Trump

[rstrong]

Trump's ghost-writer for The Art of the Deal is horrified at the thought of Trump as President, and hasn't been afraid to say so. Naturally, Trump is sending him ridiculous legal threats.

[O Really]

Keep in mind that the Bushes - and Cheney and pretty much everyone else in the Bush II presidency - were no-shows at the Republican convention in 2012. .

Being banished isn't quite the same as declining. But mainly I was referencing Jeb!, not so much the others, who are all obviously deceased in one way or another. C'mon, don't be picky - it's hard enough to say anything nice about them.

[GoCubsGo]

Yeeesh.....

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/21/12245562/d ... yptr=yahoo

Edit: Now I'm really scared.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/us/po ... .html?_r=0

[GoCubsGo]

Watched Trump walk onstage.

I'm officially living in Bizzaro world. It's fucking surreal.

[rstrong]

"This was probably one of the most peaceful, most beautiful, most love-filled conventions in the history of conventions."
- Donald Trump

[GoCubsGo]

Sums it up, myself, I felt queasy.

http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/st ... 2016/07/24

[Vrede too]

Yep.

[Seth Milner]

Shouldn't have watched it to begin with if he's not your candidate.
I didn't watch the Fluff Show, nor do I intend to watch the other Fluff Show.

[Vrede too]

George Harrison's Estate Blasts Use of 'Here Comes the Sun' at GOP Convention

... "If it had been 'Beware of Darkness,' we might have approved it!" the estate quipped in a follow-up Tweet.

The Trump campaign has had a turbulent history with musicians who have denounced the use of their songs during his campaign events.

The Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler, R.E.M, Queen, Adele, Elton John and Neil Young were just some of the artists to demand the campaign stop playing their music.

Trump has made a career out of benefiting from things he never paid for.

[Seth Milner]

Trump has made a career out of benefiting from things he never paid for.

As has many an average American. It's the American way.

[O Really]

I think it's a pretty hard argument to make that it is the "American Way" to routinely refuse to pay contractors, service providers, etc. and get by with it by filing harassing lawsuits. I don't think the "average American" has the opportunity to make commercial use of music without paying for it, although a lot will happily steal music on download. And I'm guessing that even Trump would be highly offended and insulted by your insinuation that the "average American" is anything like him.

[rstrong]

Most people want either an end to corruption or more opportunity to take part in it.

Reagan / Bush I knew this. And so their policy was to spend like a drunken sailor to the benefit of current (1980s) voters, and pass the bills to the next generation.

Trump knows it. Most Republican officials and candidates trashed him a few months ago but now support him, and not because he'll end corruption. He knew they'd rally around him because they want to take part in it.

The more demographics he directs hatred at (Mexicans, Muslims and Christian Arabs, native Americans, the disabled, Jews, Women...), the more white males get the sense that they'll benefit at those demographics' expense. "You'll get what you want, and we'll make them pay for it!"

[rstrong]

This Modern World's RNC Recap:

Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

[Vrede too]

I hadn't noticed "the oddly toilet-shaped stage."

[rstrong]

"I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization. Trump only takes two positions. Either you're a scummy loser, liar, whatever, or you're the greatest...A stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance."
- Art of the Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz

[rstrong]

Techdirt: Putin's Internet Trolls Are Stoking The Vitriolic Fire By Posing As Trump Supporters

Interesting read.

Update:

Trump today publicly urged Russia to cyber-invade the United States to find and publish the 30,000 hacked emails that have not been released.

He was asked by reporters if Russian President Vladimir Putin might favour a win for Trump. Trump, who has often praised Putin and promises to pull the US out of NATO, said "I don't know who Putin is".

Really.

[rstrong]

Another update:

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, has spent decades as a political adviser in eastern Europe. He worked closely with Putin-supported former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who was ousted from power in 2014.

Trump's foreign policy advisor Carter Page has "deep and continuing financial and employment ties" to Gazprom, Russia's trillion dollar energy company.

Mr. Trump no longer does business with many US banks. Instead he "has steadied and rebuilt his financial empire with a heavy reliance on capital from Russia" according to a lawsuit uncovered by the New York Times.

[Vrede too]

Just when the GOP had recovered a little bit from its convention mess thanks to Dem flubs, Trump goes and endorses treason. Wow.

[rstrong]

The response from Clinton camp: "This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."

[Vrede too]

He's about to start getting national security briefings. I guess that means that Putin will, too.