# The 2020 Republican National Convention thread



## Thomas Veil

​Just getting a head start. Equal time and all.

Frankly I’m expecting it to be part Rogues Gallery, part shit show and part Four Days Hate.

And to get this off to a good start...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1295878891307847680/

(Updated to link to the convention website. Click the image.)


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## samcraig

Pretty sure pedophiles and washed up actors Chachi and James Woods will speak too


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## Alli

Heh. Maybe he can get Ghislaine Maxwell to say a few words.


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## yaxomoxay

Alli said:


> Heh. Maybe he can get Ghislaine Maxwell to say a few words.




thankfully she's pretty bi-partisan.


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## yaxomoxay

Thomas Veil said:


> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1295878891307847680/​




Honestly I prefer the gun toting couple over this dude holding a powerful Iraqi WMD. Thank God we had him telling us that we had to destroy an entire region, saving us from all those weapons that we later found and that were pointed at us, ready to annhilate the Western World.
I am appalled that the DNC invited him. He shouldn't even be at a Chuck E. Cheese.






Oh I forgot, he had nice slides:


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## jkcerda

Alli said:


> Heh. Maybe he can get Ghislaine Maxwell to say a few words.



did she say any to Clinton at the DNC?


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## jkcerda

yaxomoxay said:


> Honestly I prefer the gun toting couple over this dude holding a powerful Iraqi WMD. Thank God we had him telling us that we had to destroy an entire region, saving us from all those weapons that we later found and that were pointed at us, ready to annhilate the Western World.
> I am appalled that the DNC invited him. He shouldn't even be at a Chuck E. Cheese.



democrats at least used to PRETEND they were against war, no more.


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## yaxomoxay

jkcerda said:


> democrats at least used to PRETEND they were against war, no more.




You have no idea how seeing his name as a good thing pissed me off. It truly did.


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## Thomas Veil

Take a look at their logo at the top of this thread. Is it me, or does it look like that elephant is throwing a basketball over its back to someone? (Probably a black person that white folks feel safe with, like a Harlem Globetrotter.)


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## Chew Toy McCoy

samcraig said:


> Pretty sure pedophiles




Close.  Read earlier that the Stanford student who got convicted of rape a few years back and his 6 month slap on the wrist sentence sparked national outrage is going to speak.  His sentence was seen as rich white privilege in the legal system.  I'm fascinated to see what the RNC thinks he has to bring to the table.


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## Yoused

The convention schedule has been published








						Schedule of Speakers for the 2020 Republican National Convention
					

Our 14th most-read article of 2020. - - -Originally published August 19, 2020. - - - “Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis homeowners who po...




					www.mcsweeneys.net
				




Be sure to tune in Wednesday at 10:31pm to see Nugent kill a moose.


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## Thomas Veil

> *9:00 pm*
> The Creatures From Beyond the Mist shriek “Turkey In the Straw.”



Well, I know what *I* wanna be there for.


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## JayMysteri0

They've updated some of the more stringent screening requirements to be at the convention.
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1296861312555847687/


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## Alli

jkcerda said:


> did she say any to Clinton at the DNC?




She? You mean he? And no. He only wishes well to criminals.


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## lizkat

yaxomoxay said:


> You have no idea how seeing his name as a good thing pissed me off. It truly did.




Most public servants have been more valuable to the nation than the sum of their most publicized mistakes, whether those questionable moves were their own or undertaken at behest of their superiors...   and I'd certainly extend that view to Secretaries of State like Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton, and to John Kerry for work in the Middle East, in particular on the JCPOA.   Mike Pompeo...  not so far,  and the clock is running out to net to the upside in my book.  YMMV...


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## yaxomoxay

lizkat said:


> Most public servants have been more valuable to the nation than the sum of their most publicized mistakes, whether those questionable moves were their own or undertaken at behest of their superiors...   and I'd certainly extend that view to Secretaries of State like Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton, and to John Kerry for work in the Middle East, in particular on the JCPOA.   Mike Pompeo...  not so far,  and the clock is running out to net to the upside in my book.  YMMV...




Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney are all war criminals, at least from a moral perspective. Heck even Clinton is better than Powell, she never made up WMD’s to invade a country with the idea of a “preemptive strike” (a concept I abhor) to a country that was doing absolutely nothing. I give him that his book was interesting.


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## lizkat

yaxomoxay said:


> Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney are all war criminals, at least from a moral perspective. Heck even Clinton is better than Powell, she never made up WMD’s to invade a country with the idea of a “preemptive strike” (a concept I abhor) to a country that was doing absolutely nothing. I give him that his book was interesting.




Does his expression of regret after the fact count for anything?  I'd say yes but I do think Powell should have resigned rather than play along in the pitch for invasion.   I have been somewhat disappointed by his choices in the private sector as well.  I expected more focus on giving back... more mentoring.  He has done some of that but some of his other choices come off as pretty self serving.


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## yaxomoxay

lizkat said:


> Does his expression of regret after the fact count for anything?




For his soul and Conscience? Maybe. I wish him well on that front.

From a statecraft point of view? Absolutely not. He basically made up evidence based on scanty evidence at best, and started a war that not only destroyed a country that wasn’t doing anything, but caused the biggest rift with Europeans and other powers since WW2, while precipitating the situation in the Middle East and facilitating- as a consequence - the creation and spread of Isis. Therefore no, he should stay far from any politics.


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## Eric

yaxomoxay said:


> For his soul and Conscience? Maybe. I wish him well on that front.
> 
> From a statecraft point of view? Absolutely not. He basically made up evidence based on scanty evidence at best, and started a war that not only destroyed a country that wasn’t doing anything, but caused the biggest rift with Europeans and other powers since WW2, while precipitating the situation in the Middle East and facilitating- as a consequence - the creation and spread of Isis. Therefore no, he should stay far from any politics.



Yep, they were all bad actors back then. I'll say though that even my views on G.W. Bush have evolved over the last several years to be a bit more positive, particularly because Trump makes the guy look like a saint. 

However, if we really want to place blame on anyone for the wars during the Bush years it should be Nader.


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## yaxomoxay

Eric said:


> Yep, they were all bad actors back then. I'll say though that even my views on G.W. Bush have evolved over the last several years to be a bit more positive, particularly because Trump makes the guy look like a saint.
> 
> However, if we really want to place blame on anyone for the wars during the Bush years it should be Nader.




I won’t go into the redeeming of Bush for obvious reasons (however I wonder how can someone that messed up an entire region costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, some of which still going on as a consequence, all based on a lie, can be considered a “saint” compared to someone that for the first time in modern US history didn’t start any new military action, but that’s a different topic for another day), especially because it’s an old political strategy (“not even the previous one was that bad!”)and it will happen again with Trump (“at least he said what he thought!”or something like that) in 10/12 years after he leaves office.
At any rate, Nader didn’t go to the UN and all across Europe showing fake WMD.


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## Eric

yaxomoxay said:


> I won’t go into the redeeming of Bush for obvious reasons (however I wonder how can someone that messed up an entire region costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, some of which still going on as a consequence, all based on a lie, can be considered a “saint” compared to someone that for the first time in modern US history didn’t start any new military action, but that’s a different topic for another day), especially because it’s an old political strategy (“not even the previous one was that bad!”)and it will happen again with Trump (“at least he said what he thought!”or something like that) in 10/12 years after he leaves office.
> At any rate, Nader didn’t go to the UN and all across Europe showing fake WMD.



I mention Nader because (arguably) he siphoned enough of the vote to give GW the win, I think it's safe to say Gore would not have bombed the wrong country in retaliation to 9/11. As for deaths from the war,  the Coronavirus has now killed more Americans than every war since the start of the Korean War—combined Trump has done absolutely nothing to prevent it, in fact he's encouraging activities to further it's spread.


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## yaxomoxay

Eric said:


> I mention Nader because (arguably) he siphoned enough of the vote to give GW the win, I think it's safe to say Gore would not have bombed the wrong country in retaliation to 9/11. As for deaths from the war,  the Coronavirus has now killed more Americans than every war since the start of the Korean War—combined Trump has done absolutely nothing to prevent it, in fact he's encouraging activities to further it's spread.




1) sadly the Iraqi war vote was very bipartisan.
2) I don’t get your comparison. You’re comparing a deadly airborne natural virus which over 100+ nations couldn’t stop to a willful, studied, meticulous, and voluntary act such as war. I mean, it would be ridiculous for me to say that Covid made more deaths in Italy than 10 years of presence in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heck, even the flu causes more deaths than the Korean War.
(For you smokers: Smoke kills 480,000 people a year in the Us alone!)


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## Eric

yaxomoxay said:


> 1) sadly the Iraqi war vote was very bipartisan.
> 2) I don’t get your comparison. You’re comparing a deadly airborne natural virus which over 100+ nations couldn’t stop to a willful, studied, meticulous, and voluntary act such as war. I mean, it would be ridiculous for me to say that Covid made more deaths in Italy than 10 years of presence in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heck, even the flu causes more deaths than the Korean War.



Well, I certainly don't blame Trump for the virus but it's fair to hit him on the response, we now know he could have prevented tens of thousands of deaths but instead chose to aid in it's spread. For that, he is directly responsible.


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## yaxomoxay

Eric said:


> Well, I certainly don't blame Trump for the virus but it's fair to hit him on the response, we now know he could have prevented tens of thousands of deaths but instead chose to aid in it's spread. For that, he is directly responsible.




And that is a fair evaluation. I might disagree with it, or at least parts of it, but it’s fair. Comparing Covid to wars as Fortune did is just yellow journalism of the worst kind; it’s death-toll porn.


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## Thomas Veil

There's an error-filled welcome statement on their front page. Below are my additions and corrections.

_Dear Friends Suckers, _​​_This resource will provide you with the latest news and information about the 2020 Republican National Convention. _​​_Since taking on my role as President and CEO, I have been privileged to lead a team of experienced professionals character assassins and propagandists who understand and take seriously our role to make history as delegates formally re-nominate the President and Vice President of the United States help this son of a bitch finish ruining America.  _​​_The Trump Administration ^if you can dignify it with that term has led us golfed, tweeted and watched TV through great challenges and now is ushering in the ^hopeful Great American Trump Comeback. Our country needs President Trump’s leadership for four more years ^like it needs a colonoscopy with a power drill, and the road back to the White House starts with the 2020 Republican National Convention.  _​​_I can’t wait to tell you more about what we have in store ^because we know you'd buy a handful of shit if Trump told you it was a chocolate eclair. For now, thank you for visiting this website and being part of this history-in-the-making utterly shameless perversion of what we used to stand for. Please continue to check back for updates. _​


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## Thomas Veil

Well, I’m pretty sure this isn’t what you’d want to see a day or two before your convention. 

*'Not an easy task': GOP scrambles to finalize plans for convention amid COVID-19, venue changes, Trump input*

Not exactly surprising, I guess, given Trump’s four years has been famous for chaos, and his convention planning especially so because of his capricious whims. 

But, I mean, this? The weekend before?



> WASHINGTON – The Republican National Convention opens in just two days, but planners have yet to provide a final schedule or other key details about what will take place during the gathering that will culminate in the nomination of President Donald Trump for a second term.





> Officials have confirmed the identities of a dozen or so convention speakers, but not when they will be speaking, where they will be, or what they will be talking about.





> Convention planners haven’t officially announced that Trump is giving his acceptance speech from the White House, though the president himself has confirmed it.





> Even aides to the Senate’s top Republican, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, seemed confused about whether he would have a convention speaking role. McConnell’s re-election campaign said Thursday he would be campaigning in his home state and would not be speaking at the event. Hours later, a campaign source said there had been “a miscommunication” and that the senator would submit taped remarks to be played at the convention.





> When Trump told reporters July 23 he was pulling the plug on Jacksonville, it caught some Republican staff members by surprise. They suddenly had to pack up and start looking for new venues, one month before the start of a convention that normally takes years to plan.





> Plans have to be run by Trump, and that has created delays and at times miscommunication.




I’ll bet somehow, some way, though, Trump will try to cram in an intro similar to his uber-campy, cringe-inducing “Close Encounters” entrance from 2016.


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## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> But, I mean, this? The weekend before?




Which still gives Trump plenty of time to fuck it up.


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## Thomas Veil

Well, they must  finally be getting it nailed down. This just in (five hours ago):

*Donald Trump is to speak on all 4 nights of the RNC, and his family will take up half of the keynote speaker spots*



> President Donald Trump will speak on all four nights of next week's Republican National Convention, breaking with the longstanding tradition limiting the party's presidential candidate to one big acceptance speech on the last night of the event, The New York Times reported.



Because of course.


> ...According to Politico, Trump believes that last week's DNC event was too "gloomy," and wants a more upbeat tone for the GOP conference.



That beacon of light in the darkness last week? Too gloomy. 


> Some of the conference events, reportedly including the president's acceptance speech, will be hosted at the White House, which is not traditionally used by presidents for campaign events. It's a move that has been denounced by critics as unethical.



Ya think? 


> According to the report, Trump plans to speak every night of the event because he "wants the opportunity to rebut charges made against him throughout the Democratic program, aides said, particularly on his handling of the coronavirus crisis."



Get your shovels out, people. 


> ...Along with the president himself, they include First Lady Melania Trump, the president's daughter and White House advisor Ivanka Trump, the president's sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, who are both executives in the Trump Organization, and his youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump.



Why not drag Barron into this while you're at it? 


> The event will also feature speeches from ordinary Americans conservatives say have been impacted by liberal extremism.



Forced to breathe cleaner air. Forced to see more black people voting. The horror. 


> The St Louis couple who controversially brandished guns at Black lives Matter protesters outside their mansion are due to speak.



Privileged white folks who like to sue anything that moves. Good idea.


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## Alli

Heaven forfend he doesn’t get to speak whenever possible. 

Would he know what light looked like if he stepped into it?


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## Alli

Here is the entire cast list from Trump’s own website.

The Honorable Ivanka Trump? Give me a fuckin’ break.


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## Eric

Trump is going to get up there and blabber on every night about doom and gloom with a few speakers in between. 

As for first ladies, we're going from one with degrees from Harvard and Princeton last week to an imported butt model this week. It does not get more 2020 than that.


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## Eric

GOP Convention game plan is all set.


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## SuperMatt

Eric said:


> GOP Convention game plan is all set.




You stole that picture from the New England Patriots locker room, admit it!


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## Thomas Veil

So what do you guys think about this?



