# Hello Universe? Can we get some better Trump defenders on this board? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 31, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663 "2019-12-31T13:08:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/421 "2020-01-10T20:59:23Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > And apparently that’s all you need to provide a full-throated defense of Trump, and you think the liberals are only doing this because we hate Trump reflexively. Where do I say this? > [@](#): > > I’m a moderate liberal, a real one, not a Republican playing one on a message board. And although I wasn’t happy when Trump was elected, I had a glimmer of hope because he was not an ideological conservative and he was not a fiscal conservative. I thought that maybe, just maybe, Trump would take advantage of the plethora of information and wealth of advisors available to him and maybe be open to some unique non-partisan initiatives on things like healthcare and infrastructure. > > My problem with Trump isn’t that he’s orange. It’s isn’t his laughably unnatural hair. It isn’t his crudeness or professed sexual attraction to his daughter. It isn’t even his horrible policy position on immigration, pretty much every politician has one policy position that I find horrible. It’s that he isn’t smart enough or skilled enough to do his job. > > He is completely and totally incurious. Is has a total disregard for the power of information, especially in the setting of a negotiation. He thinks he knows more than every single one of our governments carefully vetted battalion of experts. He has absolutely no capacity of considered thought or self-reflection. He cannot comprehend complex issues and refuses to try. > > As someone that had a career where I did lots of negotiating, his lack of negotiating skills are laughable. Information is THE weapon in any negotiation, the person that has the best and most complete information will find and maintain an edge. And it was both sad and funny the way he had to try to break up every existing alliance so he could “make deals” individually with each country. Because he is a rank novice at negotiation\*, and has not learned the more complex skill of negotiating a multi-party deal, a skill that is needed for the job he has. And he hasn’t comprehended that this job is different because, unlike with his previous job, he doesn’t have the option of walking away. > > \*He probably THINKS he was the great negotiator of the Trump Organization. But I’m pretty sure that his underlings had every deal fully worked out before they even brought DJT into the room with the client and contract and even then they sweated bullets praying that he wouldn’t fuck it up in the 5 minutes they gave him to play at dealmaking, I’m not sure where you think we disagree. I actually have a huge problem with his immigration policy but I’ve noticed it doesn’t bother white people as much as it does others. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/422 "2020-01-10T21:00:27Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’m starting to become convinced that you’re actually fucking stupid and not just playing the part. > > Nobody is saying it can’t get worse than Trump. What people are saying is that, _in the current Democratic field of candidates_, everybody is better than Trump. So those who suggest otherwise are exercising bad judgement. Oh I thought we were talking about Der Trihs. Oh wait. We were. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/423 "2020-01-10T21:01:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Again: defend him compared to whom? > > As soon as the Dems put up a nominee, I plan to explain whether I expect to vote for Trump; I’m only ‘declining’ to do so now because I don’t yet know if he’ll be running against someone I figure would be worse for the country. Heh, even Wiliamson/Gabbard/Delaney I’d vote for (ETA: if I was a yank) in a heartbeat over Trump. Considering they’ll soon be vapourized, though, is there someone in the Biden/Sanders/Warren/Buttigieg camp whom you’d feel would be an inferior chief executive to Prez. Pez? > [@cmosdes](#): > > b) Any other questions about whether or not he might be right once in a while are immediately met with accusations. What do you feel he’s right about? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/424 "2020-01-10T21:04:03Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > All the evidence provided has not been exculpatory. It, in fact, has been damning. > > His guilt has been established through direct testimony, including his own via press statements, tweets, more. > > You saying that he hasn’t established his guilt is purely untrue. He established it in the call, he established it on the ‘transcript’, he established it on TV, he established it on the seas and oceans when he sent Barr & Giuliani on their fishing expeditions, he established it on the beaches of Mar-A-Lago, he established it with growing confidence and strength on the landing grounds of the White House helipad when he asked China to do the same, he has established it in the fields of the Rose Garden and the streets of DC, he has established it in the hills of Appalachia, and he will never surrender establishing that he was using foreign governments to look for political dirt and investigations on Hunter Biden. OK so what do you think has been “established” Because right now it seems like you’ve got a lot of things that look really bad but no conclusive proof of wrongdoing. Sure there is plenty of evidence of wrongdoing but before you ask a republican to remove their own president, you need more than what it would take to convince chuck schumer. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/425 "2020-01-10T21:05:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > This. > > IF it can get worse than the America-hating fuckstick, it’s going to take a Republican to accomplish it. > > Which is why the world needs for the Republican Party to no longer exist. They would be replaced by the conservative party or whatever. The republican party represents american voters. Some of them are voting against the democrats as much as they are voting for the republicans ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/426 "2020-01-10T21:11:52Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Oh I thought we were talking about Der Trihs. > > Oh wait. We were. Like fuck we were. This is what I responded to, fully quoted: > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Everybody always thinks that it can’t get any worse. > > That’s what we thought after Bush. And now it looks like Trump might also be itching to break Bush “most civilians needlessly killed” record for this millennium. YOU were talking about Bush. Not, Der Trihs. You know perfectly well the comment made about Der Trihs was made in a derisive jest. That’s why you chose to ignore it in your reply. Until now. When it serves you as a weasel exit. You really are fucking stupid if you thought you could get away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/427 "2020-01-10T21:13:21Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > I completely agree with this post. But it doesn’t go far enough in expressing just how much vitriol is inflicted on people who aren’t even defending \. Just asking questions, any questions, will make it happen. The vile that is spewed against anyone who doesn’t immediately chant the local party lines are shouted down very, very quickly. > > If people wonder why counter opinions aren’t proffered they are not paying attention to what has happened to this board. You should stay out of the pit. Great debates still has reasonably good behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/428 "2020-01-10T21:14:39Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > It’s called a “single issue second-amendment voter” > > 😛 LOL I have never voted for a republican over gun issues. I haven’t voted republican for any state or federal office this millenium. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/429 "2020-01-10T21:16:08Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > These are almost my exact political beliefs. What is this called these days? I know that the loudest mouths in the political sphere are usually the dumb ones, but I can’t help but think that everyone is going way too far on whatever side they are on and trying to normalize it. I don’t feel left or right anymore. We should start a club. It would be a very boring club. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/430 "2020-01-10T21:22:52Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/431 "2020-01-10T21:46:38Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > What is your opinion about the rw trolling that we are trying to manage reasonably here? If you won’t acknowledge the context wherein liberals here scoff at certain posts as disingenuous, then you are just pushing more propaganda and trying to move the needle. You would like trumpy defenses to go unchallenged? Telling me to fuck off and calling me names is not really challenging my positions > [@](#): > > There is nothing about the OP that says you will not get challenged in being that trump defender. But even further: when you play firefly and keep blinking on and off about defending the guy and saying you don’t like him or support him, and then get pissed off when people identify you with trump policies or abuses in defending them…I think you are being unrealistic. Some of the things he does are defensible, some are not. My rule of thumb is that anything that Trump does that Mitt Romney or John McCain might have done is defensible. If you don’t like those things then try winning an election. The 2 main problems I have with trump are: 1. He is embarassing on global scale (literally). Other world leaders openly mock him at social gatherings. We will never live this down. We have put Trump in the same historical basket as men such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 2. He is a racist and white supremacist. Between his birtherism, his immigration policies, his reluctance to condemn neo-nazis, and his racist comments and tweets, he is unacceptably racist. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/432 "2020-01-10T21:51:38Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Show me where I supported Trump. You defended me and that’s almost as bad. Move on and save yourself, I’m lost. