb tense.

Warren called for the nuclear option back in 2013.
Still, I do agree that it does the Senate a disservice. It also could come back and haunt the GOP if they cannot keep the Senate in 2018 and if they lose the WH in 2020.

[Louie_Cypher]

they will regret this move the pendulum will swing hard next cycle bad move with trump's approval rating
-Louie

[hellospaceboy]

they will regret this move the pendulum will swing hard next cycle bad move with trump's approval rating
-Louie

I hope you're right!

[Louie_Cypher]

add to this their are no adults to advise him Invanka or Kushner cannot due to ethics s now he has north Korea Syria international market's are starting to wobble, I've dealt with the Chinese and are very big on ceremony and pomp and circumstance i can not see them being very happy about holding meetings at a golf resort Richie rich needs an adult in the room to scold him when he acts the fool who going talk some sense to him who does he have hannity or the soon to be gone 0'Riley. "fox bullshit machine" this is not lost on the international community, we are a prime target for a cyber or possibly worse shudder attack. I can only choke back my laughter, and urge to say"I told you so" or "what did you think was going to happen" to my idiot right wing colleges. I just hope we can all get through this unscathed, we our at least a year out before we can actually even start the impeachment process there is defiantly someone behind the scenes driving the diversion tactics he's just not that smart his so called"empire" was built on the back of his dad and advisors which he doesn't have and I really don't any one will be willing to walk into this shit storm especially after watching spicier and Kellyanne well America you've been tested before and I hope you'll pass this one which seems to be one of your toughest I just can't believe American's voted for this idiot after eight years of W and the state he left things in i hate to say it but collectively we're kind of stupid
-Louie

[hellospaceboy]

Trump got elected because he promised easy solutions to every problem... including Syria.

And we all knew that it's not how it works, that these are complicated issues with no easy/obvious solutions and with no good choices.

Oh well, I think now he knows that too. Let's see what happens.

[theimage13]

Syria is just World War III waiting to happen. What is taking place there right now is gut-wrenching, but bombing the shit out of people is only going to make it worse for Syria and the rest of the planet.

[Louie_Cypher]

well iraq 2.0
-Louie

[Aladdinsanity]

Meanwhile, we bombed the shit out of Mosul and killed some 200 innocent civilians not to mention those killed in the Yemen strikes that we fund Saudi Arabia to conduct. Shouls we regime-change war ourselves?

[ziltoid]

Despite Russia warning us not to.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/late...utin-assad-WW3

oh fuck this is not good. This is not going to end well. Jesus why in the fuck would trump order a counter strike when warned not to get involved. All Russia needs for a just cause is for one military casualty in order to start WW3.

[hellospaceboy]

Mmmmk

It's not bad to ask questions when patterns dramatically shift like this.

Agree 100%.

I'm alarmed mostly because we knew that Trump was eager to get into a war (I called it that within 6 month of his inauguration he will drag us into one to cement his position -although I guessed China or North Korea)... He proposed a budget that inflated the already giant military industry, and we could see that he was laying groundwork for something.

This seems like an opportunity that they were way too eager to jump on. I wouldn't be surprised if it will lead to a backdoor way to attack Iran (I already heard some ex-CIA talking head on CNN suggest that as the response to the Syrian chemical weapon incident).

[bobbie solo]

like I said, military industrial complex. So predictable.

[elevenism]

Where is my " 'Prepare for Assault World War Three' thread?"

:P

[theimage13]

Mmmmk

It's not bad to ask questions when patterns dramatically shift like this. Anyway, not much is knowable now. It'll probably be something we revisit in the future.


So here is a picture. It's a good thing we didn't vote for that Warhawk named Hillary.

Literally no one here said "Hilary wouldn't have done this". I don't think anyone who regularly posts here is stupid enough to think that Hilary would have reacted differently.