Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[angelo]

I'll call your apologist bullshit for what is is............pure unadulterated bullshit! .......................................https://www.heritage.org/europe/rep...s-how-the-president-has-humiliated-superpower

Ummm....none of the quotes in your link are inaccurate or wrong let alone a humiliation of the United States. We've had a dark history...and currently a dark present. To ignore that history is to be foolish, especially when dealing with foreign leaders who know our history well and see us flip-flop on policies with nearly every new president elected because of our divided national views.

Do you honestly think the United States has a perfect history? Do you honestly think other nations don't see our flawed past? Acknowledging mistakes is the first step of learning from them.

Care to name one, just one nation that has a perfect history? But none of the leaders of any go globetrotting around the world apologising for perceived wrongdoing.

 

[zorq]

I'll call your apologist bullshit for what is is............pure unadulterated bullshit! .......................................https://www.heritage.org/europe/rep...s-how-the-president-has-humiliated-superpower

Ummm....none of the quotes in your link are inaccurate or wrong let alone a humiliation of the United States. We've had a dark history...and currently a dark present. To ignore that history is to be foolish, especially when dealing with foreign leaders who know our history well and see us flip-flop on policies with nearly every new president elected because of our divided national views.

Do you honestly think the United States has a perfect history? Do you honestly think other nations don't see our flawed past? Acknowledging mistakes is the first step of learning from them.

Care to name one, just one nation that has a perfect history? But none of the leaders of any go globetrotting around the world apologising for perceived wrongdoing.

Angelo, refusing to apologize when you are wrong doesn't make you strong, it makes you an asshole who can't be trusted.

In fact the contrary is the truth. Only someone who is strong and secure in their place of leadership can admit to errors. It's insecure cowards (Trump being a quintessential example) who can't admit to fault lest their fragile egos shatter.

There is no leadership without respect. There is no respect without trust. You can't trust a "Leader" who calls his obvious mistakes something other than mistakes. A basic refusal to acknowledge reality is an indication of insanity whether it is derived from egomania or delusion.

I never understood this "Obama apology tour" bullshit. Especially now that you've had three years to compare the difference in leadership strategies. Between Obama and Trump which one was more respected by international governments and free people? Which one gets ridiculed by the audience of foreign government representatives in the middle of a speech at the UN? Being a dick and burning bridges doesn't make you stronger, it makes you weaker. These things are obvious. The expression is "United we stand, divided we fall."


Edit:

And finally, have you actually read those Obama quotes? They aren't submissive or humiliating. In fact, I don't think any of them actually qualify as "apologies". They are mostly just acknowledging reality.

 

[fromderinside]

And finally, have you actually read those Obama quotes?

After Trump, his gray light, I heard he didn't.

 

[Elixir]

Trump Relatives Resort to Cannibalism due to Pandemic

 

[funinspace]

I'll call your apologist bullshit for what is is............pure unadulterated bullshit! .......................................https://www.heritage.org/europe/rep...s-how-the-president-has-humiliated-superpower

Ummm....none of the quotes in your link are inaccurate or wrong let alone a humiliation of the United States. We've had a dark history...and currently a dark present. To ignore that history is to be foolish, especially when dealing with foreign leaders who know our history well and see us flip-flop on policies with nearly every new president elected because of our divided national views.

Do you honestly think the United States has a perfect history? Do you honestly think other nations don't see our flawed past? Acknowledging mistakes is the first step of learning from them.

Care to name one, just one nation that has a perfect history? But none of the leaders of any go globetrotting around the world apologising for perceived wrongdoing.

LOL...who the fuck said any nation has a perfect history...your batting at straw men again.

But you are funny, if you think that only Pres. Obama apologized. My favorite now:
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/national-apology

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008:

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

Japan's efforts to make amends for WWII:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

 

[Angry Floof]

Care to name one, just one nation that has a perfect history? But none of the leaders of any go globetrotting around the world apologising for perceived wrongdoing.

LOL...who the fuck said any nation has a perfect history...your batting at straw men again.

