Straight Dope Message Board

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Vinyl Turnip

This article from Trump's former VA secretary gives a vivid picture of what it's like trying to have a conversation with the man, and that was before he even took office. Trying to talk to him now— especially to refuse an order, to offer even mild criticism, or tell him anything he doesn't want to hear— must be an impossible task.

'kin'ell.

How would he even know that you've told him something he doesn't want to hear? Both sides of the conversation are taking place at the same time in his own head. Orange buffoon should be in a full mental straight jacket. 7151

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by enipla

I heard an interview of a Turkish diplomat this morning on NPR (didn't catch her title, some sort of envoy or something). Anyway, when asked what the Turkey thought of the letter she said "We ignored it. It lacked a certain diplomatic finesse."

Another award for understatement of the year.

The fact that this was said publicly is actually a very big statement. 7152

[Monty]

Originally Posted by AK84

Guy destroyed his country.
So, Trump should win an unexpected reelection, dismiss Pence , replace him with Gina Haspel and then resign.
President Haspel.

That jackass Trump very well may think he has the authority to do so, but nope. He cannot dismiss the vice president. 7153

[Euphonious Polemic]

Originally Posted by Monty

That jackass Trump very well may think he has the authority to do so, but nope. He cannot dismiss the vice president.

He'll just tweet one morning that he has fired Pence.

Moscow Mitch will fall right in line, as will the rest of the spineless toads that form the scummy remnants of the Republican Party.

Pence will then dutifully quit, as his master has ordered him to.

Job Done. 7154

[AK84]

Or just dump him from the ticket. 7155

[Ukulele Ike]

Looks like the Trumpster is going to hold the next G7 summit at his bedbug palace in South Florida.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/g7-su...b034f1d69f0703

Is anyone going to stand up to this and just say “no?” 7156

[running coach]

Originally Posted by Ukulele Ike

Looks like the Trumpster is going to hold the next G7 summit at his bedbug palace in South Florida.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/g7-su...b034f1d69f0703

Is anyone going to stand up to this and just say “no?”

No. 7157

[Euphonious Polemic]

Originally Posted by Ukulele Ike

Looks like the Trumpster is going to hold the next G7 summit at his bedbug palace in South Florida.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/g7-su...b034f1d69f0703

Is anyone going to stand up to this and just say “no?”

Moscow Mitch will say

"Thank you sir! May I have another!"

I'm waiting for Trump to demand tribute from his people. There will be a special day where everyone will file past the local Trump Statue, and pile up "gifts" for Dear Leader. 7158

[Swampwolf]

Originally Posted by Euphonious Polemic

It's just openly corrupt now.

We've reached the phase of "So what, fuck you, I'll do whatever I want."

Well, shit. President Cartman. 7159

[bobot]

Originally Posted by Ukulele Ike

Looks like the Trumpster is going to hold the next G7 summit at his bedbug palace in South Florida.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/g7-su...b034f1d69f0703

Is anyone going to stand up to this and just say “no?”

Mulvaney implied in his press conference today that this was nothing because Trump's brand is strong.
Apparently meaning that sure, Trump will make money from this, but golly, that guy's got so much money already that this is small potatoes.
(If he meant anything else, he didn't feel like stating so.) 7160

[Nava]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Orange buffoon should be in a full mental straight jacket.

I'd initially read "full metal straight jacket". 7161

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by bobot

Mulvaney implied in his press conference today that this was nothing because Trump's brand is strong.
Apparently meaning that sure, Trump will make money from this, but golly, that guy's got so much money already that this is small potatoes.
(If he meant anything else, he didn't feel like stating so.)

He means that Trump's brand is strong with the MAGAcult. It's understood by Trump acolytes. 7162

[Rick Kitchen]

I heard something about Individual 1 planning on inviting Putin to the G7 at Doral, despite the other members having voted to kick them out. 7163

[k9bfriender]

Originally Posted by Rick Kitchen

I heard something about Individual 1 planning on inviting Putin to the G7 at Doral, despite the other members having voted to kick them out.

It was Melania's idea to have FPT take Vlad as his plus one. 7164

[don't mind me]

Originally Posted by JRDelirious

Yeah, say what you will of ol’ Boris he was no coward.
He did let the country go to pot and opened the way for Putin, though. So indeed, the fear is that after orangefool, THEN will come an actually competent strongman and then we will be really screwed.

Who does the bolded pronoun refer to? 7165

[robby]

Originally Posted by don't mind me

Who does the bolded pronoun refer to?

I assume JRDelirious is referring to Boris Yeltsin. 7166

[JRDelirious]

Originally Posted by robby

I assume JRDelirious is referring to Boris Yeltsin.

Correct 7167

[Kobal2]

Originally Posted by Nava

I'd initially read "full metal straight jacket".

I think they call those iron maidens, but I'm all for it. 7168

[cutman74]

Excellent! 7169

[nearwildheaven]

"How much can I gaslight the American public? This much!"

