Is Trump doing a good job?

Other discussions not related to the Permanent Portfolio

Moderator: Global Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 14225
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: synagogue of Satan
Contact:

Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by dualstow » Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:48 pm

I didn’t want to put this in the “...Re-elected?” thread.

The new issue of Foreign Affairs is all about Trump’s mideast policies. Here are some excerpts from Martin Indyk’s essay, ‘Disaster in the Desert’:
The Trump administration likes to see itself as clear-eyed and tough-minded, a confronter of the hard truths others refuse to acknowledge. In fact, it understands so little about how the Middle East actually works that its bungling efforts have been a failure across the board. As so often in the past, the cynical locals are manipulating a clueless outsider, advancing their personal agendas at the naive Americans’ expense.

The Trump administration’s Middle East policies cannot possibly create a new, more stable regional order. But they will certainly do a good job of continuing the destruction of the old one, and risking all that it had gained. And this will fit neatly into Trump’s overall campaign to do away with the liberal international order in favor of the law of the jungle.
(paywalled)
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles ... ter-desert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Indyk
RIP Marcello Gandini
User avatar
vnatale
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 9422
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:56 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by vnatale » Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:14 pm

NOT doing a good job!

Which is easy to believe when you have the disastrous combination of being both unqualified and unwilling to be diligent at the job.

Vinny
dualstow wrote:
Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:48 pm
I didn’t want to put this in the “...Re-elected?” thread.

The new issue of Foreign Affairs is all about Trump’s mideast policies. Here are some excerpts from Martin Indyk’s essay, ‘Disaster in the Desert’:
The Trump administration likes to see itself as clear-eyed and tough-minded, a confronter of the hard truths others refuse to acknowledge. In fact, it understands so little about how the Middle East actually works that its bungling efforts have been a failure across the board. As so often in the past, the cynical locals are manipulating a clueless outsider, advancing their personal agendas at the naive Americans’ expense.

The Trump administration’s Middle East policies cannot possibly create a new, more stable regional order. But they will certainly do a good job of continuing the destruction of the old one, and risking all that it had gained. And this will fit neatly into Trump’s overall campaign to do away with the liberal international order in favor of the law of the jungle.
(paywalled)
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles ... ter-desert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Indyk
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
User avatar
ochotona
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 3353
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:54 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by ochotona » Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:42 pm

Not doing a good job

But Obama didn't do a good job

Bush W "Iraq has WMDs" kicking off never ending war, don't get me started

But at least they weren't neo-Nazi sympathizers
User avatar
vnatale
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 9422
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:56 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by vnatale » Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:44 pm

For the damage inflicted on the country the incumbent has still not even come CLOSE to the what Obama's predecessor did!

Vinny
ochotona wrote:
Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:42 pm
Not doing a good job

But Obama didn't do a good job

Bush W "Iraq has WMDs" kicking off never ending war, don't get me started

But at least they weren't neo-Nazi sympathizers
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
Libertarian666
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 5994
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by Libertarian666 » Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:45 pm

Yes.
boglerdude
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1313
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2016 1:40 am
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by boglerdude » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:35 am

Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:45 pm
Yes.
well, explain in detail
WiseOne
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 2692
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2022 11:08 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by WiseOne » Thu Oct 24, 2019 6:38 am

I'm not certain whether ISIS fell apart on its own, or if something related the Obama and Trump administration policies, or perhaps the Syrian government, had an effect. The lack of horrific terrorist actions in Europe for the past two years has been refreshing.

Wouldn't you count that as a positive development? If your yardstick is the creation of peaceful governments and productive societies, then I suspect you're setting up for major disappointment no matter who is in office.
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 14225
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: synagogue of Satan
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by dualstow » Thu Oct 24, 2019 6:53 am

I agree, WiseOne, that they seem to be relegated to soft targets in Europe lately. I hope it lasts.
RIP Marcello Gandini
User avatar
shekels
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 520
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:01 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by shekels » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:28 am

Is Trump doing a good job?

Good Job in what specifically or in General?

YES and NO is my answer.

The thing I like about Trump is he has taken a Very Bright Light and has shown that our Government/Media truly is CORRUPT..