But you are funny, if you think that only Pres. Obama apologized. My favorite now:
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/national-apology

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008:

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

Japan's efforts to make amends for WWII:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

And Britain apologized for cruel treatment of gays, and Australia apologized for the Children's Immigrant Program, and ...

Isn't it weird how a simple, grownup human thing as apologizing when you were wrong would be such a sin in some people's minds?

 

[Angry Floof]

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'll call your apologist bullshit for what is is............pure unadulterated bullshit! .......................................https://www.heritage.org/europe/rep...s-how-the-president-has-humiliated-superpower

Ummm....none of the quotes in your link are inaccurate or wrong let alone a humiliation of the United States. We've had a dark history...and currently a dark present. To ignore that history is to be foolish, especially when dealing with foreign leaders who know our history well and see us flip-flop on policies with nearly every new president elected because of our divided national views.

Do you honestly think the United States has a perfect history? Do you honestly think other nations don't see our flawed past? Acknowledging mistakes is the first step of learning from them.

Care to name one, just one nation that has a perfect history? But none of the leaders of any go globetrotting around the world apologising for perceived wrongdoing.

How is this remotely on topic? Why is it an Aussie is so desperate to clear a repeatedly failed Trump response to the Covid-19 crisis and has to resort to complaining about Pres. Obama?

 

[KeepTalking]

A terrible argument? HTF dd you reach that conclusion? One president who toured the mainly islamic world on taking office apologizing for his perceived American wrongdoings, which by the way, [America apart from the Iraq WMD fiasco, but still Saddam was a danger to all the nations surrounding Iraq ] has nothing to apologize for to anyone. And the other latter president who stands up for Western Civilization and American ideals, a defender of said Western Civilization and culture and " America First " policy. There's no argument!

There's plenty. Firstly

1)Obama apologized for jack shit. The was bullshit propaganda perpetuated by the far right. Show me a quote where Obama apologized for America.

2)Trump "stands up for Western Civilization and American ideals"? Fuck off. This is a guy who lies about NATO, appoints ambassadors who spread lies about Western nations and has nothing but nice things to say about dictators like Kim Jong Un, knuckled under to Erdogan in one of the worst acts of betrayal and appeasement by a US President in at least the last half century, and could probably tell what Putin's cock tastes like if you ask him nicely.

3)It's pretty clear you are being disingenuous. As you constantly source from bigoted Islamophobic websites, it's pretty obvious where your prejudices lie. Therefore, if you had an ounce of integrity then this photo should make your blood boil:

Instead all we hear from you is how Obama is the appeaser. A five second google search proves that you are pathetically inconsistent in your arguments.


"Stands up for Western Civilization and American ideals" indeed. Just admit you are fucking ignorant on the topic and stop embarrassing yourself.

I'll call your apologist bullshit for what is is............pure unadulterated bullshit! .......................................https://www.heritage.org/europe/rep...s-how-the-president-has-humiliated-superpower

Speak for yourself, and the links you present. For example the link above purporting to list 10 Obama apologies actually contains no examples of Obama apologizing at all. Here are the 10 quotes they offer as misdirections:

"America Has Shown Arrogance"
"We Have Not Been Perfect"
"At Times We Sought to Dictate Our Terms"
"Some Restoration of America's Standing in the World"
"We Went off Course"
"Sacrificing Your Values"
"Our Own Darker Periods in Our History"
"The United States Has Not Pursued and Sustained Engagement with Our Neighbors"
"Potentially We've Made Some Mistakes"
"A Rallying Cry for Our Enemies"

All of those Obama quotes are missing a crucial word that would be needed to make them apologies. Perhaps you can spot the missing word.

 

[lpetrich]

Gig workers unite while facing coronavirus risk - KTVZ

Gig workers make up about a 10th of the workforce and that number is expected to rise during the pandemic.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, workers for online platforms who shop for groceries and deliver food have become essential for many people stuck at home.

But they face an uphill battle for recognition, as well as remuneration.

