The Trump Administration

[41chevy]

On 2/21/2017 at 9:18 AM, Underdog said:

I consider Oliver Stone a propagandist as well. Do your research and take his point of view with a grain of salt as well.

Oliver Stone on our First Lady. . .

Self-proclaimed “progressive humanist” Oliver Stone said  that Mrs. Trump committed an act of “Christofascism,” in Floridia, adding the “mail-order bride, hooker paid lip service to a God that does not exist.”

Edited February 22, 2017 by 41chevy

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, 41chevy said:

Oliver Stone on our First Lady. . .

Self-proclaimed “progressive humanist” Oliver Stone said  that Mrs. Trump committed an act of “Christofascism,” in Floridia, adding the “mail-order bride, hooker paid lip service to a God that does not exist.”

Paul, Oliver Stone did NOT say that.

Rather, someone named Michael Stone did.

https://townhall.com/columnists/calebparke/2017/02/21/liberals-wage-unholy-war-against-mrs-trump-n2288632

Self-proclaimed “progressive secular humanist” Michael Stone wrote on Patheos that Mrs. Trump committed an act of “Christofascism,” adding the “mail-order bride paid lip service to a God that does not exist.”

[kscarbel2]

FYI:

In April 1967, Oliver Stone enlisted in the  United States Army and requested combat duty in Vietnam. From September 16, 1967 to April 1968, he served in Vietnam with 2nd Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry Division and was twice wounded in action.

He was then transferred to the First Cavalry Division participating in long range patrols before being transferred again to drive for a motorized infantry unit of the division until November 1968.

For his service, his military awards include the Bronze Star with "V" Device for heroism, the Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster to denote two awards, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Stone

[41chevy]

3 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Paul, Oliver Stone did NOT say that.

Rather, someone named Michael Stone did.

https://townhall.com/columnists/calebparke/2017/02/21/liberals-wage-unholy-war-against-mrs-trump-n2288632

Self-proclaimed “progressive secular humanist” Michael Stone wrote on Patheos that Mrs. Trump committed an act of “Christofascism,” adding the “mail-order bride paid lip service to a God that does not exist.”

FYI:

In April 1967, Oliver Stone enlisted in the  United States Army and requested combat duty in Vietnam. From September 16, 1967 to April 1968, he served in Vietnam with 2nd Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry Division and was twice wounded in action.

He was then transferred to the First Cavalry Division participating in long range patrols before being transferred again to drive for a motorized infantry unit of the division until November 1968.

For his service, his military awards include the Bronze Star with "V" Device for heroism, the Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster to denote two awards, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Stone

Sorry, I took the quote from the Guardian.  Me bad. 

Now, what does Oliver Stones Vietnam service have to do with this? I have 6 of what he has and 4 were awarded to every one of us there.

Edited February 23, 2017 by 41chevy

[kscarbel2]

 

[Underdog]

So George W Bush kept his mouth shut for the last 8 years and now he's got a whole bunch of things to say. What does that tell you? Part of the establishment who feels threatened at this point.

[kscarbel2]

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[kscarbel2]

The story we're getting doesn't add up, on the surface of things. I suspect what actually happened is a different tale.

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“The contacts that our Russian ambassador was making and continues to make, I can say only one thing: Ambassadors are appointed to maintain relations with the host country,” says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “Relations are maintained.”

.

Russia's top diplomat at center of Trump controversy

Associated Press  /  March 2, 2017

The Trump administration's back-to-back controversies over its Russian ties now have at least one thing in common: Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Moscow's top diplomat in the U.S. has become the Kevin Bacon of the Trump White House's Russia imbroglio. A Washington fixture with a sprawling network, he has emerged as the central figure in the investigations into Trump advisers' connections with Russia.

In a matter of weeks, contact with Kislyak led to the firing of a top adviser to the president and, on Thursday, prompted calls for the attorney general to resign.

Separately, a White House official confirmed Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn met with Kislyak at TrumpTower in December for what the official called a brief courtesy meeting.

Flynn was pushed out of the White House last month after officials said he misled Vice President Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call.

At issue Thursday were two meetings between Sessions and Kislyak — one in July and another in September, at the height of concern over Russia's involvement in hacking of Democratic officials' emails accounts. Intelligence officials have since concluded Moscow ordered the hacks to tilt the election toward Trump. In his confirmation hearing, the Alabama Republican denied having contact with any Russian officials, neglecting to mention the meetings with Kislyak.