> WASHINGTON – A day before Republicans convene to nominate him for a second term, President Donald Trump spent Sunday promoting a potential treatment of COVID-19 using blood plasma.





> Trump called reporters to the White House to announce his administration has granted emergency use authorization for treatment using blood plasma, though more than 70,000 patients have already received it on an experimental basis.





> "This is a powerful therapy," Trump said, describing the authorization as "a very historic breakthrough."





> Trump and aides cast the news as a major therapeutic breakthrough, though some medical analysts said it's already happening and that Trump's demands to rush up some kind of cure for COVID-19 could lead to dangerous treatments of some patients.




Showboating so he can play America’s savior at the convention?


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## Eric

Thomas Veil said:


> So what do you guys think about this?
> Showboating so he can play America’s savior at the convention?



They've already been using this in both live cases and testing and have found that it's not working as they had hoped. That aside, if you're taking your health advice from Donald Trump then you deserve your fate. We need to hear it from real and trusted doctors and health officials.


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## JayMysteri0

Perhaps it would be interesting to start like factoids or like trading cards, for all of the _illustrious_ sorts appearing at the RNC.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1297569900131766274/


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## Thomas Veil

Watching the stream. Matt Gaetz is saying if Biden is elected, when you call 911 no one will come and MS13 will end up moving in next door. 

Edit: Well, there's one place they didn't match the DNC. We got to see Biden nominated live, with each state and territory casting its votes for him. The Republicans did it earlier today behind the scenes, and then condensed their video of it down to--I kid you not--each state saying its name, followed by lots of sign-waving and chanting of "Four more years!" and "Trump! Trump! Trump!"

Kinda speaks to the style of each party, doesn't it? The Democrats did it by the numbers. The Republicans made it look more like just another Trump rally.


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## Eric

You that area called the taint, that super sensitive spot? I would rather repeatedly snap it with a rubber band than watch a second of the GOP convention. Yeah, it'll sting but totally worth it.


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## Thomas Veil

My stomach will only tolerate checking out so much of it. 

Nevertheless I want to get a feel for what kind of medicine show they're performing. That way if a Trumper tries to tell me how great it was, I can say I saw some of it and I call bullshit.

So far I've seen a number of people setting up lots of straw men that Trump supposedly knocked down. And the stage and all the camera moves make it look like some kind of scaled down Emmy awards. I keep waiting for the envelope, please.

Okay. Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie.  I've had enough.


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## Eric

About those masks and social distancing...


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## Thomas Veil

Well _there’s_ a bunch of idiots. 

Although I have to admit that while I was watching I wasn’t practicing safety either. I wasn’t wearing a mask over my whole face, and I wasn’t properly distanced from my computer either. I hope I don’t catch Stupid-19 from watching.

I did find a safer way to follow the proceeding though. Politico is doing an running live commentary. They’re watching so you don’t have to. 

Edit: some of it is actually amusing. It’s like MST3K/RNC.


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## Eric

Trump said the election is only rigged if he loses, man you just can't make this stuff up.


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## Alli

I accidentally watched some this afternoon. When I got tied off the top we idiot droning on,I went and took a nap.


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## Eric

America, a family business.


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## hulugu

yaxomoxay said:


> For his soul and Conscience? Maybe. I wish him well on that front.
> 
> From a statecraft point of view? Absolutely not. He basically made up evidence based on scanty evidence at best, and started a war that not only destroyed a country that wasn’t doing anything, but caused the biggest rift with Europeans and other powers since WW2, while precipitating the situation in the Middle East and facilitating- as a consequence - the creation and spread of Isis. Therefore no, he should stay far from any politics.




I totally agree. But, the fact that Colin Powell, a long-term Republican is running to support Biden, along with dozens of other Republicans should really make people wonder what's happening at 1600 W. Pennsylvania.


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## hulugu

I'm a little flabbergasted that Kimberly Guilfoyle was given a slot at the RNC. Why are we listening to the president's son's girlfriend? I mean sure she was a district attorney in '04, but only her connection to Trump brings her to the fore. 

It's clear that the Republicans have given up on crossing the aisle or going for independents and are only interested in stirring up their base into a rabid froth. 

Apparently, looking for optimism lasted a hot second. Someone needs to tell Ronna McDaniel that her party is on a different script, not optimism, but back to American carnage.


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## JayMysteri0

Uh...

__
		http://instagr.am/p/CETDCrwqFfX/


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## Thomas Veil

hulugu said:


> I'm a little flabbergasted that Kimberly Guilfoyle was given a slot at the RNC. Why are we listening to the president's son's girlfriend?



She’s the party’s official succubus.


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## Thomas Veil

> Donald Trump Jr. unloaded a combative speech at the Republican National Convention by praising his father’s economic record in the White House while calling Democratic nominee Joe Biden...“the Loch Ness monster of the swamp.”



Says the spawn of Cthulhu. 

Half the time I watched they were condemning all the looting and vandalism, though they didn’t say when they’d stop.


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## Huntn

So, the GOP has decided once again the path forward, make excuses, blow smoke, lie your asses off, and fool the dummies. Let’s just hope enough have smartened up for this round, and pass on the a Koolaid Trump toast. 

Fact-checking the first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...st-night-2020-republican-national-convention/ (Maybe behind a pay wall)


*“The president quickly took action and shut down travel from China. Joe Biden and his Democrat allies called my father a racist and xenophobe for doing it.” — Donald Trump Jr.*- This to blow smoke over Trump‘s inaction and denial regarding COVID.
_*“President Trump brought our economy back before, and he will bring it back again.” *_
*— Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley* - Big fat lie.
_*“The failed Obama-Biden administration never could do and build the greatest economy our country has ever seen.”* _— Trump Jr.-Big fat lie.
_*“Obama and Biden let North Korea threaten America. President Trump rejected that weakness, and we passed the toughest sanctions on North Korea in history.” *_
*— Haley* -LOL, She’d have you believe that Trump’s Dog and Pony Show that ended up being canceled, resolved the conflict with his now best buddy.
_*“Obama and Biden let Iran get away with murder and literally sent them a plane full of cash. President Trump did the right thing and ripped up the Iran nuclear deal.” *_
*— Haley* - Misdirection, mischaracterized, and disingenuous.
_*“The intelligence community recently assessed that the Chinese Communist Party favors Biden. They know he’ll weaken us both economically and on a world stage.” *_
*— Trump Jr* -Lie, mischaracterized.
_*“Job gains are outpacing what the so-called experts expected.” *_— Trump Jr. -Laughable whopper especially not, if you’ve lost your job and are about to be evicted.
_*“Democrats claim to be for workers, but they’ve spent the entire pandemic trying to sneak a tax break for millionaires in Democrat states into the covid relief bill. Then they attacked my father for suspending the payroll tax for middle-class workers.” *_
*— Trump Jr*. - Most of the Trump tax cuts have benefited the wealthy and Corporations.
_*“Raising taxes on 82 percent of Americans is not nice.”* _— Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel -The Tax Policy Center estimates that three-quarters of the tax increases would be paid by the top 1 percent of households.
_*“Policies that … allow abortion up until the point of birth are not nice.” *_
*— McDaniel* -Misleading. In short, McDaniel and the president are describing something that rarely happens and that no Democrat is calling for anyway.
_*“They [Democrats] want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning. This forced rezoning would bring crime, lawlessness and low-quality apartments into now-thriving suburban neighborhoods.” — Patty McCloskey* -BS._
*“He delivered historic criminal justice reform. He ended — once and for all — the policy of mass incarceration of Black people, which has decimated our communities, caused by no other than Joe Biden. Democrats couldn’t do it. Obama didn’t want to do it. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris definitely wouldn’t do it.” — Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones (D)* -An extension of Obama Policy and a Washington Post investigationfound that Trump’s Justice Department is working to limit the number of inmates who might benefit from the First Step Act.


_*“President Trump built the most inclusive economy ever, 7 million jobs created, pre-covid-19. And two-thirds of them went to women, African Americans and Hispanics.” *_
*— Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)* - He matched Obama job increases based on riding Obama Administration coattails. The economy was all ready roaring when he showed up.


*Biden “believes in war without winning, war without end. President Trump doesn’t want us in distant deserts. He wants to fight to save America here and now.” — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)* - Despite Gaetz’s claim, the proof is in the troop numbers. Trump has not made much of a dent in the status quo despite a 2016 campaign promise to withdraw the United States from foreign conflicts. As The Washington Post reported, the nearly 200,000 American military personnel who were overseas when Trump took office in 2017 was already the smallest number in many decades.


*“I watched him as the owner of a professional football team. Right after he bought the team, he set out to learn. He learned about the history of the team, the players, the coaches — every detail. Then he used what he learned to make the team better.” — Former NFL player Herschel Walker* - “Trump is widely blamed for the demise of the USFL,” ESPN reported.
*“Biden knows failure. His own defense secretary said, 'Biden has been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security decision for nearly four decades.’ ”— Gaetz* -But in a June interview with NPR, Gates indicated he supported Biden for president, Trump is that aweful.


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## Alli

I just want to know why Nikki Hailey refers to herself as a brown girl.


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## yaxomoxay

Alli said:


> I just want to know why Nikki Hailey refers to herself as a brown girl.




Because she's Indian-American. Her name is Nimrata Nikki Randhawa.


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## Alli

yaxomoxay said:


> Because she's Indian-American. Her name is Nimrata Nikki Randhawa.




Shame she's only brown when it's convenient. 

Who was the angry scary-looking woman in red who spoke last night?


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## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> Because she's Indian-American. Her name is Nimrata Nikki Randhawa.



Imo, if you have fair completion, there is a better way to describe yourself than as a brown girl, when you are not brown.


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## yaxomoxay

Huntn said:


> Imo, if you have fair completion, there is a better way to describe yourself than as a brown girl, when you are not brown.




Yeah, go tell Sikhs who are not 100% brown that they are not brown, see how they react. I can't believe we're at the "not brown enough" stage.


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## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> Yeah, go tell Sikhs who are not 100% brown that they are not brown, see how they react. I can't believe we're at the "not brown enough" stage.



My point is don’t say you are brown if you are not. Speak in terms of your ethninticity.


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## yaxomoxay

Huntn said:


> My point is don’t say you are brown if you are not. Speak in terms of your ethninticity.




I'd leave it to her. Neither you or I are the authorities on what is brown and what is not. Honestly this is a bullshit point you're making.


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## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> I'd leave it to her. Neither you or I are the authorities on what is brown and what is not. Honestly this is a bullshit point you're making.



No it’s not. If you are not brown, it makes more sense to describe yourself in terms of ethninticity.


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## yaxomoxay

Huntn said:


> No it’s not. If you are not brown, it makes more sense to describe yourself in terms of ethninticity.




She's browner than me. Or Ivanka. Or Melania. Or Biden.
I am sorry, but your point doesn't make much sense.


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## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> She's browner than me. Or Ivanka. Or Melania. Or Biden.
> I am sorry, but your point doesn't make much sense.



I’ll concede, to you it does not, your preference. Btw, I’m not being overly critical because she’s a Trump Minion. Either one works, yet based on complection, I prefer the former.


I’m half Indian.
or
I’m a brown girl. ​


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## yaxomoxay

Huntn said:


> I’ll concede, to you it does not, your preference. Btw, I’m not being overly critical because she’s a Trump Minion. Either one works, yet based on complection, I prefer the former.
> 
> View attachment 162
> I’m half Indian.
> or
> I’m a brown girl. ​




To me - brown or not - she’s a capable lady. You certainly disagree with her but I am sure you will appreciate her as a very skilled woman.


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## Eric

Huntn said:


> I’ll concede, to you it does not, your preference. Btw, I’m not being overly critical because she’s a Trump Minion. Either one works, yet based on complection, I prefer the former.
> 
> View attachment 162
> I’m half Indian.
> or
> I’m a brown girl.​



Perhaps if her name were Token. 2 or 3 people of color (or brown) in a party of hundreds of white people is not diverse, her acting that way is frankly insulting.


----------



## JayMysteri0

The issue is with Haley it seems at times being "Brown" is a feature that can be turned on or off.  With say Harris, she's always Black, UNLESS it's an imagined talking point by those NOT Black, if she is Black enough.  You don't often hear the party opposite of Haley going on about her being "Brown" unless Haley  brought it up herself, otherwise it's just ignored.  What did have many of us scratching our heads is the world she moves in where racism can come & go, reducing it's inconvenience in a timely fashion.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298084258850971648/

So many more people in the country would love to have that option.  For her it seemed like racism was like childhood asthma, something you can eventually grow out of.  It seemed like a theme, as it was something Herschel Walker would continue with his being insulted that anyone could call 45 racist, as he would never associate with anyone racist.  For which Black Twitter came a calling.  Notably some pointing out basically he's a famous pro football player who 45 likes to be seen with, but if you were a POC in one of his casinos you weren't to be seen when he was visiting.


----------



## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> To me - brown or not - she’s a capable lady. You certainly disagree with her but I am sure you will appreciate her as a very skilled woman.



She maybe skilled, but with pretty horrendous judgement on her part, including most of the GOP, and all Trump stooges. She knows where her political bed is, and for someone so bright, instead of trying to save her party has decided to gulp Rump Koolaid to fit in and get ahead.

Make no mistake, this is a struggle for the soul of the Nation and ultimately no group can prevail long term based on deceit and dishonesty no matter how righteous they rationalize their goals are.


----------



## yaxomoxay

Huntn said:


> Make no mistake, this is a struggle for the soul of the Nation and ultimately no group can prevail long term based on deceit and dishonesty no matter how righteous they rationalize their goals are.




Well, to be honest the idea of living in a cave on the Himalayas is getting more interesting by the day. Hopefully Amazon delivers there.


----------



## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> Well, to be honest the idea of living in a cave on the Himalayas is getting more interesting by the day. Hopefully Amazon delivers there.



What will Amazon deliver, a hot air balloon?


----------



## hulugu

JayMysteri0 said:


> The issue is with Haley it seems at times being "Brown" is a feature that can be turned on or off.  With say Harris, she's always Black, UNLESS it's an imagined talking point by those NOT Black, if she is Black enough.  You don't often hear the party opposite of Haley going on about her being "Brown" unless Haley  brought it up herself, otherwise it's just ignored.  What did have many of us scratching our heads is the world she moves in where racism can come & go, reducing it's inconvenience in a timely fashion.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298084258850971648/
> 
> So many more people in the country would love to have that option.  For her it seemed like racism was like childhood asthma, something you can eventually grow out of.  It seemed like a theme, as it was something Herschel Walker would continue with his being insulted that anyone could call 45 racist, as he would never associate with anyone racist.  For which Black Twitter came a calling.  Notably some pointing out basically he's a famous pro football player who 45 likes to be seen with, but if you were a POC in one of his casinos you weren't to be seen when he was visiting.