What they're up against:

Aaron Rupar on Twitter: "White House adviser Kevin Hassett: "Our human capital stock is ready to go back to work." #HumanCapitalStock https://t.co/Yl9KwJf6KP" / Twitter

Some responses:

Pé on Twitter: "@atrupar It's really surprising that a White House led by a man who lives in gold-plated condo in midtown Manhattan is being advised by people who think workers are akin to livestock." / Twitter

Pé on Twitter: "@atrupar Anyways, let's all be thankful to Mr. Hassett for telling us clearly how the oligarch/billionaire class thinks about the rest of us." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Human Capital Stock.
An ugly term w ugly history, but for many powerful ppl it‘s their most honest view of workers: human stock.
By their logic, the moment a person stops being useful to profit motive (retirement, health, etc) they are a liability. That’s the system we live in." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Let’s also not ignore the racial history of this terminology, which has roots in slavery. &It’s not just the terminology that’s racialized.
Even today, the folks deemed as “human capital stock”(aka essential workers) are disproportionately Black, Brown, & low income White folks. https://t.co/VO0lpCN1nP" / Twitter

[TABLE="class: grid"]
[TR]
[TD]Which Ones
[/TD]
[TD]% < $15/hr
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]All Workers
[/TD]
[TD]42.4%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Femae
[/TD]
[TD]48.1%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]White
[/TD]
[TD]36.4%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Black
[/TD]
[TD]54.1%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Latinx
[/TD]
[TD]59.5%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[lpetrich]

A tale of two Trumps | USA | Al Jazeera - Why President Trump loves his role, hates his job, and what this means for the November elections.

You have to admire US President Donald Trump's persistence. Almost 100,000 Americans have died under his watch in the last 100 days, and he is still boasting about his success and greatness.

Of course, the president is convinced he is not responsible for these deaths and that, in fact, he has done a "great job" and saved "millions of lives".

Trump also reckons "Trump is right" about the economy and he thinks there has never been a president like President Trump.

Surrealistic? Perhaps. But he believes it.

He then discussed Trump as "a populist outsider" vs. Trump as "an unfortunate White House insider."

Like spending a lot of "Executive Time" watching Fox & Friends and tweeting, almost as if he was still in Trump Tower.

The pandemic spoiled the party and interrupted Trump's scripted reality.

He was forced to govern in a time of crisis.

So he tried.

But "America's CEO", who ran the White House as he did Trump Tower, relying exclusively on unqualified loyalists and family members, stuttered and stammered.

Damning indictment.

 

[lpetrich]

Active or passive? Positive or negative? with  James David Barber classification of the Presidents by governance type. I've also found James D. Barber, Expert on Presidents, Dies at 74 - The New York Times and James Barber Dies; Studied Presidents' Psyches (washingtonpost.com)

He was credited as the first to examine US Presidents beyond case studies.

• Active-positive president: a readiness to act, high optimism, and an overall fondness of the presidency. Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama.
• Passive-positive president: a low self-esteem compensated by an ingratiating personality, superficially optimistic, and a desire to please. ames Madison, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Ronald Reagan.
• Active-negative president: lack of deriving joy after expending much effort on tasks, aggressive, highly rigid, and having a general view of power as a means to self-realization. John Adams, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, George Bush II, Donald Trump.
• Passive-negative president: a strong sense of duty, desire to avoid power, low self-esteem compensated by service towards others, and an overall aversion to intense political negotiation. George Washington, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Bush I.

John Dean: "His only enjoyment in the job is that it feeds his insatiable narcissistic appetite for attention, which is not the type of positive reinforcement and emotional reward Barber describes to be an active/positive."

From the NYT about Dr. Barber:

The most dangerous type, Dr. Barber wrote, was the active-negative. Though energetic, such men were also joyless, inflexible, compulsive and domineering, with "a strong bent for digging their own graves." In this category he listed Lyndon B. Johnson and Nixon.

Addressing a meeting of the American Political Science Association in 1969, Dr. Barber said: "The danger is that Nixon will commit himself irrevocably to some disastrous course of action. This is precisely the possibility against which he could defend himself by a stylistic adjustment in his relations with his White House friends."