Although the White House dismissed the revelation as part of a political witch hunt, Sessions' former colleagues took the omission seriously. At the urging of some in his own party, Sessions recused himself from the Department of Justice's investigation. Still, Democrats called for him to step down.

Observers note Kislyak is a somewhat unlikely figure to cause controversy. Over the course of a long diplomatic career, he's led the life of a somewhat typical global envoy — making himself a reliable presence on the circuit of receptions, teas and forums that make up the calendar of any ambassador.

Kislyak, who was appointed to his post in 2008, is regularly spotted walking around town, heading to and from meetings. Early in his tenure, he often opened the doors of the Russian Embassy, hosting dinners for foreign policy professionals, Pentagon officials, journalists and Capitol Hill staffers.

Those who have attended the events describe him as a gracious and amiable diplomat, although perhaps not as polished — nor as confrontational — as his more famous boss, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In 2015, when Kislyak invited a group of Washington-based journalists, including one from the Associated Press, to the Russian Embassy for tea, he used the meeting to push warmer relations between the two nations — despite the conflict over Russia's seizure of Crimea and the crisis in Ukraine.

Kislyak framed U.S.-Russian relations as salvageable and hoped specifically to combat what he considered cartoonish, anti-Russian depictions of his government in the American press.

At a press conference where he recused himself from the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia, Sessions said he discussed a number of things with Kislyak, including counterterrorism. He said the meeting became confrontational when the discussion turned to Ukraine.

Kislyak, 66, has bounced between the United States and Russia for most of his long career.

His first foreign posting was to New York where he worked at the Soviet delegation at the United Nations in the early 1980s. He spent the following years as the first secretary and then councilor at the Soviet Embassy in Washington before returning to Moscow in 1989, where he took a succession of senior jobs at the Foreign Ministry.

He did a stint as Russian ambassador to Belgium and simultaneously served as Moscow's envoy at NATO. He then returned to Moscow to serve as a deputy foreign minister, overseeing relations with the United States and arms control issues before being sent to Washington.

Kislyak's contacts have sparked questions about his role or involvement in the hacking, questions that are difficult to answer.

The U.S. and Russia, along with many other countries, have made it a practice to separate their top diplomats from espionage activities, although it is not uncommon for an intelligence agent to operate under the cover of a senior-level diplomat. Foreign diplomats to the United States likely expect that their activities will be monitored by U.S. authorities in the same manner that American diplomats are monitored in countries like Russia.

Russian ambassadors most likely are aware of the intelligence agents operating under diplomatic cover, but are not believed to part of the security services themselves.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday ridiculed the claims of Kislyak's involvement in espionage as "total disinformation" and part of efforts to sway public opinion.

"I'll open a military secret for you: It's the diplomats' jobs to have contacts in the country they are posted to," she said sarcastically. "It's their obligation to meet with officials and members of the political establishment."

[Underdog]

Funny how the Democrat hypocrites accuse the Trump administration of doing the same things they are guilty of. Creating smoke where there is no fire. This same Russian ambassador apparently visited the Obama White House 22 times, and met with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, two of the loudest Trump critics. I agree with the Russian spokeswoman, it seems that Kislyak has merely been doing his job over the years.

[kscarbel2]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:55 AM, 41chevy said:

Sorry, I took the quote from the Guardian.  Me bad. 

Now, what does Oliver Stones Vietnam service have to do with this? I have 6 of what he has and 4 were awarded to every one of us there.

I don't know the man personally, but I agree with a lot of his thoughts shared on those videos. Some people here don't care for him, but I thought all deserved to know that he was a veteran, and a decorated one at that. I just thought to throw in that FYI about him.

Now changing gears a bit, did you read this? I'm just sharing. Whereas Stone walked into the Army recruiting office, enlisted and requested combat duty in Vietnam, it appears "suspect" that Trump, like many sons of wealthy and connected parents, was found a way out of it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html

Back in 1968, at the age of 22, Donald J. Trump seemed the picture of health.

He stood 6 feet 2 inches with an athletic build; had played football, tennis and squash; and was taking up golf. His medical history was unblemished, aside from a routine appendectomy when he was 10.

But after he graduated from college in the spring of 1968, making him eligible to be drafted and sent to Vietnam, he received a diagnosis that would change his path: bone spurs in his heels.

The diagnosis resulted in a coveted 1-Y medical deferment that fall, exempting him from military service as the United States was undertaking huge troop deployments to Southeast Asia, inducting about 300,000 men into the military that year.

The deferment was one of five Mr. Trump received during Vietnam. The others were for education.