Maybe we should talk about this in terms of "passing," or the idea that some people can "pass" as white, or not-brown and therefore are treated differently than people with darker skin.

So, Haley can pass as white when it's convenient, but can also identify as Indian when it suits her. The idea of passing has been around for a long time, and goes into the Spanish empire's own structure of race, which essentially classified people in degrees of being Spanish, i.e. white, and being mixed with indigenous or African peoples. In the late Spanish empire, people could ask the church to reclassify them, and lubricated by the right amount of gold, the church would often agree, effectively changing someone's race. This is in part still supported by class in Mexico, where people with light skin and blue eyes are often in the aristocracy in Mexico City, while darker people are poor, and often in the south down in near the Yucatan peninsula.

From the U.S., they're all treated as Mexicans, but the people from Mexico City could immediately pass as white, while those from indigenous areas in the south will still be considered brown, even as both are Latinos.

Haley can pass, but also be a "brown girl." One of the things that's weird is that she talks about being a brown girl, argues that the U.S. is beyond racism, and yet, Nimrata still calls herself Nikki.


----------



## JayMysteri0

hulugu said:


> Maybe we should talk about this in terms of "passing," or the idea that some people can "pass" as white, or not-brown and therefore are treated differently than people with darker skin.
> 
> So, Haley can pass as white when it's convenient, but can also identify as Indian when it suits her. The idea of passing has been around for a long time, and goes into the Spanish empire's own structure of race, which essentially classified people in degrees of being Spanish, i.e. white, and being mixed with indigenous or African peoples. In the late Spanish empire, people could ask the church to reclassify them, and lubricated by the right amount of gold, the church would often agree, effectively changing someone's race. This is in part still supported by class in Mexico, where people with light skin and blue eyes are often in the aristocracy in Mexico City, while darker people are poor, and often in the south down in near the Yucatan peninsula.
> 
> From the U.S., they're all treated as Mexicans, but the people from Mexico City could immediately pass as white, while those from indigenous areas in the south will still be considered brown, even as both are Latinos.
> 
> Haley can pass, but also be a "brown girl." One of the things that's weird is that she talks about being a brown girl, argues that the U.S. is beyond racism, and yet, Nimrata still calls herself Nikki.



Which I imagine is the most galling aspect.  Having heard the stories about the crap light skinned African Americans get, because they get the option sometimes of passing, or even seen as more attractive.  Don't EVER walk into a conversation about the attractiveness of Black women & discussion of lighter skinned women comse up!     Just grab your passport & mention you forgot about the emergency international flight you had today!  You canNOT win!   Part of the issue of course being that when it's convenient some people can pass, and not have to deal with some shit others do.  But some will always know about the racism faced if it's to fit in the conversation.

_Tangentially related, as it refers to light skinned women conversation..._


> Talib Kweli Is Off Twitter After Harassing One Woman for Weeks
> 
> 
> He maintained he was not banned, but left the site for Patreon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.vulture.com




The problem with Haley of course, as it involves her party when it goes after Brown women ( the Squad ), she's right along with them arguing semantics & ignoring the racism others are trading in.

On a different note...
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298335508502806530/


----------



## Thomas Veil

Okay. I’m officially worried. 

*First night of GOP convention delivers nearly six times more views than start of Democrats' event on C-SPAN livestream*

I’m trying to convince myself this is all Republicans who tuned to CSPAN because they wouldn’t get caught dead watching it on mainstream networks, combined with young Biden voters who just don’t do CSPAN. 

Still, this is sobering.


----------



## Chew Toy McCoy

RNC 2020 opening night ratings on C-SPAN blow away DNC viewership
					

Last week’s 2020 Democratic National Convention tanked in the Nielsen ratings compared to the 2016 opening festivities where Hillary Clinton was crowned the nation’s first female presid…




					nypost.com
				




Still trying to figure out if this article is a joke. In what other scenario would those numbers be considered bragging rights?

“Gentlemen, and Lisa.  Our competitors captured a pathetic 0.023% of the population. I know, right?  They should just pack it in.   Our numbers?  Wait for it.  Are you sitting down? 0.14%!!!  We crushed it!”


----------



## User.45

Officially gave up on the MR forum...


----------



## Eric

PearsonX said:


> Officially gave up on the MR forum...



Welcome to the site! If you refresh the forum page now you'll see everything.


----------



## Alli

PearsonX said:


> Officially gave up on the MR forum...




Glad to hear it. Welcome to a better place.


----------



## Eric

Love seeing Fox News pundits getting slapped with some truth.


----------



## Renzatic

Huntn said:


> _*“Policies that … allow abortion up until the point of birth are not nice.”*_
> *— McDaniel* -Misleading. In short, McDaniel and the president are describing something that rarely happens and that no Democrat is calling for anyway.




It's amazing how many people believe that 3rd trimester abortions are actually legal. They're not. The only way you can legally get one is if there's a very real risk of death due to complications from the pregnancy, and then you have to have a doctor sign off on it. 

There are actually people out there who seriously think that Democrats want to make it so that if you have a baby, and you end up thinking it's ugly or something, you can tell the doctor you don't want it, and he'll slam it against a table like an otter trying to crack open a clam.


----------



## SuperMatt

Thomas Veil said:


> Okay. I’m officially worried.
> 
> *First night of GOP convention delivers nearly six times more views than start of Democrats' event on C-SPAN livestream*
> 
> I’m trying to convince myself this is all Republicans who tuned to CSPAN because they wouldn’t get caught dead watching it on mainstream networks, combined with young Biden voters who just don’t do CSPAN.
> 
> Still, this is sobering.




Why are you worried? On the actual TV networks that people watch, the 10-11 hour of day one of DNC got 18.8 million and the same timeframe for the RNC was 15.8.

Not sure why a bunch of republicans watched on c-span online instead. I’m guessing a bunch of Facebook groups forwarded the c-span link and people clicked to watch there instead of on tv.


----------



## DT

PearsonX said:


> Officially gave up on the MR forum...





Welcome!  Yeah, you and your formal medical education, your subject matter expertise, what the fuck do you know?


----------



## Thomas Veil

Eric said:


> Love seeing Fox News pundits getting slapped with some truth.




LOL. Exactly. "Why wasn't there fact-checking at the Dems convention?" Because they're not a bunch of fucking compulsive liars!

(Not that they're 100% honest either, but you can clearly see the difference.)



SuperMatt said:


> Why are you worried? On the actual TV networks that people watch, the 10-11 hour of day one of DNC got 18.8 million and the same timeframe for the RNC was 15.8.
> 
> Not sure why a bunch of republicans watched on c-span online instead. I’m guessing a bunch of Facebook groups forwarded the c-span link and people clicked to watch there instead of on tv.




That's something of a relief.

Why am I worried? It's not just the ratings. Four years ago my daughter was so worried about Trump getting elected and I told her not to worry, the polls said there was only a small chance of that happening. She said, "I don't know, I see a lot of Trump signs, and I don't see many Hillary Clinton signs."

Which I dismissed as purely anecdotal. But I'm telling you, my block has only eight houses on it, and two of them have Trump signs or flags. So when I see something like this, it makes me nervous.

There is no excuse this time. No "everybody hates Hillary" or "she's the wrong candidate". People like Joe. He had a good convention. If we do everything perfectly and we *still* can't win, it'll be time to fucking pack it up and write off the country.


----------



## User.45

D_T said:


> Welcome!  Yeah, you and your formal medical education, your subject matter expertise, what the fuck do you know?




I don't know, man, but I might be qualified enough to be a FoxNews COVID expert.
 (My field almost has 0 to do with COVID).


----------



## Thomas Veil

And then this happened:

*House Democrat opens investigation into Pompeo's RNC speech*



> A House Democrat has opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's controversial decision to address the Republican National Convention.





> ...The decision to speak to the political convention in prerecorded remarks from Jerusalem breaks with longstanding precedent of sitting secretaries of state avoiding partisan politics, particularly while abroad, and appears to violate guidance on political activities that Pompeo himself emphasized in a cable to diplomats just last month. It has rankled current and past State Department officials.





> In a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on Tuesday, (Rep. Joaquin) Castro noted, "It is highly unusual, and likely unprecedented, for a sitting Secretary of State to speak at a partisan convention for either of the political parties. It appears that it may also be illegal."




I’m sure tomorrow they’ll be spinning this into a “hoax” or persecution of the Vanguards Of Our Precious American Liberties. Or some such bullshit.


----------



## User.45

Thomas Veil said:


> And then this happened:
> 
> *House Democrat opens investigation into Pompeo's RNC speech*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I’m sure tomorrow they’ll be spinning this into a “hoax” or persecution of the Vanguards Of Our Precious American Liberties. Or some such bullshit.



They just bury the Hatch Act.


----------



## JayMysteri0

Eric said:


> Love seeing Fox News pundits getting slapped with some truth.



Why doesn't anyone see the irony of a person on a news network wondering why another network did NOT fact check?

I mean, what stopped Faux from trying to fact check of their own during the DNC?

Or is she admitting that fact checking just isn't Faux News thing?


----------



## Eric

PearsonX said:


> They just bury the Hatch Act.



Just watched the coverage on ABC Nightly News and they were saying it's unprecedented for any secretary of state to speak at a convention. But are we surprised by anything they do right now? There are probably mob bosses out there who are like "damn, he did what??".


----------



## SuperMatt

Abby Johnson speaking now - is this who they want to represent them?

Then the racist brat who made fun of native Americans is now acting persecuted. Boohoo for you. He is so beaten up by the horrible native Americans.

And the attacks on him are just because he’s Christian, not because he’s a smug little prick who was mocking a native american... yeah right.


----------



## DT

JFC the red hat kid has some missing chromosomes ...


----------



## SuperMatt

D_T said:


> JFC the red hat kid has some missing chromosomes ...




The “heroes” of the right are so pathetic. A bratty kid that should have been spanked is now a hero of the right.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Somebody's missing from the lineup.

*RNC Speaker Cancelled After Boosting QAnon Conspiracy Theory About Jewish Plot to Enslave the World *



> One of the speakers for the second night of the Republican National Convention was pulled from the program after The Daily Beast surfaced a tweet from her, earlier in the day, urging her followers to investigate a supposed Jewish plot to enslave the world.





> “Do yourself a favor and read this thread,” Mary Ann Mendoza, who is a member of the Trump campaign’s advisory board, tweeted to her more than 40,000 followers Tuesday morning.





> ...Hours earlier, Mendoza had linked to a lengthy thread from a QAnon conspiracy theorist that laid out a fevered, anti-Semitic view of the world. In its telling, the Rothschilds—a famous Jewish banking family from Germany—created a plot to terrorize non-Jewish “goyim,” with purported details of their scheme that included plans to “make the goyim destroy each other” and “rob the goyim of their landed properties.”





> Drawing on more than a century’s worth of anti-Semitic hoaxes and smears, the thread claimed that malevolent Jewish forces in the banking industry are out to enslave non-Jews and promote world wars. Riddled with QAnon references, the thread from Twitter user @WarNuse claimed that the Titanic had been sunk to protect the Federal Reserve, and that every president between John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump was a “slave president” in the thrall of a global cabal.





> The thread also promoted “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” an anti-Semitic hoax popular in Nazi Germany, and claimed that its allegations about a Jewish plot to control the world are real.


----------



## SuperMatt

Tiffany is speaking... pretty terrible; all about cancel culture and the evil MSM.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Love the comment somebody left on Eric's Teabonics page:

"When does Putin speak?"


----------



## SuperMatt

Mike Pence is speaking... makes me long for the relative charisma of Tiffany...


----------



## User.45

You guys are masochists I'm suffering second hand brain damage just from what you're posting. So much garbage in so little time.


----------



## User.45

Eric said:


> Just watched the coverage on ABC Nightly News and they were saying it's unprecedented for any secretary of state to speak at a convention. But are we surprised by anything they do right now? There are probably mob bosses out there who are like "damn, he did what??".



It is bad. It is really bad. (The recurring theme here).


----------



## DT

I had to tell the wife either we switch it off or I go downstairs ...


----------



## Thomas Veil

I hear the 2024 convention will be held in the northwest...in the woods...in an open area surrounded by sycamore trees.


----------



## SuperMatt

There were a handful of nice stories but they didn’t seem to have anything to do with Trump... something about a cop helping an addict... supposedly related to Trump’s anti-opioid policies? I didn’t know Trump did anything to help with that,


----------



## SuperMatt

He is observing the swearing in of new citizens now. How did some of them get here with the Muslim ban in effect?


----------



## SuperMatt

Eric Trump trying to copy his brother’s beard and speech. More culture war BS. The Democrats are going to kill everybody’s freedom with the evil of cancel culture. What a crock... is anybody buying this?

I also love how they all talk about how great the economy is... the economy is in terrible shape right now!


----------



## SuperMatt

Joe Biden was there when we killed Osama Bin Laden... but the terrorists will make a comeback if he is president.

Joe Biden is supposedly going to cancel the 2nd amendment and defund the police.... things he specifically said he wouldn’t do.

This little worthless turd would be working at a Wal-Mart checkout if he wasn’t from a rich family.

Empty, oppressive, radical views... of Joe Biden???? Maybe he confused Joe Biden with somebody else?

Man, this speech is only going to appeal to the people that are already over the deep end. That’s consistent with this convention. You have a segment supposedly showing some heart and perhaps unity... then angry culture war bullshit.... totally Jekyll and Hyde RNC. What a mess.


----------



## yaxomoxay

hulugu said:


> Nimrata still calls herself Nikki.




Nikki is her real name, and it’s her Indian name; it’s not an Anglosaxon name or a nickname.


----------



## SuperMatt

Daniel Cameron from Kentucky talking now. He is talking about injustice... oh wait, the injustice of tearing down a statue. And the evil rioters and looters of course.

He mentioned Breonna Taylor once with no commitment to charging her killers or even saying anything about it..  but is calling the protests of her death an all-out attack on western civilization. Then transitions to a cup of coffee?

And more whining about cancel culture. Why are these people so whiny about cancel culture?  Nobody is cutting anybody down. If you say stupid stuff, people can call you out on it. That’s what free speech is about.