Like it or not.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
User avatar
Maddy
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1694
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:43 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by Maddy » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:30 am

While acknowledging all of Libertarian666's points, Trump's accomplishments have included virtually nothing in the area of individual liberties or, for that matter, the defense of basic constitutional principles. His pursuit of strategic alliances between the government and Big Tech, and the accelerating roll-out of technologies designed to give goverrnment cradle-to-grave control over the lives of individual citizens, frankly alarms me. Although Trump appears to be the most benign of the options presently before us, I have not discounted the possibility that he's merely acting on behalf and for the benefit of a different faction of elites--one whose objective is to replace our traditional republican form of government with a pervasive global technocracy. [EDIT: I wasn't aware until recently that "technocracy" is a bona fide political philosophy that began to gain traction in the 1930s. It was, and is, based upon the premise that governance by the best and the brightest will always be superior to what can be achieved through a representative democracy. Notably, the idea of "the best and the brightest" has in recent years been supplanted by the idea of a society controlled by artificial intelligence and the melding AI with biological systems. . . .]

Also, it's distressing to me that we've heard absolutely nothing from Trump on the subject of FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
Last edited by Maddy on Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
drumminj
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 319
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:16 pm

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by drumminj » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:32 am

shekels wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:28 am
The thing I like about Trump is he has taken a Very Bright Light and has shown that our Government/Media truly is CORRUPT..
Agreed. His presidency is worthwhile for this alone.
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 14225
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: synagogue of Satan
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by dualstow » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:47 am

Very Bright Light
FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
RIP Marcello Gandini
User avatar
drumminj
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 319
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:16 pm

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by drumminj » Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:10 am

Maddy wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:30 am
Also, it's distressing to me that we've heard absolutely nothing from Trump on the subject of FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
I'm not sure if I'm this cynical or not, but does it really matter? Even if we have visibility to where the money is going, is the accountability there?

Don't get me wrong - I think transparency is important, but at this stage I'm not convinced it impacts the outcome in any way.
flyingpylon
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:04 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by flyingpylon » Thu Oct 24, 2019 11:33 am

This article in The Federalist makes some good points:

Why It’s Not Surprising Voters Don’t Think Trump’s Rhetoric Is Disqualifying
User avatar
Maddy
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1694
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:43 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by Maddy » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:31 pm

drumminj wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:10 am
Maddy wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:30 am
Also, it's distressing to me that we've heard absolutely nothing from Trump on the subject of FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
I'm not sure if I'm this cynical or not, but does it really matter? Even if we have visibility to where the money is going, is the accountability there?

Don't get me wrong - I think transparency is important, but at this stage I'm not convinced it impacts the outcome in any way.
How do you ever achieve accountability if the public isn't allowed to see what's going on? It seems likely that if the public knew where the $21 trillion missing from the DOD and HUD budgets went (see Professor Mark Skidmore's analysis on this), all hell would break loose on the DC establishment, as well as the putative back-door recipient(s) of those funds. In short, we'd finally know what's really going on and who owns the Congressional representatives who are supposed to be acting on the public's behalf.

And we could finally dispense with the crazy notion that Social Security is broke, as opposed to having been embezzled by its trustees.
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 14225
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: synagogue of Satan
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by dualstow » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:41 pm

drumminj wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:10 am
Maddy wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:30 am
Also, it's distressing to me that we've heard absolutely nothing from Trump on the subject of FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
I'm not sure if I'm this cynical or not, but does it really matter? Even if we have visibility to where the money is going, is the accountability there?

Don't get me wrong - I think transparency is important, but at this stage I'm not convinced it impacts the outcome in any way.
Not just important, but also 100% of what you said you liked about Trump (so far). It seems like a very selective love of transparency.
RIP Marcello Gandini
User avatar
moda0306
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 7680
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:05 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by moda0306 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:42 pm

Libertarian666 wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:46 am
boglerdude wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:35 am
Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:45 pm
Yes.
well, explain in detail
Here's a brief summary:

The most significant thing about Trump that is very different from any other US President in my lifetime is that he has been faced with the following since the day he has been elected, all of which are still ongoing:

1. A coup attempt by the Deep State, the existence of which is now acknowledged even by the New York Times
2. Nonstop 24/7 attacks by the "mainstream media"
3. A completely unconstitutional fake "impeachment inquiry" that affords him none of the rights that the Republicans afforded Clinton and that the Democrats afforded Nixon
4. Obstruction by the Democrat-controlled House, even on legislation that they said they were going to pass (USMCA, for example)

And yet he has still accomplished quite a bit of what he promised his supporters when he ran for election in 2016, including but not limited to the following:

1. Reducing our involvement in overseas wars
2. Reducing red tape to make it easier to operate a business
3. Reducing tensions in Asia (North Korea)
4. Prison reform (The First Step Act)
5. Nominating originalist federal judges
6. The lowest unemployment rate among all minorities since records have been kept

I think with this record and the Democrats' complete lack of achievements during their tenure as the majority in the House, he will be re-elected in a landslide of epic proportions.
A couple questions for you...