7170

[BobLibDem]

Con men just can't resist the temptation of an easy mark. He saw a pile of cash that he could have just with a wave of the hand so of course he's going to take it. I'd love for the world leaders to stay at the closest hotel and Uber in every day. 7171

[Elendil's Heir]

Trump insults his own former SECDEF, who pushes back and quotes Lincoln into the bargain: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/77120...he-battlefield 7172

[Euphonious Polemic]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

Trump insults his own former SECDEF, who pushes back and quotes Lincoln into the bargain: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/77120...he-battlefield

There are some great burns in that speech. And some good serious lines apart from the jokes:

He warned of

"corrosion from within – the rot, the viciousness, the lassitude, the ignorance."

"Anarchy is one potential consequence of all this. The other is the rise of an ambitious leader, unfettered by conscience, or precedent or decency, who would make himself supreme,"

7173

[bobot]

Trump has a call with NASA astronauts and can't be bothered to understand the one single aspect of the latest spacewalk that makes it historic:

“This is the first time for a woman outside of the space station,” Trump said.
He later added: “You are amazing people; they’re conducting the first ever female spacewalk to replace an exterior part of the space station. They’re doing some work, and they’re doing it in a very high altitude — an altitude that very few people will ever see.”
In her response, Meir made it clear that they were building on the work of many previous women who had spacewalked before them. “We don’t want to take too much credit because there have been many other female spacewalkers before,” Meir said. “This is the first time that there’s been two women outside at the same time.”

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/18/...ce-station-iss 7174

[Skypist]

Is it called “altitude” if it’s outside earth’s atmosphere, IOW in space? 7175

[bobot]

Hey, they were "in" a high altitude, OK? 7176

[ThelmaLou]

Originally Posted by bobot

Hey, they were "in" a high altitude, OK?

Yeah, but not as tall as Trump Tower, amirite? 7177

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by k9bfriender

It was Melania's idea to have FPT take Vlad as his plus one.

As long as Vlad sleeps with Donnie instead of her, she's good. 7178

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by bobot

Trump has a call with NASA astronauts and can't be bothered to understand the one single aspect of the latest spacewalk that makes it historic:

“This is the first time for a woman outside of the space station,” Trump said.
He later added: “You are amazing people; they’re conducting the first ever female spacewalk to replace an exterior part of the space station. They’re doing some work, and they’re doing it in a very high altitude — an altitude that very few people will ever see.”
In her response, Meir made it clear that they were building on the work of many previous women who had spacewalked before them. “We don’t want to take too much credit because there have been many other female spacewalkers before,” Meir said. “This is the first time that there’s been two women outside at the same time.”

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/18/...ce-station-iss

The story doesn't end there: after the woman stated the facts Trump had misstated, Trump apparently flipped her off:

When gently corrected by one of the astronauts about how other women have spacewalked, Trump uses his middle finger to "fix" his hair.

You can see him glance to the side with a 'can you believe this ____?' sort of expression.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c48235...men-astronauts

Note that this is C-SPAN (not the most lefty of sites). 7179

[Ukulele Ike]

“Stoopid broad, amirite?” 7180

[asahi]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

The story doesn't end there: after the woman stated the facts Trump had misstated, Trump apparently flipped her off:



You can see him glance to the side with a 'can you believe this ____?' sort of expression.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c48235...men-astronauts

Note that this is C-SPAN (not the most lefty of sites).

C-SPAN is absurdly neutral as well (hardly left, as you point out), which makes me wonder if there's an intern having some fun with the title. 7181

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by Ukulele Ike

“Stoopid broad, amirite?”

That's exactly what it looked like.

And the 'middle finger hair-fix' was something that only a particularly-slow fifth-grader would think was a smooth move. 7182

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by asahi

C-SPAN is absurdly neutral as well (hardly left, as you point out), which makes me wonder if there's an intern having some fun with the title.

Apparently the site has a lot of pages that are sort of YouTube-like: created by users. The disclaimer doesn't stand out, but it's there:

This clip, title, and description were not created by C-SPAN.

I've watched the channels more than I've looked at the site; it came up first when I input my search terms, so, there it is. 7183

[Siam Sam]

Originally Posted by Euphonious Polemic

It's just openly corrupt now.

We've reached the phase of "So what, fuck you, I'll do whatever I want."

"Get over it." 7184

[asahi]

Originally Posted by Siam Sam

"Get over it."

It's very much what Putin and other authoritarians do.

"Mr. President, that's a lie."

"Everyone lies - truth is impossible to ascertain."

This country is very near its end. It just doesn't know it yet. 7185

[BobLibDem]

Originally Posted by asahi

It's very much what Putin and other authoritarians do.

"Mr. President, that's a lie."

"Everyone lies - truth is impossible to ascertain."

This country is very near its end. It just doesn't know it yet.

I'll see that and raise you. The Russians are now winning the Cold War. About 30% of Americans are in a Kim-like personality cult and are perfectly fine with an authoritarian president, as long as he hates the same people they do. If this bozo gets re-elected, the US and Turkey will drop out of NATO and Putin will have free reign to rebuild the USSR. In the US itself, Republicans will formally replace the Constitution and make the US a one-party state. 7186

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

The story doesn't end there: after the woman stated the facts Trump had misstated, Trump apparently flipped her off:



You can see him glance to the side with a 'can you believe this ____?' sort of expression.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c48235...men-astronauts

Note that this is C-SPAN (not the most lefty of sites).