[kscarbel2]

 

[BillyT]

I judge a man not by what he says but by what he does! Andrew Carnegie  As most of us know Carnegie was no saint! But I like that quote! My grandfather was born in 1887 and he said that the wagons carried the dead workers out of his steel mills on a daily basis! Some claim that he built all those Libraries out of guilt!

At least he BUILT the libraries! He came to America penniless from Edinburgh Scotland! Or was that Edinborough? Don't remember!

[41chevy]

On 3/5/2017 at 9:36 PM, kscarbel2 said:

I don't know the man personally, but I agree with a lot of his thoughts shared on those videos. Some people here don't care for him, but I thought all deserved to know that he was a veteran, and a decorated one at that. I just thought to throw in that FYI about him.

Now changing gears a bit, did you read this? I'm just sharing. Whereas Stone walked into the Army recruiting office, enlisted and requested combat duty in Vietnam, it appears "suspect" that Trump, like many sons of wealthy and connected parents, was found a way out of it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html

Back in 1968, at the age of 22, Donald J. Trump seemed the picture of health.

He stood 6 feet 2 inches with an athletic build; had played football, tennis and squash; and was taking up golf. His medical history was unblemished, aside from a routine appendectomy when he was 10.

But after he graduated from college in the spring of 1968, making him eligible to be drafted and sent to Vietnam, he received a diagnosis that would change his path: bone spurs in his heels.

The diagnosis resulted in a coveted 1-Y medical deferment that fall, exempting him from military service as the United States was undertaking huge troop deployments to Southeast Asia, inducting about 300,000 men into the military that year.

The deferment was one of five Mr. Trump received during Vietnam. The others were for education.

IMO the medals I got in service are except the CIB and Purple Hearts minor. The CIB is my most important award and those who got them EARNED THEM the hard way same as the Purple Hearts.  My opinion on what people consider a war hero is much different the most of you. The Medal of Honor recipients are hero's, ex POW's Like McCain and the wounded are  If you want to see true hero's go the any military cemetery,  they are the true hero's.

Right or wrong, it wasn't at all uncommon for college students to get a draft deferment during the Vietnam War. At that time there were about 15 million men who received deferments, were exempted, or disqualified for military service. .

Trump's avoiding the draft reads like most. Read Bill Clintons tale of avoiding the draft, it was raised to an art form.. From Snoop's  fact check.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/felon.asp

Vice President Dan Quayle provides an other example. He was able to join the Indiana National Guard as a Reservist; otherwise he would have risked the draft and Vietnam service. Bush did the same thing with the Texas ANG.

Mitt Romney deferred, Dick Cheney deferred, Rush Limbach deferred.       tps://www.documentcloud.org/documents/626968-military-classifications.html

Ted Nugent, Bill O’Reilly and even Selective Service System spokesman Pat Schuback who cited himself as an example. "I got a deferment because I was pursuing a college degree.

Even Joe Biden  received five student draft deferments during the Vietnam War, in fact The same number of deferments received by Dick Cheney. So whats the issue?

[kscarbel2]

Paul, now we're seeing travel ban 2.0 with a list of 6 Muslim countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iraq has now been omitted.

It is astounding to me that Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, the UAE and especially Saudi Arabia aren't on the list.

As written, the list is incomplete and as such ineffective for its alleged purpose.

Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt have no history in "training, harboring and exporting terrorists" ???

I'm a truck guy, not a national security expert. However, I think any ordinarily prudent individual seeking to ward off future terrorism would bear in mind recent history and include the countries whose citizens came to our country and committed terrorism. Their list would surely include Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

What are your thoughts?

Fast facts:

1. 15 of the 19 September 11 radical Islamist hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Which is to say, 2,369 Americans were killed on U.S. soil by Saudi citizens over the 1975-2015 period.

2. No Americans have been killed on U.S. soil by citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen over the 1975-2015 period.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

IIRC, Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt. He probably had to clear the list with Putin too...

[kscarbel2]

With all the talk of Russia................I noted this video yesterday, I believe from 2014. I personally found it interesting. As in business, I believe in directly hearing from the source their thoughts. If one continually rubs another person's face into the dirt, after a while, they rise up feeling as though they have nothing more to lose. Pride can be a powerful foe.

I still believe a global solution requires cooperation between the US with Russia.

.

 

[41chevy]

19 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Paul, now we're seeing travel ban 2.0 with a list of 6 Muslim countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iraq has now been omitted.