How is the impeachment inquiry "completely unconstitutional?"

What would you consider a "landslide of epic proportions," electorally?
PP67
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 188
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:19 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by PP67 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:00 pm

A tad of a tangent but addresses some the drainage issues in DC that some might think Trump is threatening....

Here's Why 97% Of Congress Get Re-Elected Each Year

It’s called an incumbent protection system. Taxpayers have a right to know how it works.

Recently, our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com, mashed up the federal checkbook with the congressional campaign donor database (source: OpenSecrets.org). We found powerful members of Congress soliciting campaign donations from federal contractors based in their districts.

We followed the money and found a culture of conflict-of-interest. The confluence of federal money, campaign cash, private employment, investments, prestigious committee appointments, political power, nepotism, and other conflicts are a fact pattern.

Furthermore, members of Congress own investment stock in, are employed by, and receive retirement pensions from federal contractors to whom they direct billions of taxpayer dollars.

Moreover, members sponsor legislation that affects these contractors. The contractor’s lobbyists then advocate for the legislation that helps the member and the contractor. Oftentimes, the contractor’s lobbyist also donates campaign cash to the member.

Read more here:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/her ... -each-year
User avatar
Maddy
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1694
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:43 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by Maddy » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:01 pm

moda0306 wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:42 pm
How is the impeachment inquiry "completely unconstitutional?"
I could write volumes on this, but with only four or five more hours of sunshine and a long list of winterization projects, I'll provide just a quick overview: The impeachment inquiry began with and was pursued for nearly two years by virtue of a FISA warrant, issued by a secret court, and based from beginning to end on fabricated evidence created out of whole cloth by the political opposition. That fact alone should strike terror in the hearts of every citizen that values his or her own Sixth Amendment liberties.

And let's not forget about the boatload of Fourth Amendment violations that were visited upon Trump as the result of unlawful surveillance by both foreign and domestic intelligence assets, as well as White House insiders, at the behest of the political opposition both before and after the election. These clearly unlawful Fourth Amendment violations did not stop with Trump, but were also visited upon his family and business associates, leading to a number of egregiously unconstitutional prosecutions ("fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine) entirely unrelated to the impeachment effort. Even the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege--a bedrock procedural right emanating from the Constitutional guarantee to freedom from self-incrimination--was thrown by the wayside as we watched an attorney's office be ransacked for evidence relating to what would turn out to be an entirely fabricated charge.

But that was just the beginning. . . When the fraud was discovered, the political opposition in Congress (each individual member of which was sworn to uphold the Constitution) persisted with the discredited narrative in an obvious attempt to give it a life of its own. This amounted to flat-out fraud upon the American public. When that narrative could no longer be repeated with a straight face, the opposition created a new one--AGAIN based upon fabricated evidence that was promptly revealed for what it was. And within a few weeks, yet a THIRD bogus charge surfaced, this time from an unnamed "whistleblower" who, big surprise, was from within the political opposition itself. More Sixth Amendment issues regarding the right to confront one's accuser.

What to do? Unable to come up with any cognizable evidence to support their preordained, yet still unarticulated, charge of impeachable conduct, the political opposition then resorted to secret hearings!

It's been years, now, that we've been waiting for the proponents of impeachment to come forward with evidence--or even a charge that sticks. The adage, "Give me the man, and I'll find you a crime" couldn't be more fitting. They're intent upon finding something--anything--in Trump's past, present, or future that might lead to something they can grab a hold of. Meanwhile, the political opposition continues to insist that the burden of proof is upon Trump to prove his innocence--a turning on its head of one of the most fundamental principles of justice and a clear infringement of the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process.

At some point, it becomes clear (and I think we're long past that point) that from the beginning this has been nothing more than an attempt to unseat a duly-elected president. And at that point, we're talking not only "unconstitutional," but flatly seditious.
Last edited by Maddy on Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:11 pm, edited 15 times in total.
User avatar
shekels
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 520
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:01 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by shekels » Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:01 pm

dualstow wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:47 am
Very Bright Light
FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
Did the American People really know what the Money was spent on Before it went dark?
My guess is there is a lot of Fudging of numbers going on before.
Also the other question I have is the Classified portion still accounted for?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
User avatar
Maddy
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1694
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:43 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by Maddy » Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:16 pm

shekels wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:01 pm
dualstow wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:47 am
Very Bright Light
FASAB 56, which effectively took all of the government's accounting records dark.
Did the American People really know what the Money was spent on Before it went dark?
Probably not, but accounting statements were required and could be obtained by anyone who asked for them. Not so anymore.