He was very prescient, because Nixon's Presidency was destroyed by the Watergate scandal, where he tried to cover up the misdeeds of his henchmen.

Bush II is an interesting case, because he liked the office of the Presidency, though not the work of it. Trump seems very similar.

 

[angelo]

Texas County GOP Chair Claims COVID-19 Is Democratic Hoax | Michael Stone

A viral video from Texas shows a Republican Party leader speaking at local rally calling the coronavirus panic a hoax being perpetrated by Democrats with the goal of hurting Donald Trump, then encouraging people to take off their face masks.

The video showed Bexar County Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm speaking at a political protest against continued restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Brehm said that a requirement to wear face coverings is a violation of people’s constitutional rights and hinted that the coronavirus panic is being manufactured by Democrats in order to hurt Trump.

Just like what Trump himself once said.

Those Democrats are so fiendish that they even got the Brazilian, Chinese, UK, Italian and Spanish governments and news media to collude.

Indeed, the entire world seems to have been persuaded to involve themselves in US domestic politics, to the extent of pretending that tens of thousands of their people had died.

Yea, but it's still all Trumps fault!

 

[Patooka]

Yea, but it's still all Trumps fault!

I'm gonna let you in on a dirty little secret that you aren't aware of.






Are you ready?







Are you sitting down?





You sure you're ready?






Ok.






In 3...






...2






....1






Holding Trump accountable for the decisions he alone has actioned and the choices that he alone has made is not the same as blaming him for everything.


I just blew your mind, didn't I? You're welcome.

 

[Patooka]

A tale of two Trumps | USA | Al Jazeera - Why President Trump loves his role, hates his job, and what this means for the November elections.

You have to admire US President Donald Trump's persistence. Almost 100,000 Americans have died under his watch in the last 100 days, and he is still boasting about his success and greatness.

Of course, the president is convinced he is not responsible for these deaths and that, in fact, he has done a "great job" and saved "millions of lives".

Trump also reckons "Trump is right" about the economy and he thinks there has never been a president like President Trump.

Surrealistic? Perhaps. But he believes it.

He then discussed Trump as "a populist outsider" vs. Trump as "an unfortunate White House insider."

Like spending a lot of "Executive Time" watching Fox & Friends and tweeting, almost as if he was still in Trump Tower.

The pandemic spoiled the party and interrupted Trump's scripted reality.

He was forced to govern in a time of crisis.

So he tried.

But "America's CEO", who ran the White House as he did Trump Tower, relying exclusively on unqualified loyalists and family members, stuttered and stammered.

Damning indictment.

There were two satirists named John Clarke and Brian Dawe. In 2001 in Australia the Labor Party lost to the Liberals. John Clarke pretended to be the leader of the Labor party and Brian Dawe was interviewing him on the outcome of the election. Clarke proclaimed that the election was a resounding success and he was satisfied with the outcome. When Dawe pointed out that Clarke lost the election Clarke explained that being in the opposition was the best job in the world, as you can criticize to your heart's content without having to provide constructive solutions. When Dawe asked what would've happened if Labor won the election, Clarke responds, "Well then we'd be completely buggered".

Trump is learning it's easier to be in opposition than it is to be in charge. That it's taken him all his life to figure this out shows how much of a slow learner he is.

 

[lpetrich]

I like this from NYT's obituary of Dr. Barber:

Dr. Barber, a Democrat, was often asked by news organizations to advise the voting public. "I would advise the citizen choosing a president not to count on major changes in basic personality, basic beliefs or basic political skills as that creature of habit moves into the White House," he told Washingtonian magazine in 1994. "The pathetic hope that the White House will turn a Caligula into a Marcus Aurelius is as naïve as the fear that ultimate power inevitably corrupts."

For Trump, not just Caligula but Commodus.

I combined Barber's activity and attitude with Rubenzer's and Faschingbauer's Big Five analysis, and here is what I found.