I hope he dies a slow and painful death. Forgotten. Broke. Broken. In prison. But not before he learns that people will stand in line to piss on his grave. 7187

[raventhief]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

The story doesn't end there: after the woman stated the facts Trump had misstated, Trump apparently flipped her off:



You can see him glance to the side with a 'can you believe this ____?' sort of expression.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c48235...men-astronauts

Note that this is C-SPAN (not the most lefty of sites).

How dare that female correct him! 7188

[Ukulele Ike]

She’s not even all that hot...three, a four maybe. Trump wouldn’t even bother to walk in on her while she was changing spacesuits. 7189

[enipla]

Originally Posted by Ukulele Ike

She’s not even all that hot...three, a four maybe. Trump wouldn’t even bother to walk in on her while she was changing spacesuits.

I assume that you're being facetious, or talking in Trumps voice.

Anyway, this should be the recommended dress for any woman meeting with Trump. And yes I am being facetious. No doubt she would not need that space suit to kick dumb asses ass. 7190

[kaylasdad99]

Originally Posted by BobLibDem

I'll see that and raise you. The Russians are now winning the Cold War. About 30% of Americans are in a Kim-like personality cult and are perfectly fine with an authoritarian president, as long as he hates the same people they do. If this bozo gets re-elected, the US and Turkey will drop out of NATO and Putin will have free reign to rebuild the USSR. In the US itself, Republicans will formally replace the Constitution and make the US a one-party state.

“Rein.” Free REIN.

That is all. 7191

[commasense]

Originally Posted by kaylasdad99

“Rein.” Free REIN.

That is all.

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

How would he even know that you've told him something he doesn't want to hear? Both sides of the conversation are taking place at the same time in his own head. Orange buffoon should be in a full mental straight jacket.

While we're at it, it's strait-jacket (and strait-laced), not straight. Strait meaning "narrow" (as in the Bering Straits) or "tight," as opposed to straight, "not crooked." 7192

[Monty]

Trump's latest blatherings to a foreign leader, in this case the president of Italy. Hell, I bet you could write some of this shit yourself know what you know about the shithead Trump.

• Cultural ties between Italy and the United States thousands of years to ancient Rome.
• Syrians have a lot of sand they can play with.

and the clincher:

• “How come the FBI never got the server? I’d like to see the server.”

"Cry, the Beloved Country" is all I can say. "Cry, the Beloved Country." 7193

[ThelmaLou]

Originally Posted by Monty

Trump's latest blatherings to a foreign leader, in this case the president of Italy. Hell, I bet you could write some of this shit yourself know what you know about the shithead Trump.

• Cultural ties between Italy and the United States thousands of years to ancient Rome.
• Syrians have a lot of sand they can play with.

and the clincher:

• “How come the FBI never got the server? I’d like to see the server.”

"Cry, the Beloved Country" is all I can say. "Cry, the Beloved Country."

FPT* thinks the USA is THOUSANDS of years old?? Oh my. 7194

[enipla]

Originally Posted by ThelmaLou

FPT* thinks the USA is THOUSANDS of years old?? Oh my.

Well, he thinks there where airports during the Revolutionary war. Maybe this fits that timeline?

From a 4th of July speech -

“Our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory,” 7195

[wguy123]

Originally Posted by ThelmaLou

FPT* thinks the USA is THOUSANDS of years old?? Oh my.

Italy was a strong ally and helped us take back our airports from the filthy British in the 1770s.

ETA: DOH! enipla and I think alike. I should refresh before posting since I open a dozen threads at once. 7196

[jsc1953]

Originally Posted by ThelmaLou

FPT* thinks the USA is THOUSANDS of years old?? Oh my.

[raises hand] Excuse me...I speak Trump.

He was trying to say that Italy and the United States share a common heritage of government and jurisprudence that dates back to ancient Rome. But the thought went into his pea brain, whirled around with images of golf and boobs and hamberders and came out a garbled mess. 7197

[wguy123]

Originally Posted by jsc1953

But the thought went into his pea brain, whirled around with images of golf and boobs and hamberders and came out a garbled mess.

That's the Merriam-Webster definition of Covfefe. 7198

[bobot]

(Can't quote Monty)
"Cultural ties between Italy and the United States thousands of years to ancient Rome."

If this was said by anyone but the thought deprived buffoon, I might give a little credit and assume that the subject of conversation was Bob Dylan who obviously was born thousands of years ago in Rome. 7199

[Maus Magill]

Originally Posted by jsc1953

[raises hand] Excuse me...I speak Trump.

He was trying to say that Italy and the United States share a common heritage of government and jurisprudence that dates back to ancient Rome. But the thought went into his pea brain, whirled around with images of golf and boobs and hamberders and came out a garbled mess.

This. It's just a garbled mess like Obama's 57 states flub.

Unfortunately, this sort of garbled mess issues forth nearly every day. 7200