Then after a speech dedicated to demonizing the “radical left” says something about unity? This speech went from Hyde to Jekyll in 5 minutes. What garbage.


----------



## User.45

SuperMatt said:


> There were a handful of nice stories but they didn’t seem to have anything to do with Trump... something about a cop helping an addict... supposedly related to Trump’s anti-opioid policies? I didn’t know Trump did anything to help with that,



He did declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency allowing allocation of extra resources.


----------



## Chew Toy McCoy

SuperMatt said:


> There were a handful of nice stories but they didn’t seem to have anything to do with Trump... something about a cop helping an addict... supposedly related to Trump’s anti-opioid policies? I didn’t know Trump did anything to help with that,




I saw some video on a former Trump supporter talking about how he told the story of his son dying of a drug overdose to Trump on the campaign trail and Trump later acknowledged him and that issue in his speech that day. "Very sad".  As time went on the guy started to realize that Trump couldn't give less of a shit as he started defunding the programs that were already in place to help the crisis.  Sooooo...voting Biden I guess now.


----------



## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> There is no excuse this time. No "everybody hates Hillary" or "she's the wrong candidate". People like Joe. He had a good convention. If we do everything perfectly and we *still* can't win, it'll be time to fucking pack it up and write off the country.




The important question then is - where do we go?



PearsonX said:


> He did declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency allowing allocation of extra resources.




Was that so he could buy his staff extra opioids?


----------



## yaxomoxay

Alli said:


> The important question then is - where do we go?




Hopefully both parties will go back talking and focusing about actual policies. I know it won’t happen because it doesn’t “sell” attention, but I must hope. Politics is such a turnoff for me lately, it is likely that after November (no matter who wins) I will follow much less.



> Was that so he could buy his staff extra opioids?




I wish all politicians did opioids and whatever drug can keep them mild. I am afraid they all do coke or some sort of weird mix of Red Bull + amphetamines.


----------



## User.45

Alli said:


> Was that so he could buy his staff extra opioids?



Hahahaha It was relatively early into his presidency, where he was willing to listen to his healthcare advisers... One of the big issues with the guy is that he's lazy. As Obama put it, he is just not willing to do the actual work that comes with the job.


----------



## Alli

yaxomoxay said:


> I wish all politicians did opioids and whatever drug can keep them mild. I am afraid they all do coke or some sort of weird mix of Red Bull + amphetamines.




My oncologist once told me he thought it would be a good idea for everyone too be on Selexa. I only wanted to put it in the drinking water at the high school. 



PearsonX said:


> As Obama put it, he is just not willing to do the actual work that comes with the job.




Damn smart man, that Obama.


----------



## User.45

Alli said:


> My oncologist once told me he thought it would be a good idea for everyone too be on Selexa. I only wanted to put it in the drinking water at the high school.
> 
> 
> 
> Damn smart man, that Obama.



I prescribe SSRIs regularly, but I also often wonder if this is why America is so unempathetic:








						Rats feel empathy for other rats, unless they're on anti-anxiety medication
					

The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.




					www.theverge.com
				




I also tell my patients about the anorgasmia stuff that is often not explained...


----------



## Alli

PearsonX said:


> I prescribe SSRIs regularly, but I also often wonder if this is why America is so unempathetic:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rats feel empathy for other rats, unless they're on anti-anxiety medication
> 
> 
> The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.theverge.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I also tell my patients about the anorgasmia stuff that is often not explained...




Interesting. I know I don't cry as much as I did before Selexa, but I used to cry at Hallmark commercials. My empathy is still pretty much of the charts. Perhaps rats don't have much empathy to start with?


----------



## Eric

Ouch!


----------



## lizkat

yaxomoxay said:


> Hopefully both parties will go back talking and focusing about actual policies. I know it won’t happen because it doesn’t “sell” attention, but I must hope. Politics is such a turnoff for me lately, it is likely that after November (no matter who wins) I will follow much less.




It's likely that after November,  even the media will feel that way, never mind the general public.   Told a friend the other night I'm glad what's left of my NYT holdings are all gravy as far as cost basis goes at this point.  All the media outlets are wondering how to readjust their own and readers' expectations of "news" for the post-Trump era...    assuming Trump loses, and assuming the planet can decide to launch a post-Trump era forthwith.


----------



## DT

I can't even, wow ...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298489737414504448/


----------



## yaxomoxay

D_T said:


> I can't even, wow ...
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298489737414504448/




I am not sure what the problem is. US Marines have to open the doors to the President (or a General). Heck one day my son might have to do it


----------



## Renzatic

yaxomoxay said:


> I wish all politicians did opioids and whatever drug can keep them mild. I am afraid they all do coke or some sort of weird mix of Red Bull + amphetamines.




You know the reason why drugs are so expensive is because everyone in Washington is up there buying up all the 8-balls, right?


----------



## Renzatic

D_T said:


> I can't even, wow ...




I'm with Yax on this one. Those Marines aren't doing anything for Trump that they haven't had to do for any other president. It's a part of their job.

The better example of Trump's authoritarian tendencies would be Trump's walk back through the rows of police standing at attention after gassing that church for a photo op.


----------



## User.45

Eric said:


> Ouch!




This is a good one!


----------



## lizkat

PearsonX said:


> This is a good one!




If I were Trump at this point and looking at that meme, I'd think of it as a threat.


----------



## yaxomoxay

Renzatic said:


> I'm with Yax on this one.




Oh my, Armageddon is near!



> Those Marines aren't doing anything for Trump that they haven't had to do for any other president. It's a part of their job.




True.
I also want to clarify a couple of things. Since this was a pre-recorded official event, no real damage. However I heard that:
1) Trump will speak from the WH. Covid will work as an excuse for this, but I do not like it.

2) Pompeo speaking during an international travel is a big no-no in my book. State Department should stay outside of party politics already, so a SoS speaking is bad already; the fact that it’s during official State business makes it much worse.


----------



## lizkat

[QUOTE="Renzatic, post: 3287, member: 19"

The better example of Trump's authoritarian tendencies would be Trump's walk back through the rows of police standing at attention after gassing that church for a photo op.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah. But if Trump has seen that photo array, he's already thinking about having the doors he walks through be replaced by ones with gold (well, gilt) filigree.

As his term draws to a close and since he's standing for re-election, Trump may focus less on what he _can_ do --since even his enablers in Congress have thrown sand in his eyes a few times--  and more about what it _looks like_ he can do.   And he can still probably order up some fake gold filigree doors if he plays his cards right and shows that photo array to some of his Mar a Lago donor-pals who share his taste for glitter.  

Only doors I'd like to see him walk through are the ones into a prison cell.


----------



## Thomas Veil

LOL. This opinion piece was talking about how you just kept seeing the same thing over and over and over...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298085609320280069/



Alli said:


> The important question then is - where do we go?




I wish to god I knew.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Only doors I'd like to see him walk through are the ones into a prison cell.




Even now, I'm not 100% sure that will come to pass. If he remains in office, he's untouchable. He can do as he pleases. If he loses the election, those hoping to hold him accountable for his alleged crimes will have to walk on eggshells to prevent from looking as if they're operating out of spite and vindictiveness, lest they piss off the most fervent of his voter base, who will be looking for an excuse by that point.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I'm at the point where I'm thinking fuck that. Let them think what they want. This shit gets worse with every Republican administration. If we don't want a government that resembles Russia's, we're gonna have to start throwing people in the slammer.

Who knows? You might also *win* people to your side with that.


----------



## Renzatic

Thomas Veil said:


> Who knows? You might also *win* people to your side with that.




I very seriously doubt it. People are already wound up tighter than a snare drum as is. If we don't approach the situation with the requisite amount of caution, all anyone will succeed in doing is making people feel even more persecuted than they already do.


----------



## Huntn

This is the kind of SHIT the Rump Administration represents.Then Mr Despicable uses the White House as a political prop. I can imagine newly sworn citizens wondering _what I gotten myself I to_! Throw the bums out!

*Pompeo told diplomats to stay neutral in presidential campaign. He endorsed Trump.*








						Pompeo told diplomats to stay neutral in presidential campaign. He endorsed Trump.
					

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who spoke at the RNC Tuesday, told U.S. diplomats last month to not take part in partisan political activity.




					www.abc10.com


----------



## Huntn

D_T said:


> I can't even, wow ...
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298489737414504448/



Like father, like minion who wants to be loved by a strong man, but he’s just his bitch on a leash.


----------



## Huntn

yaxomoxay said:


> I am not sure what the problem is. US Marines have to open the doors to the President (or a General). Heck one day my son might have to do it





Renzatic said:


> You know the reason why drugs are so expensive is because everyone in Washington is up there buying up all the 8-balls, right?



It’s an appearance issue. You guys don’t remember Rump wanting a military parade to emulate the role model,  ”strong” men he admires?


----------



## Renzatic

Huntn said:


> It’s an appearance issue. You guys don’t remember Rump wanting a military parade to emulate the role model,  ”strong” men he admires?




Yeah, I remember it. Thought it was dumb as hell. Laughed when he didn't get his way.

Though that doesn't mean we should freak out over standard protocol here. Apply outrage where outrage is appropriate, otherwise it only serves to make you look like you're trying too hard.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I very seriously doubt it. People are already wound up tighter than a snare drum as is. If we don't approach the situation with the requisite amount of caution, all anyone will succeed in doing is making people feel even more persecuted than they already do.




Tell it to the attorney general of New York State.  Trump didn't just start acting like he was a king when he won the presidency.   He was pretending rules don't apply to him long before that, especially rules having to do with making and spending money and accounting for those endeavors.  And he can't pardon himself for non-federal crimes.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Tell it to the attorney general of New York State.  Trump didn't just start acting like he was a king when he won the presidency.   He was pretending rules don't apply to him long before that, especially rules having to do with making and spending money and accounting for those endeavors.  And he can't pardon himself for non-federal crimes.




We have yet to see how this will play out. I imagine that will be attempts to hold all guilty parties accountable, but SDNY will go to extreme lengths to make sure it doesn't come across as a sensationalized show trial.


----------



## DT

Did everyone know that "Mothers" name is Karen Sue?  JFC.


----------



## SuperMatt

Donald Trump Jr. Denies RNC Speech Was Fueled by Cocaine, Blames Lighting for Sweaty Head
					

The president’s oldest son was asked about social-media speculation during his speech.



					www.thedailybeast.com
				




Cocaine is a hell of a drug...


----------



## DT

SuperMatt said:


> Donald Trump Jr. Denies RNC Speech Was Fueled by Cocaine, Blames Lighting for Sweaty Head
> 
> 
> The president’s oldest son was asked about social-media speculation during his speech.
> 
> 
> 
> www.thedailybeast.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cocaine is a hell of a drug...


----------



## User.45

Accusing him of popping some uppers isn't that outlandish if you've seen his recent Axios interview.
You'd need a close up on his pupils though to make a statement here. Many things can get him flushed, like a warrior routine of being smacked in the face with raw fish.


----------



## Eric

D_T said:


> View attachment 183



I'm sorry but LMFAO... perfect capture of the blowhard he is.


----------



## DT

What the fuckity fuck ...










						Trump calls for drug tests before debate with Biden
					

President Trump is calling for drug tests to be administered before his first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden next month.Trump made the demand in an Oval O…




					thehill.com


----------



## User.45

D_T said:


> What the fuckity fuck ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trump calls for drug tests before debate with Biden
> 
> 
> President Trump is calling for drug tests to be administered before his first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden next month.Trump made the demand in an Oval O…
> 
> 
> 
> 
> thehill.com



Sounds like a good idea. (Trump's a projector)


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298719126567809024/
and...
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298436675501088769/
When did the "bone spurs" happen again?


----------



## DT

JayMysteri0 said:


> When did the "bone spurs" happen again?




They're available as needed, he's kind of like a super wimpy Hulk, but instead of getting angry and becoming super strong, it's cowering in fear and growing bone spurs ...


----------



## DT

Hahaha, speaking of superheros, Paula Reid is fucking Wonder Woman 


https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1298716649382481920/


----------



## Eric

D_T said:


> What the fuckity fuck ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trump calls for drug tests before debate with Biden
> 
> 
> President Trump is calling for drug tests to be administered before his first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden next month.Trump made the demand in an Oval O…
> 
> 
> 
> 
> thehill.com



He should agree to it if Trump releases his tax returns.


----------



## DT

Holy fuck, a possible Cat 5 storm crashing into the southern US, ~177K dead from Covid, people being gunned down in the street, but sure, send out Mother and Father to delivery some goddam political spew ...


----------



## SuperMatt

Anti-abortion speaker full of baloney:



			https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trying-to-disgust-you-is-the-only-move-the-republican-conventions-antiabortion-speakers-have-left/2020/08/26/84604fca-e73c-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html
		


She also wants to overturn women’s suffrage?









						Anti-Abortion Activist Abby Johnson Thinks Only the Husband in a Household Should Vote
					

“In a Godly household, the husband would get the final say.”




					www.glamour.com
				




They are really scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for people who will speak in favor of Trump.


----------



## User.45

SuperMatt said:


> Anti-abortion speaker full of baloney:
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trying-to-disgust-you-is-the-only-move-the-republican-conventions-antiabortion-speakers-have-left/2020/08/26/84604fca-e73c-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html
> 
> 
> 
> She also wants to overturn women’s suffrage?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anti-Abortion Activist Abby Johnson Thinks Only the Husband in a Household Should Vote
> 
> 
> “In a Godly household, the husband would get the final say.”
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.glamour.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They are really scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for people who will speak in favor of Trump.




This video is still the most fucked up thing I've heard this week. As a black father of biracial kids, this is the epitome of bad parenting, corroborated by bad "research". Sacrificing your son for youtube likes is fucking insane.


----------



## lizkat

^^^ Wow.  "Having the conversation" ?  ....   on f^cking YouTube?

This is not how ya do it.    Unforgivable.


----------



## DT

PearsonX said:


> This video is still the most fucked up thing I've heard this week. As a black father of biracial kids, this is the epitome of bad parenting, corroborated by bad "research". Sacrificing your son for youtube likes is fucking insane.




Goddam dude, she's a raging POS, ugh, I wish someone would tear those eyebrows off her inbred face, rescue that child, and then drop an anvil on her Wile E. Coyote style ...