Overall, the Presidents score as follows:

• Usually high in conscientiousness (diligence, orderliness). Since it is correlated with academic and career success, it is not surprising for Presidents. Low-C Presidents have been rare, Presidents like Warren Harding and Ronald Reagan -- and apparently Donald Trump. Of other politicians, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and AOC are apparently high in C, even if not necessarily super high.
• Usually low in agreeableness (courtesy, compassion). That makes it easy for them to choose who to please and who to displease.
• Usually somewhat low in openness (interest in artistry, ideas). That makes them rather conventional.
• Usually somewhat high in extroversion (outward-directedness). It helps them make friends.
• Usually average in neuroticism (negative emotions).

I then broke them up by Barber's classification, and I did the Mann-Whitney nonparametric distribution-comparison test on them and the original (low value means greater difference, as I found from simulations).

• Active-positive ones are more extroverted and open than average
• Active-negative ones are more neurotic, less agreeable, and more conscientious than average
• Passive-positive ones are more agreeable and less conscientious than average
• Passive-negative ones are more conscientious than average

 

[lpetrich]

Coronavirus government response updates: Trump tweets states 'should open up ASAP' as death toll nears 100,000 - ABC News
noting
Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "Stock Market up BIG, DOW crosses 25,000. S&P 500 over 3000. States should open up ASAP. The Transition to Greatness has started, ahead of schedule. There will be ups and downs, but next year will be one of the best ever!" / Twitter

Whatever happened to blood, toil, tears, and sweat?

From that article: "While the president looks forward to a "strong third quarter," some states in lockstep with his agenda of an aggressive reopening are seeing new spikes."

Coronavirus: California to allow hair salons, barbershops to reopen in majority of counties

The state is currently in its phase two, allowing resumption of retail and manufacturing with modifications. Of the state's 58 counties, 47 of them may move further, opening barbershops and hair salons, but with more cleaning and with wearing face coverings and other protective gear. They can also open dine-in restaurant services with such features, though not yet nail salons, bars, wineries, nightclubs, theme parks, and the like. They are still looking in what's necessary to open nail salons and the like.

Some CA counties are behind in this, like SF and LA counties. Gov. Newsom has allowed them to be more restrictive.

 

[lpetrich]

11,000 coronavirus cases tied to three meat processors: report | TheHill

Trump used the Defense Production Act to reopen them -- but not to get more PPE's or ventilators.

Biden calls Trump 'falsely masculine' for demeaning face masks

On Tuesday, during a news conference in the Rose Garden, Trump asked a reporter, "Can you take it off, because I cannot hear you," referencing the face mask.

"I'll just speak louder, sir," the reporter responded.

"Ok, you want to be politically correct. Go ahead," Trump replied. The reporter refused to take the mask off.

Justin Baragona on Twitter: ""You want to be politically correct"
Trump mocks reporter Jeff Mason for not wanting to remove his face mask during a press briefing. https://t.co/dWYWimy28d" / Twitter

Last week, Ford executives encouraged Trump to don a face mask during his visit to one of its factories, but he said he chose not to wear it near photographers because he "didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it."

CNN Politics on Twitter: "Joe Biden: President Trump is "an absolute fool" to mock wearing face masks.
He added: "Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine" [url]https://t.co/RI5zjN15Jf https://t.co/2VrHaKwVFV" / Twitter[/url]
Biden blasts Trump for mocking face masks - CNNPolitics

In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash in Delaware -- Biden's first in-person interview since being knocked off the campaign trail by the coronavirus pandemic -- the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Trump is fueling a cultural opposition to wearing masks when "every leading doc in the world is saying we should wear a mask when you're in a crowd."

"This macho stuff, for a guy -- I shouldn't get going, but it just, it costs people's lives. It's costing people's lives," Biden said. Trump's position amounts to "stoking deaths," he said.

He added: "Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine."

 

[ZiprHead]

He added: "Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine."

Masculinity is not a huge combover, wearing makeup, a girdle, and heel lifts. That is a guy who is profoundly scared of showing his true self.

 

[Elixir]

He added: "Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine."

Masculinity is not a huge combover, wearing makeup, a girdle, and heel lifts. That is a guy who is profoundly scared of showing his true self.

If you were a career criminal exposed to life in prison or worse, you might be reticent to reveal anything about yourself too.