It is astounding to me that Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, the UAE and especially Saudi Arabia aren't on the list.

As written, the list is incomplete and as such ineffective for its alleged purpose.

Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt have no history in "training, harboring and exporting terrorists" ???

What are your thoughts?

Fast facts:

1. 15 of the 19 September 11 radical Islamist hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Which is to say, 2,369 Americans were killed on U.S. soil by Saudi citizens over the 1975-2015 period.

2. No Americans have been killed on U.S. soil by citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen over the 1975-2015 period.

 

Personally I feel any person coming here from any country should be "vetted", including all our "so called" allies.

Edited March 7, 2017 by 41chevy

[41chevy]

22 hours ago, TeamsterGrrrl said:

IIRC, Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt. He probably had to clear the list with Putin too...

I've heard that before about massive dealings in those countries, but never been able to see real proof. You have any links?

[kscarbel2]

4 hours ago, 41chevy said:

Personally I feel any person coming here from any country should be "vetted", including all our "so called" allies.

I agree Paul. But we've already been vetting would-be immigrants for years. Not too long ago, it took a year for my wife to obtain her immigrant visa, and subsequently "green card", as a result of the long time vetting process. How many terrorists come from Norway? And she has a U.S.-born citizen spouse.

So we've already been vetting. The only difference I see here is that it's almost impossible to vet these people. And if we can't confirm the background from problematic countries.................

Do you agree that the countries home to the terrorists who have killed Americans should also be on the list?

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, 41chevy said:

I've heard that before about massive dealings in those countries, but never been able to see real proof. You have any links?

"Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much."

Donald Trump

Campaign Rally - Mobile, Alabama - August 21, 2015

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/11/22/502864928/the-big-overlap-between-trumps-global-holdings-and-u-s-foreign-policy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/30/donald-trumps-already-complicated-relationship-with-saudi-arabia/

 

[41chevy]

7 minutes ago, kscarbel2 said:

I agree Paul. But we've already been vetting would-be immigrants for years. Not too long ago, it took a year for my wife to obtain her immigrant visa, and subsequently "green card", as a result of the long time vetting process. How many terrorists come from Norway? And she had a U.S.-born citizen spouse.

So we've already been vetting. The only difference I see here is that it's almost impossible to vet these people. And if we can't confirm the background from problematic countries.................

Do you agree that the countries home to the terrorists who have killed Americans should also be on the list?

Right at the top. Many countries have data files on most of their citizens which for example places like Norway, Briton it would be easier to do a basic back ground check, places like Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia and many Central and South American countries should have a closer more detailed check.

[kscarbel2]

6 minutes ago, 41chevy said:

Right at the top. Many countries have data files on most of their citizens which for example places like Norway, Briton it would be easier to do a basic back ground check, places like Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia and many Central and South American countries should have a closer more detailed check.

If it takes one year from date of application for the U.S. government to do a background check on a Norwegian citizen, how is it they can perform a 'thorough" background check on citizens from these six Muslim countries in three months?  (the period for which their immigration has been delayed)

[41chevy]

14 minutes ago, kscarbel2 said:

If it takes one year from date of application for the government to do a background check on a Norwegian citizen and issue an immigrant visa, how is it they can perform a background check on citizens from these six Muslim countries in three months?  (the period for which their immigration has been delayed)

It is time the archaic laws and procedures are brought  into the 21 century both with technology and consideration of basic threats. Basically we are still operating on the immediate  post WWII rules.

[grayhair]

1 hour ago, 41chevy said:

 

On 3/6/2017 at 5:14 PM, TeamsterGrrrl said:

IIRC, Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt. He probably had to clear the list with Putin too...

I've heard that before about massive dealings in those countries, but never been able to see real proof. You have any links?

 

A complicated Saudi / U.S. relationship, based on oil and money (duh!) predates the birth of Donald Trump.  I am not up to speed on the details but the portion of the history deemed suitable for sharing with us the underclass is available.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia–United_States_relations

Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia

https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0199741174

Rachel Bronson - 2008 - ‎Political Science

When Dulles returned to Washington, he cautioned Eisenhower that the ... Aramco's important hold on both U.S. and Saudi decisionmaking processes. Aramco ...

Edited March 7, 2017 by grayhair

[TeamsterGrrrl]

To give you an idea of the depth of the relationship, the Saudi royal family comes to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for their health care. For decades they're rented a suite year round at the prestigious Kahler Hotel near the clinic, and the Hotel's parking ramp has a section set aside for their security detail's vehicles.