----------



## SuperMatt

Trump has violated the Hatch Act with his White House stunts.



			https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hatch-act-republican-convention/2020/08/25/53b72b44-e6f8-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html


----------



## DT

MOTHER HAS LET ME OFF THE LEASH TO SPEAK!


----------



## SuperMatt

Kristi Noem starts off the night by invoking the culture wars yet again. Democrats are going to destroy the Bill of rights. Cancel culture is going to destroy us. 

Once again, the Republicans are talking about how dangerous America is. Trump has been President for 4 years! Then a rant about how every city is being destroyed by fires and murders. Total bullshit.

Then, after demonizing everybody on the left and BLM protesters as dangerous murderers, she ends with ‘we respect everyone’ and invokes MLK Jr.

How idiotic are the Trumpers to believe this self-contradictory claptrap?


----------



## DT

Holy fuck they are trotting out the ignorant elite, JFC, this is embarrassing even for the halfwits.


----------



## DT

Posted on MR:

Holy hell, Kristi Noem is spectacularly ignorant.

Hahaha, Marsha Blackburn is a back-assward, mouth breathing hick, wow. Liquor stores and abortions, holy ****, hahaha!

I mean, what fucking year is it?  It's 2021, these speeches sound like the dark ages, it's sick, and sad.  Fuck you if you support this party.


----------



## SuperMatt

Kellyanne!!! She is continuing the lie that Trump has more women in critical positions than any other President.









						Here's how Trump's Cabinet compares to Obama's
					

There were seven women and 10 minorities in Barack Obama's first 22-member Cabinet, while Donald Trump's 24-member Cabinet has four women and four minorities.




					www.businessinsider.com
				




Did he increase the number of women over his term?









						Guess how many women are still in Trump’s cabinet
					






					www.politico.com
				




Hmmmmm....


----------



## SuperMatt

Kellyanne decided to claim Trump solved the opioid crisis?









						Trump failed on the opioid crisis — and Democrats are letting him get away with it
					

Trump’s RNC has already given more attention to the overdose crisis than Biden’s DNC.




					www.vox.com


----------



## DT

Wow, KellyAnne seems like she’s totally not into this at all, that was freakishly robotic, I think she did this purely out of some sort of contractual obligation ...


----------



## SuperMatt

Why is there a nun speaking at a political convention? And how can she possibly speak about refugees when Trump has done everything he can to prevent them from coming here?

It’s an anti-abortion speech of course. And she said Biden supports infanticide. I guess she will be in confession this weekend for lying.


----------



## SuperMatt

And now... a cop. He looks like he’s put away a lot of doughnuts in his day. And of course he is speaking against protesters. People don’t have the highest opinions of cops right now. And he is claiming that these protests are just coming out of nowhere and are just from the radical left. ZERO acknowledgement that his fellow cops are the cause of the protests in the first place.


----------



## Thomas Veil

"Basement, basement, basement." They're really ramming that home, aren't they?


----------



## Renzatic

I just had to explain to an hysterical 40 year old woman on Facebook that communists aren't actually on the verge of taking over the country.

This is the world we live in now.


----------



## Eric

Thomas Veil said:


> "Basement, basement, basement." They're really ramming that home, aren't they?



Let them keep trying, so far it's not hurt him a bit as most Americans see him not traveling around during a pandemic as common sense.


----------



## Thomas Veil

"The left has radicalized emotion-based voters." I'm amazed and nauseated by the GOP's ability to project all their worst qualities onto everyone else.

Edit: they bring out two guys to hold wheelchair guy's seat still while he stands up. Don't wheelchairs come with brakes anymore?


----------



## SuperMatt

25 year old kid accuses liberals of betraying MLK jr. and cancel culture, then says ‘hey liberals work with me!’ What a dingbat.

Then this guy that was originally cut from the speaker list somehow got back on it:









						One-time Eagles player Jack Brewer, facing insider trading charges, speaks at RNC
					

Brewer had been listed as a speaker for Wednesday night prior to an NPR report that he's facing federal charges for insider trading.




					www.inquirer.com
				




It’s always the crooks that talk the most about Jesus.... he has a lot to say about God and Jesus.


----------



## Eric

Renzatic said:


> I just had to explain to an hysterical 40 year old woman on Facebook that communists aren't actually on the verge of taking over the country.
> 
> This is the world we live in now.



Remember the "Obama's going to have Marxist troops marching down your street to take your guns"? Shit, the only real gun legislation he passed was allowing them in federal parks on on Amtrak trains. They preach fear, not facts.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Omigod. They bring on The Black Guy Of The Day to say, "I know what racism looks like, and President Trump isn't it."

Then he goes on that all lives matter shtick.

Guy needs to be stopped on the way home by a psycho cop. Let's see how he feels then.

............I lasted five minutes before I had to close my browser in disgust. I need to see something with more class.

_(Looks up Pornhub.)_


----------



## Renzatic

Eric said:


> Remember the "Obama's going to have Marxist troops marching down your street to take your guns"? Shit, the only real gun legislation he passed was allowing them in federal parks on on Amtrak trains. They preach fear, not facts.




It's almost as if we have a whole generation of people believing we lost the Cold War.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Or a whole generation of people thinking they shouldn't have lost the Civil War.


----------



## Renzatic

Thomas Veil said:


> Or a whole generation of people thinking they shouldn't have lost the Civil War.




We call it The Recent Unpleasantness around here.


----------



## SuperMatt

Biden will destroy the farmers! He will crush the middle class! Ok Joni Ernst, good try...

Other than Tim Scott, the only black people supporting Trump seem to be NFL players. 3 so far I’ve counted.

”Mobs torch our cities and the Democrats are socialists!” Is it mob rule or is it socialism? Make up your mind. And yet again, a speech that talks about how evil Democrats are, ends saying ‘let’s work together!’ Gimme a break.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I am amused somewhat by the way Trump, on the first day of the convention, talked about how daaark and scaaaary the Democrats' convention was last week. 

Then they proceeded to put on a dark and scary convention. To hear them tell it, the end of the fucking world is nigh. Save us, Donald!

What I like is that the media have really picked up on it. Many stories I read about this convention are talking about how negative and gloomy the whole affair is.


----------



## SuperMatt

Another Trump family member... with a boring speech saying how great a guy Donald is. Then she has to praise him directly. Surely that was a condition of her getting to speak.


----------



## Renzatic

SuperMatt said:


> ”Mobs torch our cities and the Democrats are socialists!” Is it mob rule or is it socialism? Make up your mind. And yet again, a speech that talks about how evil Democrats are, ends saying ‘let’s work together!’ Gimme a break.




Well organized regiments of tactically minded anarchists invading our streets to further their communist causes!


----------



## SuperMatt

I really enjoy the PBS coverage of the RNC. They have analysts on both sides of the issue, and they provide many pertinent facts and fact-checking.


----------



## Renzatic

I'd watch more of it, but I think I've already got the gist of the plot they're going for: Trump is the greatest ever, and we're all about to die.

Everything beyond that are just variations upon that theme.


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> Omigod. They bring on The Black Guy Of The Day to say, "I know what racism looks like, and President Trump isn't it."



Would that be the football player who is up on charges of insider trading?


----------



## DT

You said:


> Would that be the football player who is up on charges of insider trading?




Yes, he was on the speaker list, then off, but wound up speaking, I guess maybe he was offered to have his legal costs covered.


----------



## DT

Pence.

Dick.

Eat.


----------



## DT

OMG, make america great again, again ... it's like a headline from the Onion.

Kamala will stomp Pence's guts out.


----------



## hulugu

yaxomoxay said:


> Nikki is her real name, and it’s her Indian name; it’s not an Anglosaxon name or a nickname.




Hmmm....some sources make it seem like a nickname or an anglicization. I could be wrong.

I remember when I went to grad school and was waiting for a required meeting about student grants and loans, and a Chinese student came up to me. We spoke for a long while about the area, and she asked me what name I liked better, and proceeded to show me two English names she was going to pick because she believed her name was unpronounceable for westerners, and that people might mistreat her. 

And, even if I'm wrong about Nikki Haley, it's clear there are lots of people of Asian decent who pick western names to assimilate, or choose nicknames to hide their culture. And, my reporters all face an incredible amount of racism on a daily basis. A Latino reporter is told to go back to Mexico—he's from San Diego, by way of Texas. Another reporter is told to get on the boat to China—and her family's been in the west since the 19th century. 

So, for Nikki to argue that this country isn't racist to a point is bullshit. 

My Chinese friend settled on Daisy.


----------



## hulugu

D_T said:


> Pence.
> 
> Dick.
> 
> Eat.




Pence should eat a big back o' dicks. Like a sailor's bag of fresh dicks.


----------



## Yoused

D_T said:


> Pence.
> 
> Dick.
> 
> Eat.



Perhaps you might try «съешь сумка с членами» in order to make absolute sure he understands.


----------



## Chew Toy McCoy

Eric said:


> He should agree to it if Trump releases his tax returns.




Trump will sue himself for the request being unconstitutional and then hold his own drug test results up in appeals court until after the election.


----------



## JayMysteri0

I'm digging this summation...


> Swalwell Blasts RNC: 'This Is Not a Political Convention. It’s a Crime Scene'
> 
> 
> Swalwell blasts the RNC
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ijr.org





> The Republican National Convention is under criticism from Democrats for the string of apparent Hatch Act violations that have appeared over the course of the convention.
> 
> The Hatch Act is a 1939 law that prohibits employees of the executive branch (with the exception of the president, vice president and first lady) from engaging in political activities while in their official capacities.
> 
> On Tuesday night, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf oversaw the latest apparent violation of the Hatch Act when he presided over a naturalization ceremony at the White House as part of the Republican National Convention programming.
> 
> Wolf’s actions were widely criticized. Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote, “This is not a political convention. It’s a crime scene.”


----------



## thekev

Alli said:


> Shame she's only brown when it's convenient.
> 
> Who was the angry scary-looking woman in red who spoke last night?




It was Kimberly Guilfoyle, channeling her inner Dr. Rockso. You would think that having been married to the governor of California would make her unpopular with the RNC, but apparently not.

I'm kind of surprised no one else caught this one. Perhaps too old of a reference?


----------



## Eric

thekev said:


> It was Kimberly Guilfoyle, channeling her inner Dr. Rockso. You would think that having been married to the governor of California would make her unpopular with the RNC, but apparently not.
> 
> I'm kind of surprised no one else caught this one. Perhaps too old of a reference?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 195



She was off her rocker and has captured the theme of the GOP Convention perfectly, anger and hate. Did Newsom really date her? I love him as my Governor but that just took him down a notch in my book.


----------



## Edd

Eric said:


> She was off her rocker and has captured the theme of the GOP Convention perfectly, anger and hate. Did Newsom really date her? I love him as my Governor but that just took him down a notch in my book.



Yeah, I’d heard that years ago and it made little sense to me.


----------



## thekev

Eric said:


> She was off her rocker and has captured the theme of the GOP Convention perfectly, anger and hate. Did Newsom really date her? I love him as my Governor but that just took him down a notch in my book.




Date is a slight understatement. Supposedly the divorce was mutually filed, as they worked on opposite coasts. 



			https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/kimberly-guilfoyle-was-once-compared-to-jackie-kennedy-now-shes-basically-a-trump/2018/08/22/eed842f0-9756-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html


----------



## Alli

Confession: I have not watched a second of the RNC. My stomach is too weak. 



hulugu said:


> I remember when I went to grad school and was waiting for a required meeting about student grants and loans, and a Chinese student came up to me. We spoke for a long while about the area, and she asked me what name I liked better, and proceeded to show me two English names she was going to pick because she believed her name was unpronounceable for westerners, and that people might mistreat her.




When we lived in Taiwan, we had a lady come work for us as our "ama." She cooked, cleaned, everything. We'd have been lost without her. The first day, my mother asked "Mary" what her real name was. She giggled and said it was too hard. With gentle promoting she finally told us it was Shuhwa. And that's all we ever called her from that day. 

Cancel culture, my ass. 



hulugu said:


> Pence should eat a big back o' dicks. Like a sailor's bag of fresh dicks.




Why suggest he do something he'd really enjoy? (Or of Mother's sight, of course.)


----------



## User.45

lizkat said:


> ^^^ Wow.  "Having the conversation" ?  ....   on f^cking YouTube?
> 
> This is not how ya do it.    Unforgivable.




It's cheap. Conservatives  eat up stuff like this like it's candy. So I guess all it takes to become a famous "conservative" ""personality"" is to talk outrageous shit that "nobody dares talking about".


----------



## User.45

Alli said:


> Confession: I have not watched a second of the RNC. My stomach is too weak.
> 
> 
> 
> When we lived in Taiwan, we had a lady come work for us as our "ama." She cooked, cleaned, everything. We'd have been lost without her. The first day, my mother asked "Mary" what her real name was. She giggled and said it was too hard. With gentle promoting she finally told us it was Shuhwa. And that's all we ever called her from that day.
> 
> Cancel culture, my ass.




I'd say I have an "African" name and a "Christian" name (yep I'm a poster child of globalism). My parents called me on my African name, but when I turned 10 I felt that A) My Christian name was more masculine B) It made it much easier to make friends without having to start with explaining cultural backstories.

It was a scientifically proven pragmatic decision by my 10-year-old self.

Asian Americans make this compromise day-by-day and I adore them for it. I gave European first names to my daughters, but still have African middle names. They will chose which one to use when they are old enough.


----------



## DT

PearsonX said:


> I gave European first names to my daughters, but still have African middle names. They will chose which one to use when they are old enough.




A good friend of mine did the same with his two boys, and one uses a sort of composite nickname of the two, it's cool.


----------



## Edd

Alli said:


> Confession: I have not watched a second of the RNC. My stomach is too weak.




It‘s almost like Joe is the president and causing many problems and Trump is running against him as an underdog. There’s no platform except the cities are hellholes and they are coming for the suburbs.

I’d like to know if it was an easy decision for Rand Paul to voice support for Trump. Was he conflicted? That guy is weird.


----------



## DT

hulugu said:


> Pence should eat a big back o' dicks. Like a sailor's bag of fresh dicks.




I know LCK did some shitty stuff, but in the spirit of, "The art, not the artist ..." I will say that bit he did is still one of the funniest things ever.

"Hey, suck a bag of dicks!"

"Really?  A whole bag?"


----------



## User.45

Edd70 said:


> It‘s almost like Joe is the president and causing many problems and Trump is running against him as an underdog. There’s no platform except the cities are hellholes and they are coming for the suburbs.
> 
> I’d like to know if it was an easy decision for Rand Paul to voice support for Trump. Was he conflicted? That guy is weird.