There are some interesting commentaries by Catherine Austin Fitts on this subject. She was the Assistant Secretary of HUD during the Bush I administration and a former Wall Street investment banker. She relates how one of her first tasks was to get a handle on the workings of the financially troubled agency, and when she asked for the financials, she was flat-out denied access to them. She now regards HUD as a massive money-laundering operation and speculates that money is being created out of thin air and shuttled out the back door to non-governmental entities for projects that the government wishes to be kept off the radar screen.
Last edited by Maddy on Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
shekels
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 520
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:01 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by shekels » Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:26 pm

Maddy wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:01 pm
moda0306 wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:42 pm
How is the impeachment inquiry "completely unconstitutional?"
I could write volumes on this, but with only four or five more hours of sunshine and a long list of winterization projects, I'll provide just one glaring example: The impeachment inquiry began with and was pursued for nearly two years by virtue of a FISA warrant, issued by a secret court, that was based from beginning to end on fabricated evidence created out of whole cloth by the political opposition. That fact alone should strike terror in the hearts of every citizen that values his or her own Sixth Amendment liberties.
Is it really an " Impeachment Inquiry" or a Impeachment Sham?
When the House Holds A Vote on Impeachment then I will consider it an Impeachment Inquiry.
Pelosi has not allowed a House Vote on Impeachment.
Nancy has been dragging her feet and allowing closed door committee hearings.
The Public has been cut out of the process.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
User avatar
shekels
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 520
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:01 am

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by shekels » Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:35 pm

Maddy wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:16 pm
shekels wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:01 pm
dualstow wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:47 am

Did the American People really know what the Money was spent on Before it went dark?
Probably not, but accounting statements were required and could be obtained by anyone who asked for them. Not so anymore.

There are some interesting commentaries by Catherine Austin Fitts on this subject. She was the Assistant Secretary of HUD during the Bush I administration and a former Wall Street investment banker. She relates how one of her first tasks was to get a handle on the workings of the financially troubled agency, and when she asked for the financials, she was flat-out denied access to them. She now regards HUD as a massive money-laundering operation and speculates that money is being created out of thin air and shuttled out the back door to non-governmental entities for projects that the government wishes to be kept off the radar screen.
Money seems to be created out of thin air at the Fed also, it has been Corrupt.
So who can you vote for that is going to change the Corrupt way Washington operates? ???
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
stuper1
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1365
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 7:18 pm

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by stuper1 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:07 pm

Here's a corollary question: is Trump doing a better job than Hillary would have? I would say yes. She probably would have had us into 10 more wars by now.

Here's a more relevant corollary question: will Trump do a better job than Warren/Biden/Sanders? Again I would say yes, because he will keep the government smaller than any of those people would. I couldn't care less how many times a day he tweets, or whatever ridiculous hyperbolic statements he makes when he does tweet.
User avatar
dualstow
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 14225
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
Location: synagogue of Satan
Contact:

Re: Is Trump doing a good job?

Post by dualstow » Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:44 pm

stuper1 wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:07 pm
Here's a corollary question: is Trump doing a better job than Hillary would have? I would say yes. She probably would have had us into 10 more wars by now.
Very possibly.
Here's a more relevant corollary question: will Trump do a better job than Warren/Biden/Sanders? Again I would say yes, because he will keep the government smaller than any of those people would.
Quite possibly, he could be less worse. O0
I couldn't care less how many times a day he tweets, or whatever ridiculous hyperbolic statements he makes when he does tweet.
I wouldn't say your comment above is a strawman, but it's precisely why I included the Foreign Affairs quote at the beginning of this thread. Verbal bombast aside, I wanted a quote from an expert who can illustrate how badly Trump is f'ing up.

Well, that's just the middle east, one might say. Trump is doing well for Americans.
Could be, could be. I approve of what he's doing with China.

That's why I want to hear what you all think of his record thus far. Not his tweets, but his actions. Does it matter to you that he doesn't want to give up his tax returns? How is he doing re:immigration to to the U.S.? Pulling out of Syria? And so on.
RIP Marcello Gandini
Post Reply