Fifth Avenue Forum

I had a Philosophy professor at Pitt in 2005 who swore up and down Bush was working with Blackwater and the CIA to not only bleed Iraq of oil, but to begin a monarchial Bush dynasty in the White House.

He did this for a whole class period.

I was told Mike Pence would open reorientation camps for gays.

People believing insanely dumb stuff is not unique to Trump people.

It's also not proof that Trump is a uniquely bad actor in our political history.

He'll be gone in 2020 and everything will go back to its boring routine.

"Boring routine" before or after the economy collapses because of his poor decisions?

The economy isn’t collapsing. If you’re going to criticize or point out dumb things that he does, don’t make up things like collapsing an economy.

Of all the past Presidents accused of this or that chicanery by college professors and activists on the other side of the aisle, how many of them were under FBI investigation for being actual out loud foreign agents working affirmatively against the interests of the US in a criminal context?

To suggest there isn't something highly unique about Trump is willful ignorance at this point.

I had a Philosophy professor at Pitt in 2005 who swore up and down Bush was working with Blackwater and the CIA to not only bleed Iraq of oil, but to begin a monarchial Bush dynasty in the White House.

He did this for a whole class period.

I was told Mike Pence would open reorientation camps for gays.

People believing insanely dumb stuff is not unique to Trump people.

It's also not proof that Trump is a uniquely bad actor in our political history.

He'll be gone in 2020 and everything will go back to its boring routine.

“Pitt philosophy professor” is all I need to hear. Typical academia left wing nut job.

If you think Donald will be gone in 2020, you’re sadly mistaken.

Unreal how stubborn the Democrats are on an issue they once supported. Hypocrites.

This tactic will surely end the Trump Shutdown

Nancy and Cryin’ Chuck can end the Shutdown in 15 minutes. At this point it has become their, and the Democrats, fault!

Of all the past Presidents accused of this or that chicanery by college professors and activists on the other side of the aisle, how many of them were under FBI investigation for being actual out loud foreign agents working affirmatively against the interests of the US in a criminal context?

To suggest there isn't something highly unique about Trump is willful ignorance at this point.

Counter intelligence isn’t a criminal investigation, if you are talking about the new information about the FBI.

Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, Ronald Pelton, et al would like a word about the substantive difference between 'criminal' and 'counterintelligence'.

Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, Ronald Pelton, et al would like a word about the substantive difference between 'criminal' and 'counterintelligence'.

Considering only one is supposed to bring charges against someone, then yes there is a difference.

Point being, all of those people currently in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for acts of espionage started out as counterintelligence investigations.

Meanwhile in China
China Sentences Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, to Death

China’s diplomatic clash with Canada escalated sharply on Monday, when a Canadian man was sentenced to death for drug smuggling after a Chinese court overrode his plea of innocence at a retrial that had been swiftly called after tensions erupted between the two countries.

The court in northeastern China announced the death penalty against the Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, after a retrial that lasted one day, and gave no indication that his sentence might be reduced to a prison sentence.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/worl ... e=Homepage

Point being, all of those people currently in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for acts of espionage started out as counterintelligence investigations.

Cool story. Not all counterintelligence investigations lead to criminal investigations.

Point being, all of those people currently in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for acts of espionage started out as counterintelligence investigations.

Don’t get sucked in. He did it to me last night. He turns the argument into semantics instead of the point being that we are in a position that our President might essentially be a double agent. Like a shitty movie but real life

Point being, all of those people currently in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for acts of espionage started out as counterintelligence investigations.

Don’t get sucked in. He did it to me last night. He turns the argument into semantics instead of the point being that we are in a position that our President might essentially be a double agent. Like a shitty movie but real life

You were telling falsehoods and exaggerations Mr. Pee Tape Fetish.

I misread that story about Canada and China and thought it said Canada had sentenced a guy to death and I was like, "Well, TIL..."

Isn't this whole discussion irrelevant to the point of the original post?

Just because we have concluded that the US isn't destabilized, that doesn't discount the possibility that Mueller's report will outline the efforts the Trump team has made to destabilize the US. Aside from provoking our allies and attempts to undermine NATO and the EU, he is currently overseeing the longest government shutdown in history, neglected to fill important positions at all levels of the government and prompted imminent austerity measures by ballooning the deficit. While he's probably not a witting agent of Russia, he sure acts like one.

Point being, all of those people currently in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for acts of espionage started out as counterintelligence investigations.

Don’t get sucked in. He did it to me last night. He turns the argument into semantics instead of the point being that we are in a position that our President might essentially be a double agent. Like a shitty movie but real life

You were telling falsehoods and exaggerations Mr. Pee Tape Fetish.

Gawd

Three or four executive branch departments are operating without a confirmed head, and two of the 'actings' are under a cloud of illegitimacy (one of which is straight up illegal, imo). How many positions in the foreign service are vacant? Ten cabinet-level appointees have vamoosed, vs one each for the two preceding administrations at this same point in time (to look at the most recent history).

“a well oiled machine”

Ye olde semantics game Trump and his fellow morons like to play even when on Fox News...the guy could’ve just issued a stark denial.

Three or four executive branch departments are operating without a confirmed head, and two of the 'actings' are under a cloud of illegitimacy (one of which is straight up illegal, imo). How many positions in the foreign service are vacant? Ten cabinet-level appointees have vamoosed, vs one each for the two preceding administrations at this same point in time (to look at the most recent history).

I read the NY Review of Books piece on Michael Lewis' new book the Fifth Risk, and it talks about some of the positions that Trump has neglected to fill, or simply put in a corporate stooge. It was a couple months ago, so I can't remember much, but the item that has stuck in my head, is that the guy Trump installed as head of head of the National Weather service. It's the guy that owns Accuweather, basically a pay service for what most people get for free from the weather forecasts provided by the national weather service.

This is a good bit beyond 'ambassadonor' type stuff imo.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features ... ighting-it

That post wasn't clear why this is an issue.

Basically the guy chosen to head the NWS wants them to do less so folks that need weather reports will have to pay his company instead.

In other news, the local utility here - PG&E - has announced it is planning to file Chapter 11 bk. Woohoo.

They're facing an estimated $30 billion in actual damages for the recent wildfires.