You don't need a new program if you haven't fulfilled your original campaign promises.


----------



## Alli

PearsonX said:


> I'd say I have an "African" name and a "Christian" name (yep I'm a poster child of globalism). My parents called me on my African name, but when I turned 10 I felt that A) My Christian name was more masculine B) It made it much easier to make friends without having to start with explaining cultural backstories.
> 
> It was a scientifically proven pragmatic decision by my 10-year-old self.
> 
> Asian Americans make this compromise day-by-day and I adore them for it. I gave European first names to my daughters, but still have African middle names. They will chose which one to use when they are old enough.




You and @Scepticalscribe both need to write biographies.


----------



## User.45

Alli said:


> You and @Scepticalscribe both need to write biographies.



My life is diversely boring


----------



## Alli

PearsonX said:


> My life is diversely boring




We all feel that way about ourselves. But to others, we are diversely interesting.


----------



## User.45

Alli said:


> We all feel that way about ourselves. But to others, we are diversely interesting.



It's kind of you, but I'm a father with small kids in 2020. It literally doesn't get more boring than this.:/


----------



## yaxomoxay

hulugu said:


> I remember when I went to grad school and was waiting for a required meeting about student grants and loans, and a Chinese student came up to me. We spoke for a long while about the area, and she asked me what name I liked better, and proceeded to show me two English names she was going to pick because she believed her name was unpronounceable for westerners, and that people might mistreat her.
> And, even if I'm wrong about Nikki Haley, it's clear there are lots of people of Asian decent who pick western names to assimilate, or choose nicknames to hide their culture. And, my reporters all face an incredible amount of racism on a daily basis.




Well, I live in both worlds.
When I grew up in Italy, I lived near Milan's Chinatown (Via Paolo Sarpi, basically). I had a good 20 to 25% of classmates that were Asian, many of them I am still in contact with somehow (Facebook, Chats, etc.). With the exception of one, all of them had given themselves Italian names: Sabrina, Paolo, Marco, Francesco etc. None of their real names were Italian of course. As far as I remember, many of their parents called them by their Italian name. What I remember is that it was very easy to mispronounce their Chinese name and they actually loved their Italian name. I only had one African classmate, he chose the name Matteo for himself. It's a very common thing for immigrants, and it's usually not because they are ashamed of their heritage, but mostly a practical thing to do and for some even fun.

Personally, I use my Italian name in 99% of the cases (it's not totally unpronounceable but by God, what I hear sometimes makes me want to die), but I must admit that sometimes I use an americanized version of it whenever I feel the other person can't truly understand my name. My name also makes for very interesting spellings at Starbucks (when I am not in the mood, I order using my Americanized name). Sadly, my middle name is even worse.

My firstborn has an Italian name, he was born in Italy and we had no idea that we were moving to the US back then. For him, it's a true nightmare. No matter how much some try, the mispronunciation and misspelling is overwhelming to the point he can't recognize when he's called upon. So he's known by everyone with his Americanized name (which was also his nickname).

My second son has an American name, he was born in the US. Funny thing, he has no problem here but when he goes to Italy they mispronounce his name and sometimes he is called by a nickname.

In other words, I am in the situation in which no matter where my family goes, we will be called upon correctly! I won't even get into my wife's last name which is barely pronounceable in what sounds as an uncoordinated mess with syllables, with no possibility of getting it spelled right. Her students will never be able to pronounce it right, so she chose to go with just the initial of her name (for example Mrs. X).

As far as I know, many of my current Asian friends here with names from other countries choose an Americanized name for the same reason, and it's never because they are ashamed of their heritage; heck, some even wear their traditional clothes. I think - can't prove it, but it's my opinion - that in those cases in which the individual thinks that it's necessary to change his/her name because of some shame on their heritage, the problem is more about shyness or misconceptions about the environment they live in.


----------



## DT

@yaxomoxay So you were born in Italy, came to the US, did the N-400 (or whatever P&P), and been here since.  Well, that's interesting, was the relocation work related?

Side note: I can fuck off anytime if this gets too nosy ...


----------



## yaxomoxay

D_T said:


> @yaxomoxay So you were born in Italy, came to the US, did the N-400 (or whatever P&P), and been here since.  Well, that's interesting, was the relocation work related?
> 
> Side note: I can fuck off anytime if this gets too nosy ...




Yes to all of the above (and of course, went through the painful green card process).


----------



## Huntn

Same as it always was, SAME AS IT ALWAYS WAS, the Washington Post lists 20 whoppers from the third night of Stump the Dummies. The first 7 Listed below. It turns out that Pence is just as much of a world class liar as Rump. Link maybe behind a paywall.

*Fact-checking the third night of the 2020 Republican National Convention*
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...rd-night-2020-republican-national-convention/

_*“Before the first case of coronavirus spread within the United States, President Trump took the unprecedented step of suspending all travel from China. That action saved an untold number of American lives.” *_*— Vice President Pence.* Pence greatly overstates the impact of Trump’s action, which did not halt all travel from China and was not much different from what other countries did.
_*“Where this president achieved energy independence for the United States, Joe Bidenwould abolish fossil fuels and fracking.” *_
*— Pence*
All of this is false — and we fact-check these lines so often from Trump, it seems like speechwriting malpractice or an intentional effort to deceive for Pence to include them in a prime-time speech.
_*“When asked whether he’d [Biden] support cutting funding to law enforcement, Joe Biden replied, ‘Yes, absolutely.’”*_
*— Pence*
The Trump campaign is determined to spread the fiction that Biden supports “defunding police.” But that is *simply false*, according to Biden, his campaign and a review of his remarks. Pence is misquoting Biden, just as President Trump’s millions of dollars of campaign ads on the issue (which have earned Four Pinocchios) misquote him.
_*“Dave Patrick Underwood was an officer of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service, who was shot and killed during the riots in Oakland, California.” *_
*— Pence*
Pence uttered this line while referring to “violence and chaos in the streets of our major cities,” so many viewers might have assumed Underwood was killed by left-wing activists. But federal prosecutors have alleged Underwood was killed by Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, an adherent of the “boogaloo boys,” a growing online extremist movement that has sought to use peaceful protests against police brutality to spread fringe views and ignite a race war. Carrillo has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
_*“Last week, Joe Biden didn’t say one word about the violence and chaos engulfing cities across this country. So let me be clear: The violence must stop.” *_
*— Pence*
Hours before Pence’s speech, Biden posted a video on Twitter condemning the violence in Wisconsin, where protests began after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times in the back as he entered his car on Sunday, and was paralyzed.
_*“And after years of scandal that robbed our veterans of the care that you earned in the uniform of the United States, President Trump kept his word again. We reformed the VA and veterans choice is now available for every veteran in America.” *_
*— Pence*
In two sentences, Pence overstates the impact of the Trump administration’s efforts to help veterans twice.
The VA Choice bill — known as the MISSION Act — was mostly an update of a law passed in 2014 during Barack Obama’s presidency. Plus, it’s not yet clear that veterans are facing shorter wait times to see doctors. The MISSION Act only took effect in 2019
_*“Four years ago, we inherited a military hollowed out by devastating budget cuts, an economy struggling to break out of the slowest recovery since the Great Depression. … We rebuilt our military.” *_
*— Pence*
Trump often falsely claims he’s “totally rebuilt” the U.S. military. Pence is echoing that claim in so many words. The military budget had declined in the years before Trump took office as a result of decreases in funding for Overseas Contingency Operations, as both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan came to a close, not because the military was “hollowed out.”


----------



## DT

yaxomoxay said:


> Yes to all of the above (and of course, went through the painful green card process).




Hahaha, all the above includes fucking off because I'm being nosy ... I actually LOL'ed.

Anyway, that's neat, I already knew you were Italian, just wasn't sure of when you moved, etc.  For some reason I thought you actually moved back for an extended period?  Maybe it was just a visit, or I'm simply jumbling up the info ...


----------



## yaxomoxay

D_T said:


> Hahaha, all the above includes fucking off because I'm being nosy ... I actually LOL'ed.




hahahah  



> Anyway, that's neat, I already knew you were Italian, just wasn't sure of when you moved, etc.  For some reason I thought you actually moved back for an extended period?  Maybe it was just a visit, or I'm simply jumbling up the info ...




Grew up and raised in Italy, moved here 20-ish years ago.


----------



## Huntn

Renzatic said:


> Yeah, I remember it. Thought it was dumb as hell. Laughed when he didn't get his way.
> 
> Though that doesn't mean we should freak out over standard protocol here. Apply outrage where outrage is appropriate, otherwise it only serves to make you look like you're trying too hard.



I’m not outraged over the images I replied to, neither was the person who originally tweeted, they just said it was curious and it is when you see Dumbo emulating the _Strong men_ he admires. However there is a mountain of Trump shit that we can be rightfully outraged over.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> Link maybe behind a paywall.




It is, dummies ... see attached  (if you'd like a PDF copy)


----------



## Huntn

D_T said:


> It is, dummies ... see attached  (if you'd like a PDF copy)



Here’s an idea for the GOP they would love, let’s elect our leadership based on who can tell the best, biggest lies for a great outcome.


----------



## lizkat

PearsonX said:


> It's kind of you, but I'm a father with small kids in 2020. It literally doesn't get more boring than this.:/




Hah, yeah.  You know this while pretending enthusiasm for a memorized bedtime story as the kid turns the pages and points at the tiger or the choo-choo train, even as in your mind a calculator tots up reading #273, estimates remaining marginal utility of that particular story and figures that inside another 30 days you'll have to be memorizing another whole book.

The only excitement is getting caught out by a three yo after you say something like "and so the puppies made it back safely back home to get supper"  when the page you're on is about a goat that ate some laundry.

Still there are those moments of terror ahead, at least in normal times when one is out and about with the kids as they become more mobile.   Stuff like running into a neighbor on the street with a kid in tow and having the kid pipe up with "Dad, Dad, don't talk to her, mom says she's a nosy neighbor."

[ I don't really know how a mom might deal with such stuff on the street but I do know that a dad comes home and confronts an older daughter in the kitchen over the fallout.   What mine said to me was "I know your mother is not that stupid so what the hell did you say to the boys about Mary Ellen?" ]

Edit:  how the hell did I get this far off topic in a thread about the Rs convention??


----------



## DT

So is the dummy standing out on the lawn saying this right now?

JFC, I wondered how quickly he's had something to say about the NBA ...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299051064101154817/


----------



## DT

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299057964653989888/


----------



## lizkat

D_T said:


> So is the dummy standing out on the lawn saying this right now?
> 
> JFC, I wondered how quickly he's had something to say about the NBA ...
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299051064101154817/




For a minute I thought he said NRA.


----------



## Edd

D_T said:


> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299057964653989888/



There’s so much wrong, stupid shit in that video. Fuuuuuck, he sucks.


----------



## Eric

Edd70 said:


> There’s so much wrong, stupid shit in that video. Fuuuuuck, he sucks.



I just can't watch it, within the first seconds of any of his speeches he's like "the CHINA virus" or "Dems did this!" he's just too divisive. Man, I really miss Obama's cool demeanor during a crisis.


----------



## DT

Trump probably never got picked for a game of half court at the park, he's still mad ...


----------



## DT

"Hey man, you're down a player, Donny hasn't been picked."

"Yeah, I'd rather go 3 against 4 ..."


----------



## Edd

yaxomoxay said:


> Grew up and raised in Italy, moved here 20-ish years ago.



Took my first trip there last September. Florence and Venice, 7 days total, had a delightful time. I ordered steak Florentine once, not knowing it was 1 kg. I tried, man, I really tried to finish it in one sitting.


----------



## Huntn

D_T said:


> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299057964653989888/



POS Alert....


----------



## JayMysteri0

For anyone even trying to pass off taking this whole thing seriously...


> RNC Video Showing Rioters In “Biden’s America” Is Actually Spain
> 
> 
> The video is part of a pattern of Trump and his supporters portraying BLM protests as violent.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.buzzfeednews.com





> On the first night of the Republican National Convention, the party aired a segment featuring Catalina and Madeline Lauf warning of dire consequences if Democratic candidate Joe Biden is elected president.
> 
> “This is a taste of Biden’s America,” one sister says in a voiceover as images of protests play onscreen. “The rioting, the crime. Freedom is at stake now and this is going to be the most important election of our lifetime.”
> 
> The problem is that one of the images in the segment doesn’t show the US at all — it shows Spain.



There's not checking your facts which I associate with the RNC often & some PRSI posters, but then there's just blatant intentional deception.

Again.

Since the campaign showed pictures of another country's unrest, and associated with America & Biden.  Also not including showing unrest going on NOW, but saying 'it's coming' with Biden.


----------



## Alli

I’m so relieved the storm wasn’t as bad as they’d feared so that Donald can still make his speech tonight.


----------



## JayMysteri0

Alli said:


> I’m so relieved the storm wasn’t as bad as they’d feared so that Donald can still make his speech tonight.



I'm still curious how all those supposed religious types don't see it as some kind of sign that a literal storm is headed towards DC during the week of RNC?

If this happened during the DNC, Faux would be holding televised tent revivals signaling how Biden's run is a sign of the 'end of times'.


----------



## SuperMatt

I was offended by some of the Republican defenses of Trump on coronavirus. There must have been a fact sheet distributed to the speakers, as the same main points kept coming up:

1. Everybody accused Trump of being xenophobic when he banned travel to/from China early on, but it “saved lives”.
2. The person who really screwed up was governor Cuomo, killing thousands of senior citizens.
3. Why are the democrats politicizing this? :-(

On a BBC interview with Vernon Jones, the same exact talking points came out again.

1. Trump’s ban on travel didn’t save any lives. We have more deaths than any other country!
2. It was unreasonable to blame Trump or any governor for the initial outbreak. It was the 2nd wave that was Trump’s fault for refusing to call for a nationwide lockdown, and also attacking governors who DID lock things down. After the first wave, NY has been safe. It’s Trump-country that got pummeled By the 2nd wave, and it was COMPLETELY preventable.
3. Trump is the one who ignored public health experts and made the decisions based on his political calculations.

Most people are not buying this revisionist history, but there are enough weak-minded people who will buy it.

I hope they listen to Joe Biden instead:

“More people have died on this president’s watch than at just about any time in American history, on a daily basis,” Mr. Biden said. “And what’s he doing, what’s he doing about it? He continues to flaunt every single basic rule and basic tenet that Democrats and Republicans both have adhered to.”


----------



## Thomas Veil

D_T said:


> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299057964653989888/



Fucking CLUELESS.  Doesn’t give a shit about anybody.

Media: “America’s in trouble. There’s crooked cops, coronavirus and hurricanes.”
President Clueless: “America’s not in trouble. The economy is doing great!”


----------



## lizkat

JayMysteri0 said:


> I'm still curious how all those supposed religious types don't see it as some kind of sign that a literal storm is headed towards DC during the week of RNC?
> 
> If this happened during the DNC, Faux would be holding televised tent revivals signaling how Biden's run is a sign of the 'end of times'.




Yeah well maybe some of those religious types are still trying to puzzle out the meaning of the fact that Hurricane Laura took out a confederate statue on a pillar that the church that owned it voted to keep up a couple weeks ago. Jes' sayin'.









						Hurricane Laura Rips Down 'South's Defenders' Confederate Statue In Lake Charles, La.
					

Protesters had asked the parish to remove the prominent memorial this summer, only to be turned away two weeks ago. Then came the hurricane.




					www.npr.org


----------



## SuperMatt

This guy from Utah is talking about how much Trump has done to fight human trafficking. Hmmm...









						President Donald Trump addresses solicitation charges against friend Robert Kraft
					

President Donald Trump addressed the arrest in Florida of his friend, Patriots owner Robert Kraft.




					sports.yahoo.com
				








__





						Everything We Know About Donald Trump's Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein
					

Here's how the president was connected to the late sex offender.




					www.esquire.com
				












						Trump Doubles Down On Wishing Ghislaine Maxwell Well, Muses About How Epstein Died
					

In an interview with Axios, the president repeated publicly that he does wish the accused sex abuser "well" and empathized with her.




					www.huffpost.com
				




Maybe they meant he’s fighting FOR human trafficking?


----------



## SuperMatt

Mitch McConnell looks quite unhealthy and was nearly unintelligible when he spoke....


----------



## Thomas Veil

So business as usual for him?


----------



## SuperMatt

They literally have a guy with the blue lives matter flag behind him speaking. And just seconds after Ben Carson spoke too, saying Trump isn’t a racist.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Right now the race is on to see which group is moving faster: MR members leaving to join PG, or Republicans running away from the Trump Party. 

*Ex-McCain, Bush and Romney staffers endorse Biden, joining Republicans bucking Trump*



> In separate letters released Thursday, alumni of the Bush administration, Utah Senator Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and McCain's 2008 White House bid and congressional office announced their support for the former vice president. The Republican officials said that while they disagree with some of Biden's policy positions, they value his record of bipartisan work and believe he can offer steady leadership as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, a weakened economy and deeply entrenched political divisions.





> "Given the incumbent president's lack of competent leadership, his efforts to aggravate rather than bridge divisions among Americans, and his failure to uphold American values, we believe the election of former Vice President Biden is clearly in the national interest," more than 100 former McCain staffers wrote in a public letter.





> Romney's former staffers were more forceful in their rebuke of Mr. Trump, saying that while some of them voted for him in 2016, they are all now worried about the GOP transforming into a "toxic personality cult" under the president's leadership.





> The group of Bush administration alumni, led by former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, focused on Biden's values and decency, implicitly criticizing Mr. Trump's conduct while in office, including his support of conspiracy theories and use of racist, sexist and divisive language.




Heck yeah. 

Add these to all the others that have gone before, and it’s clear the real Republicans are abandoning the asylum...

...leaving it the Trumpers. Or as I like to call them, the neo-Nutzi Party.


----------



## SuperMatt

OMFG Rudy Giuliani?!? Why put a criminal like this on stage? He looks pathetic. And says Democrats “have a country to destroy!” And now BLM and Antifa are in league to burn down America. Go f- yourself Rudy... Also, he is shouting just as much as Guilfoyle...


----------



## SuperMatt

Why did people vote for Tom Cotton? He‘s got the charisma of a dishrag.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Who knows? I’m sure they had their Cotton picking reasons.


----------



## SuperMatt

Trump brags about releasing convicted drug dealers from prison, but promises to clamp down on protesters. He really is a winner. And now he is blaming every problem in the country on Democrats... we all know you are and have been the president for almost 4 years now. The problems are on YOUR shoulders, Orangeman.


----------



## SuperMatt

I just saw the My Pillow guy in the crowd for Trump’s speech... he didn’t get a front row seat...


----------



## SuperMatt

He has the gall to brag about his response to Covid-19... what a heartless bastard. We handled it worse than any other country. He is claiming HE is following the science, and Joe Biden wouldn’t? OMFG what a complete and utter pathological liar.


----------



## iLunar

I'm not watching him talk because I refuse to listen to the continuous lies and gaslighting.

However, the images with his campaign materials plastered all over the White House really makes me sad as someone who really loves our country. It's a disgrace to see the White House lit up like a whore like that. He's turned that symbolic place into one of his casinos.


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299180300585652235/
WTF is that reaction?!!

That green screen dress, not the best choice where the internets are concerned.
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299174942882365441/


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299173126752722944/
   

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299166494161620998/


----------



## Thomas Veil

JayMysteri0 said:


> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299180300585652235/
> WTF is that reaction?!!
> 
> That green screen dress, not the best choice where the internets are concerned.
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299174942882365441/



I couldn’t watch more than three seconds of that. 

Trump whoring out the White House is revolting enough, but using that staircase to recreate his infamous escalator entrance, like some god descending from heaven, while that stupid song is playing...and to recklessly and brazenly do it in front of a purposely gathered crowd of maskless fools...it just makes me want to fucking throw things. 

A take from CNN this morning:



> ...The two sides in the election are not just feuding over what America's future should look like, they are operating from vastly different understandings of the meaning of the republic itself.





> ...The set-up was a defiant metaphor for Trump's willingness to crush the traditions of the presidency, to put his own immediate gain over the dignity of the office and to troll his enemies while he was at it.





> The bending of truth was so audacious and the propaganda so relentless that it required constant vigilance by voters to keep the story straight. ...Trump's willingness to cross the line so boldly was a sure sign that his shocking presidency enjoys almost total impunity.





> The message was clear: Trump thinks he would be untouchable in a second term.




Yeah. I’m afraid if he gets re-elected that (among other horrors) the propaganda machine will be so strong we’ll never see another non-authoritarian president again.


----------



## User.45

Statistically speaking DC's COVID prevalence is about 1 case / 1000 right now. And if we make some stretchy assumptions, there's gonna be at least 1 infected person at the event. It will not look good. So they break the Hatch Act, they break pandemic restrictions.Again, nice summary of how much they care about the American people.

Also guys, remember: Trump's "China ban" was an off season tourist ban.It only covered people without a first degree relative in the statesn, etc. I have a lot of Chinese colleagues and friends and literally none of them complained to me because it was inconsequential to them.


----------



## Edd

Trump’s speech was so bad he caused Jim Gaffigan to snap. My respect for him just shot way up. 










						America's Nice Guy Finally Says 'Fuck You' to Trump Supporters on Twitter
					

Jim Gaffigan, arguably America’s most wholesome comedian, has finally had enough of Donald Trump’s shit. And he’s here to tell you that Trump and his minions are destroying America.




					gizmodo.com


----------



## yaxomoxay

PearsonX said:


> the Hatch Act,




Just a technical note. The President and the Vice President are exempt from the Hatch Act, as basically any political appointee; the act itself mostly applies to civil service employees (basically, federal career employees).


----------



## Huntn

Night Four of the Republican Convention featuring Mr. Dispicable, 25 claims. The hope here is that followers reside in LaLa Land, don’t care about the putrid, huge lies, they are blind to reality, and choose Koolaid handed to them in a paper cup. Ten are listed here.




*Fact-checking President Trump’s acceptance speech at the GOP convention*


			https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/28/fact-checking-president-trumps-acceptance-speech-2020-rnc/
		

May behind a pay wall.


_*“When I took bold action to issue a travel ban on China, very early indeed, Joe Biden called it hysterical and xenophobic. And then I introduced a ban on Europe, very early again. If we had listened to Joe, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died.”*_*— Trump *Trump oversells in the impact of his “travel ban” — and on Biden’s criticism. Biden was referring to him, not the travel ban.  _My comment:_ This is just a smoke screen to hide Trump’s willful mishandling of the crisis.
_*“The United States has among the lowest case fatality rates of any major country in the world.”*_
*— Trump*
This is false. Case fatality measures how many people known to have gotten covid-19 eventually die of covid-19, and the U.S. rate is currently 3.1 percent. Johns Hopkins University says that puts the United States 11th among the 20 countries most affected by the disease; the United States ranks fourth for deaths per 100,000 population


_*“I have done more for the African American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican president.”*_
AD
*— Trump*
Trump appears to base this assertion on pre-coronavirus employment figures and some relatively minor actions taken during his administration. Historians say this claim is ridiculous.
_*“Our NATO partners, as an example, were far behind in their defense payments. But at my strong urging, they agreed to pay $130 billion more a year, the first time in over 20 years that they upped their payments. And this $130 billion will ultimately go to $400 billion. Secretary General [Jens] Stoltenberg, who heads NATO, was amazed, and said that President Trump did what no one else was able to do.”*_
*— Trump*
Throughout the 2016 campaign and his presidency, Trump has demonstrated that he has little notion of how NATO is funded and operates. He repeatedly claimed that other members of the alliance “owed” money to the United States and that they were delinquent in their payments.
_*“We will always and very strongly protect patients with preexisting conditions. And that is a pledge from the entire Republican Party.”*_
*— Trump*
This could hardly be more false — and we’ve given Trump’s claim our worst rating, a Bottomless Pinocchio.
Trump took office and immediately began trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and now, his administration is asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law, including the preexisting condition coverage guarantee. Trump has not offered a replacement plan, despite promising one since days before taking office in 2017.
We have also given Four Pinocchios to several Republican senators who have consistently worked to undermine the Affordable Care Act and its coverage guarantee, and who support the GOP lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court.
The Republican Party has spent 10 years trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its coverage guarantee for patients with preexisting conditions, but GOP lawmakers have never come to an agreement on how to replace the law.

_*“Joe Biden ... the party he leads supports the extreme late-term abortion of defenseless babies right up until the moment of birth ... stopping a baby’s beating heart in the ninth month of pregnancy.”*_
*— Trump*
Most abortions are performed in the earlier stages of pregnancy. About 1 percent happen after the fetus reaches the point of viability. Trump and antiabortion advocates have claimed for months that Biden or other Democrats support abortion “up until the moment of birth,” a claim we have awarded Three Pinocchios.


_*“We have spent nearly $2.5 trillion on completely rebuilding our military, which was very badly depleted when I took office.”*_
*— Trump*
False. The military was not “depleted” despite Trump’s insistence. (The claim appears 175 times in our Trump database of false or misleading claims.)


_*“I then approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, ended the unfair and costly Paris Climate Accord and secured, for the first time, American energy independence.”*_
*— Trump*
Trump signed executive orders to speed up construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which the Obama administration had rejected. (It still has not been built.) But Trump did not “approve” the Dakota Access pipeline, which began construction during the Obama administration.
The Paris Climate Accord allows member nations to set their own targets, and Trump could have unilaterally changed the commitments offered by the Obama administration.
Trump and his allies often repeat the false claim that the United States is now energy independent. The United States is not energy independent, as it continues to import millions of barrels of oil per day.
“In 2019, the United States imported about 9.10 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from nearly 90 countries,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
_*“They spied on my campaign, and they got caught.”*_
*— Trump*
Trump has concocted conspiracy theories about the Obama administration spying on his campaign, which he sometimes labels “Obamagate.”
It started with Trump’s false claim in 2017 that President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap on him. Then that merged with a report that an FBI informant in Europe, a professor named Stefan Halper, met with at least three people working on the Trump campaign in Europe.
_*“When asked if he supports cutting police funding, Joe Biden replied, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ ”*_
*— Trump*
This is a false claim that has earned Trump Four Pinocchios.


----------



## User.45

yaxomoxay said:


> Just a technical note. The President and the Vice President are exempt from the Hatch Act, as basically any political appointee; the act itself mostly applies to civil service employees (basically, federal career employees).



You mean these guys?


----------



## yaxomoxay

PearsonX said:


> You mean these guys?
> View attachment 221




yes, they are all exempt. No idea about the lady on the right, red dress, which caught my eye.


----------



## JayMysteri0

yaxomoxay said:


> yes, they are all exempt. No idea about the lady on the right, red dress, which caught my eye.



Leaning on technicalities aside, would you be in favor of future incumbents using the WH as a political backdrop?

It does seem like an unfair advantage as only one side is allowed to use the imagery for political gain.


----------



## yaxomoxay

JayMysteri0 said:


> Leaning on technicalities aside, would you be in favor of future incumbents using the WH as a political backdrop?
> 
> It does seem like an unfair advantage as only one side is allowed to use the imagery for political gain.




I said the other day that I don’t like the move, but to be honest I hated much more Pompeo for giving a speech esp. during international travel.


----------



## User.45

Obama would have been called the antichrist for this. 
For this to be OK, the would have to use contractors to maintain the facilities, etc. It's a total abuse of federal resources.


----------



## yaxomoxay

PearsonX said:


> Obama would have been called the antichrist for this.
> For this to be OK, the would have to use contractors to maintain the facilities, etc. It's a total abuse of federal resources.




I am pretty sure everything was paid for by the RNC. Unless the feds were asked to do something outside of their regular duties, nothing is irregular. Not nice, I disagree with the choice, but not irregular.


----------



## User.45

yaxomoxay said:


> I am pretty sure everything was paid for by the RNC. Unless the feds were asked to do something outside of their regular duties, nothing is irregular. Not nice, I disagree with the choice, but not irregular.



I don't think it's that simple. To give you an example, who paid for the security? Did the RNC get contractors to provide extra security? If so, that takes clearance (federal resources). Or did they use federal agents to provide security? Catching my drift?

The context is Trump and his history of stiffing cities.


----------



## User.45

Interesting esthetic.


----------



## Eric

I'll admit I didn't watch it all but the highlights do suggest that Trump was basically saying the last 4 years were a disaster and only he can save us.


----------



## yaxomoxay

PearsonX said:


> To give you an example, who paid for the security?




White House security falls under the regular duties, in addition, whenever the President is in a building, the building is under federal jurisdiction, and so is security.
More often than not, security is coordinated with local authorities (a PD of whatever city the POTUS is in), but security is a regular, federal duty in the presence of the POTUS. The USSS makes all the calls. Do you think that when the POTUS goes to a private political fundraiser security is paid by whatever group he's meeting with? Same goes for transportation (well, in this case at least taxpayers saved from the mess that moving AF1 is).



> Did the RNC get contractors to provide extra security? If so, that takes clearance (federal resources). Or did they use federal agents to provide security? Catching my drift?




See above. The presence of the President makes it an automatic use of full fledged security provided by the USSS. It's a regular duty they have to maintain 24/7 wherever the POTUS is or is going to be, often with coordination and work several days in advance if the event is planned. When the POTUS moves there are serious logistics and expenses involved that no one can stop, not even the POTUS himself.



> The context is Trump and his history of stiffing cities.




Well, if there is any financial impropriety hopefully they will rise up.


----------



## User.45

yaxomoxay said:


> Well, if there is any financial impropriety hopefully they will rise up.



My expectation:
These issues will surface soon and will be ignored by the administration like everything.

Alex Azar being the only one wearing a mask is such a fucked up visual with a really confusing message even to me as a healthcare provider. Wear a mask, but ignore social distancing?! The latter is clearly superior. COVID is an issue, but not really?! CDC recommendations are absolutely optional?! US COVID data indicates that the answer should be no to all of these. Does Alex Azar legitimize the protests from a COVID control stand point as long as people wear masks?!


----------



## yaxomoxay

[


PearsonX said:


> My expectation:
> These issues will surface soon and will be ignored by the administration like everything.



We shall see.



> Alex Azar being the only one wearing a mask is such a fucked up visual with a really confusing message even to me as a healthcare provider. Wear a mask, but ignore social distancing?! The latter is clearly superior. COVID is an issue, but not really?! CDC recommendations are absolutely optional?! US COVID data indicates that the answer should be no to all of these. Does Alex Azar legitimize the protests from a COVID control stand point as long as people wear masks?!




I certainly agree with this.


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## DT

Edd70 said:


> Trump’s speech was so bad he caused Jim Gaffigan to snap. My respect for him just shot way up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> America's Nice Guy Finally Says 'Fuck You' to Trump Supporters on Twitter
> 
> 
> Jim Gaffigan, arguably America’s most wholesome comedian, has finally had enough of Donald Trump’s shit. And he’s here to tell you that Trump and his minions are destroying America.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gizmodo.com




Right?  When JG starts dropping F-bombs, the apocalypse is near ...


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## Eric

Edd70 said:


> Trump’s speech was so bad he caused Jim Gaffigan to snap. My respect for him just shot way up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> America's Nice Guy Finally Says 'Fuck You' to Trump Supporters on Twitter
> 
> 
> Jim Gaffigan, arguably America’s most wholesome comedian, has finally had enough of Donald Trump’s shit. And he’s here to tell you that Trump and his minions are destroying America.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gizmodo.com





D_T said:


> Right?  When JG starts dropping F-bombs, the apocalypse is near ...



Telling off a real "Karen" just makes it that much more epic.


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## DT

Speaking of Gaffigan, hahaha, there's this local ad that runs with a dude that looks like him, I should Tweet it his way ...


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## Chew Toy McCoy

I think it's funny that the convention was largely a celebration and endorsement of Trump and his redefining of the party and it's being reported that the approval rating for the convention actually dropped after his rambling speech.


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## User.45

I'd say it's a regression to the mean, unless this trend continues, which is unlikely given how nothing phases Trump's voters.


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## Chew Toy McCoy

PearsonX said:


> I'd say it's a regression to the mean, unless this trend continues, which is unlikely given how nothing phases Trump's voters.
> View attachment 225




I feel like there was a bunch of people who just supported Trump feeling he was just doing Republican/The Lord’s work and didn’t really pay that much attention beyond that.  Didn’t want to get involved in all the drama. Then last night they watched him talk at great length for the first time and there was a collective “Fuck.  This what people have been talking about?   It really is that bad.”


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## Thomas Veil

PearsonX said:


> I'd say it's a regression to the mean, unless this trend continues, which is unlikely given how nothing phases Trump's voters.
> View attachment 225



It’s a relief to see that chart. I was afraid this week’s horror show was going to narrow the gap (and it still may), but that’s encouraging.


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## yaxomoxay

Chew Toy McCoy said:


> I feel like there was a bunch of people who just supported Trump feeling he was just doing Republican/The Lord’s work and didn’t really pay that much attention beyond that.  Didn’t want to get involved in all the drama. Then last night they watched him talk at great length for the first time and there was a collective “Fuck.  This what people have been talking about?   It really is that bad.”




I highly doubt that polls published today were done less than 24 hours ago.


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## Alli

PearsonX said:


> I'd say it's a regression to the mean,




I haven’t gotten to regression testing yet. That’s in RSM800 which starts on Monday. Man, I can’t wait until January when classes will finally be over and I can just get the dissertation written!


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## User.45

yaxomoxay said:


> I highly doubt that polls published today were done less than 24 hours ago.







Partially. They cover some of the effects of RNC, but not the entire event and its aftermath. 



Alli said:


> I haven’t gotten to regression testing yet. That’s in RSM800 which starts on Monday. Man, I can’t wait until January when classes will finally be over and I can just get the dissertation written!



Don't envision much sophistication to this expression. It only means that as long as there is an average that truly exists, numbers that deviate from it return to follow previously established trends.It's a thing in population biology for example. Real regression analysis is more sophisticated. Good luck with your dissertation! By then I'll finish my book chapter too (deadlines mid Sept, lol) .


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## Eric

PearsonX said:


> I'd say it's a regression to the mean, unless this trend continues, which is unlikely given how nothing phases Trump's voters.
> View attachment 225



Word is Trump will likely get zero to minimal bounce. The debates are Trump's only hope to make a dent and as long as Biden maintains and lets Trump nut out, that likely won't have much of an impact either.


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## User.45

ericgtr12 said:


> Word is Trump will likely get zero to minimal bounce. The debates are Trump's only hope to make a dent and as long as Biden maintains and lets Trump nut out, that likely won't have much of an impact either.



I'm not that worried about the debates. All Biden needs to do is throw Trump's track record back at him. I've noticed a pattern. Anytime I look at a curve of a measure that Trump gets applauded for, I see a skyrocket of that measure during the Obama/Biden admin, and stagnation or slight continuation of improvement at best of with Trump. He really inherited a good economy.


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## yaxomoxay

ericgtr12 said:


> Word is Trump will likely get zero to minimal bounce.











						Poll: Trump approval rises among black, hispanic voters amid convention
					

President Trump’s support among black voters rose 9 percentage points amid the Republican National Convention, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds. Twenty-four percent of registered black vote…




					thehill.com


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## Eric

yaxomoxay said:


> Poll: Trump approval rises among black, hispanic voters amid convention
> 
> 
> President Trump’s support among black voters rose 9 percentage points amid the Republican National Convention, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds. Twenty-four percent of registered black vote…
> 
> 
> 
> 
> thehill.com



I don't think there was any other direction it could've gone with those groups, and even though he's still in the hole I'll say that 9 points is a pretty good jump. Let's see how that holds up for him.


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## yaxomoxay

ericgtr12 said:


> I don't think there was any other direction it could've gone with those groups, and even though he's still in the hole I'll say that 9 points is a pretty good jump. Let's see how that holds up for him.




yeah, I just found it funny that I saw your post, checked The Hill and saw that.
Honestly I think that polls at this point don't mean that much. They're all good and fun, but I wouldn't bet my house based on them.


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## Eric

yaxomoxay said:


> yeah, I just found it funny that I saw your post, checked The Hill and saw that.
> Honestly I think that polls at this point don't mean that much. They're all good and fun, but I wouldn't bet my house based on them.



They're saying that when the dust settles it will fall where the numbers were before the conventions unless one or he other was really able to move the goal posts and that didn't see to happen, that seems to be holding true as Biden originally got a 5 point bump but that's leveled off. 









						Biden gets no convention bounce after Democratic gathering: Reuters/Ipsos poll
					

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saw no bounce in popular support after last week's Democratic National Convention, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, pointing to Americans' hardened political views.




					www.reuters.com


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## User.45

ericgtr12 said:


> They're saying that when the dust settles it will fall where the numbers were before the conventions unless one or he other was really able to move the goal posts and that didn't see to happen, that seems to be holding true as Biden originally got a 5 point bump but that's leveled off.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Biden gets no convention bounce after Democratic gathering: Reuters/Ipsos poll
> 
> 
> Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saw no bounce in popular support after last week's Democratic National Convention, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, pointing to Americans' hardened political views.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.reuters.com



I'd say these conventions are largely a waste of time. So is talking politics


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## Chew Toy McCoy

yaxomoxay said:


> I highly doubt that polls published today were done less than 24 hours ago.




I think I said the wrong thing being measured.  Viewership was down.  So I guess in that case, the current great Republican reform savior can only be seen as that as long as you don't actually watch him talk or listen to his ideas and values.   

I think I also read mid-week at some point more Democrats were watching the RNC than Republicans.


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## yaxomoxay

Chew Toy McCoy said:


> I think I said the wrong thing being measured.  Viewership was down.  So I guess in that case, the current great Republican reform savior can only be seen as that as long as you don't actually watch him talk or listen to his ideas and values.
> 
> I think I also read mid-week at some point more Democrats were watching the RNC than Republicans.




TV viewership was down and not many Republicans Watch regular TV news it doesn’t surprise me. Do we have donor info?


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## Chew Toy McCoy

yaxomoxay said:


> TV viewership was down and not many Republicans Watch regular TV news it doesn’t surprise me. Do we have donor info?




The numbers they are giving are in comparison to this year's DNC as well as different nights of the 2 conventions, not historical viewership.  Sorry for not linking to any of this info but I'm being lazy and I haven't come across any sources contradicting the numbers being reported.  Like you alluded to, it's not really that import at this point in history.  

I'm sure Trump probably tweeted 3 trillion people watched his speech and were overwhelmed by how great it was, but we're only letting the adults talk in this thread.


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## yaxomoxay

Chew Toy McCoy said:


> I'm sure Trump probably tweeted 3 trillion people watched his speech and were overwhelmed by how great it was, but we're only letting the adults talk in this thread.




ahahahahah ok, I laughed out loud.
It was the bestest speech.


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## DT

Holy lord oh mighty ...


https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299485775587803137/


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## yaxomoxay

D_T said:


> Holy lord oh mighty ...
> 
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299485775587803137/




I never understood if “ass” is a cuss word or not.


----------



## SuperMatt

The fireworks at the RNC were great.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299189751036215297/


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## Alli

Rachael Maddow is back tonight with lots of tidbits.
1. More people tuned in to watch Biden’s speech than Trump’s.
2. The folks taking the immigration pledge had no idea they would be used this way.
3. Keep America Great was swooped up as a domain by the Biden campaign.


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## User.45

yaxomoxay said:


> I never understood if “ass” is a cuss word or not.



Right? In my primary language, it totally is vulgar and would never fly from any politician.
The other one is bitch, I'd expect it to be considered much more vulgar.


----------



## Chew Toy McCoy

SuperMatt said:


> The fireworks at the RNC were great.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299189751036215297/




You know this repeated meme wouldn't and shouldn't be a thing if he didn't brag about what a great job he did instead of showing some goddamn humility and empathy.  It's like he doesn't know there is a huge group of voting loved ones tied to those deaths and I don't know how any of them could watch him pat himself on the back without putting their fist through the screen.


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## Thomas Veil

SuperMatt said:


> The fireworks at the RNC were great.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1299189751036215297/



What a great shot!


----------



## Thomas Veil

The conventions being over, I’m moving these threads back to their regular positions.


----------



## SuperMatt

Most of the RNC was ’preaching to the choir.” The exceptions: many black speakers, the pardons, and the naturalization ceremony.

There does seem to be a disconnect though: Trump has been very anti-immigration In his policies. He has only one black cabinet member. It feels like too little too late, and is trying to paper over his policies with a bunch of celebrity endorsements and some ”photo op” pardons.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Politico interviewed Mary Trump for her thoughts on the convention. Let’s just say she didn’t hold back. 



> *MARY TRUMP:* The most jarring thing initially was the recognition that the entire convention was a law-breaking enterprise. And people may say, ‘Oh, Hatch Act, not a big deal,’ but it _is_ a big deal. He co-opted or the Republican National Committee co-opted the people’s house for their own political benefit. That’s not a small thing. And when people say, ‘You know, nobody outside of the Beltway cares’—well, people in the media say, nobody outside of the Washington Beltway cares—well, maybe that’s because the media is telling them it’s not a big deal, you know? So I found that just disturbing from the very beginning. Other than that, though, just as a through-line, the extent to which every, almost every single participant in this convention was willing to lie, and knew they were lying, and didn’t care that pretty much everything they said was a lie, was breathtaking....





> *KRUSE:* Robert, the president’s little brother, died coming up on two weeks ago. And the president in his statement that day said Robert was his “best friend.” Was he?





> *TRUMP:* No. No. They, when I knew them—well, not the whole time—but after Robert rather abruptly left the Trump Organization, they hated each other. There was no love lost. And from what I understand, it wasn’t until Donald started running, or secured the nomination, that Robert, for purely opportunistic reasons, kind of got back in with Donald—and, like everything else in the family, it was transactional and it was mutually beneficial in whatever way. I also question Donald’s capacity to have deep, close friendships, anyway—but I don’t think that that’s at all true. In fact, if that had been the case, then Donald probably should have been with his _second brother_ who was dying in a hospital.




More here.


----------



## chagla

ericgtr12 said:


> About those masks and social distancing...



As long as they keep in the family, it's cool. Some might end up realizing it's not hoax after-all.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Maybe this is just me, but if you have to deceive people into being part of your convention, you’re doing it wrong. 

*Report: New York tenants were not aware they would be featured at the Republican National Convention*



> Tenants of New York City housing who were featured in a video at the Republican National Convention said they were not made aware how the video was going to be used, according to The New York Times.





> Three of the four people featured in the video told the Times that they were misled into appearing before the convention. The video was used to criticize New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat who also sought his party's nomination, and his handling of public housing, and to attribute funding and improvements to the Trump administration.





> "I am not a Trump supporter,” Claudia Perez told the Times in an interview. She said she was upset about the deception but stood by her criticisms of the city's housing issues.


----------