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/433 "2020-01-10T21:54:31Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Like fuck we were. This is what I responded to, fully quoted: > > YOU were talking about Bush. Not, Der Trihs. You know perfectly well the comment made about Der Trihs was made in a derisive jest. That’s why you chose to ignore it in your reply. Until now. When it serves you as a weasel exit. > > You really are fucking stupid if you thought you could get away with it. And here is what I was responding to. You’ve always been a stupid fuck but until now you haven’t really struck me as a disingenuous stupid fuck. Well, live and learn I guess. “The Dems could run Der Trihs and I’d still tell you that you were making a bad error in judgment even considering voting for Donald.” ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/434 "2020-01-10T22:01:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are doing it whenever you bitch about how we don’t support bad debaters as much as we support good debaters. Shit doesn’t not deserve equal treatment with shinola. You know what. I’m fucking done here. Have fun jerking each other off. You are attacking a poster merely for expressing disgust at how you and people like you have dragged this once useful forum into an strictly enforced echo chamber. they are not even disagreeing with any of your positions only your behavior (which has been pretty fucking deplorable). We agree on more things than we disagree; but I am ashamed that you are on the same side of the ideological fence as me because of how you treat people. People whose opinions only slightly differ from yours. You ought to be ashamed of yourself and what you and people like you have done to this site. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/435 "2020-01-10T22:30:08Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > You know what. I’m fucking done here. Have fun jerking each other off. > > You are attacking a poster merely for expressing disgust at how you and people like you have dragged this once useful forum into an strictly enforced echo chamber. they are not even disagreeing with any of your positions only your behavior (which has been pretty fucking deplorable). > > We agree on more things than we disagree; but I am ashamed that you are on the same side of the ideological fence as me because of how you treat people. People whose opinions only slightly differ from yours. You ought to be ashamed of yourself and what you and people like you have done to this site. I’ve been on this site since 2001. This is entirely bullshit. What has changed is that the GOP has gone insane and supports the insupportable and defends the indefensible. When you are trying to argue from a position that has no relation to actual reality then you are going to get it here because we deal with reality. The age of Trump has also degraded discourse. For the right, winning on the facts does not matter anymore, what matters is pissing off liberals and trolling. That’s how they consider themselves winning an argument. That is what has changed, not this forum. You have noticed differences, but it is not us that has changed. The party of “fuck your feelings” and “lock her up” has lost the ability and/or desire to actually debate in good faith. Take it up with them and scold them. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/436 "2020-01-10T22:52:06Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I’m not **margin** , so I cannot speak for them. > > I was specifically interested in your claims of hive mind. One poster, in the pit I might add, being harsh to another poster is not evidence of hive mind. Other posters agreeing with that first post does not show hive mind. > > Do you understand why the term hive mind is ridiculous and unprovable and is only used when posters feel that they are outnumbered? Being outnumbered in a debate is also not hive mind. > > My point is try to be constructive if you want to criticize the board. Once you say hive mind nobody at all will listen to you. I’m not asking you to speak for him. I’m asking you what you thought of his screed. Was it a responsible response to someone offering a view as requested? Do you feel responses like that are likely to help gain more enlightened responses in the future, some of which may actually make a decent point or two? I hadn’t realize “hive mind” was a loaded term here, so I apologize. Sincerely. I do not wish to be associated with how you are characterizing it. Being outnumbered in a debate is not a hive mind, no. However, everyone having all the exact same opinions is, which this board demonstrates to a large degree as demonstrated by what happens when anyone dares offer an opinion, or just asks a question, that isn’t in alignment with the current majority opinion here. I’ll try to not use those types of terms in the future. Thanks for being civil in the response. You are listening, which is a start, even if we disagree. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/437 "2020-01-10T22:59:46Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > b) It still is great for that. But Trump, like Creationism, is a fairly settled subject. > c) It was a generic “you”. Substitute the word, “one”. > d) Trump is overwhelmingly wrong. Even if he is right about something, he went about it the wrong way or accidentally stumbled upon it. It may sound to you like I’ve just proven your point, but the fact is that Trump is 99% bad, and the 1% good can’t possibly compensate. He lies pathologically. If he happens to tell the truth on a rare occasion, does he stop being a pathological liar? Should he be rewarded for telling the truth? That’s what you’re asking, if you stop and consider your argument. That a pathological liar be rewarded/praised for telling an occasional truth. I’m not saying Trump isn’t wrong 99% of the time nor am I saying that even if he is right 1% of the time (I’m not sure it is that high), that redeems the times he is wrong. You are mischaracterizing what I’m saying. Again. Suppose McConnell gets the Senate rules changed so they don’t need to wait for the articles of impeachment to be delivered. Someone comes on the board and asks, “Is it really legal for them to do that??” That someone isn’t supporting McConnell. It isn’t even the right thing to do in terms, ethically, in my opinion. But it is legally a right the Senate has. Now, if someone comes in and asks if Trump can legally declare a national emergency and divert funds to a useless wall, they will be castigated and lambasted as a Trump supporter. At the very least accused of being a Trump supporter. And this is where I think this place has fallen down. Hard. Worse, the accusations will come from multiple posters who will each pat each other on the back for having outed another one. Baseless, useless accusations will prevent a good discussion on the legality of such an action. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/438 "2020-01-10T23:03:06Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > I’m not asking you to speak for him. I’m asking you what you thought of his screed. Was it a responsible response to someone offering a view as requested? Do you feel responses like that are likely to help gain more enlightened responses in the future, some of which may actually make a decent point or two? > > I hadn’t realize “hive mind” was a loaded term here, so I apologize. Sincerely. I do not wish to be associated with how you are characterizing it. Being outnumbered in a debate is not a hive mind, no. However, everyone having all the exact same opinions is, which this board demonstrates to a large degree as demonstrated by what happens when anyone dares offer an opinion, or just asks a question, that isn’t in alignment with the current majority opinion here. > > I’ll try to not use those types of terms in the future. Thanks for being civil in the response. You are listening, which is a start, even if we disagree. Was it a harsh response? Sure. Is this the pit? Yes. Do you know what the BBQ Pit is for here? Do you have any knowledge of past interactions between **margin** and the poster they were responding to? You seem to be assuming that response happened in a vacuum, that we aren’t currently in the pit, and that this is somehow part of a collective response from the board in total or something like that. The problem is it is very hard to defend Trump from any position even tangentially related to reality. This creates an uneven debate field because both sides are not on equal logical footing, or are equally ingenuous, or even both using actual real facts. They don’t even really want the same thing. The Right has the power right now in our country, so largely they don’t feel the need to convince anyone of anything, which is why we’ve had such an issue with posters that are not arguing in good faith and are sea-lioning and trolling on that side. That stuff does result in a reaction eventually, and it’s been happening for long enough that a lot of people have lost patience for it. There seems to be a lot of context and recent history missing in your analysis and it seems to be based more on individual posts you think are too harsh which you then assign responsibility for to the entire board. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/439 "2020-01-10T23:05:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are doing it whenever you bitch about how we don’t support bad debaters as much as we support good debaters. Shit doesn’t not deserve equal treatment with shinola. I’m not bitching about not supporting bad debaters as much as you support good debaters. I’m bitching that people who hold a differing view, are screamed at with vitriol (see post 120) instead of actually, you know, discussing the facts. What makes it even worse is that this happened in a thread ostensibly asking for people with a different opinion to come forward and offer up something that might be intelligent and insightful. Instead, when an opinion is offered, the opinion is spat upon and not one person says, “Hey, wait a minute… we asked for a different opinion. We can disagree and dismantle it without having to resort to insults. We should be encouraging open discussions.” ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663/440 "2020-01-10T23:06:35Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > I’m not saying Trump isn’t wrong 99% of the time nor am I saying that even if he is right 1% of the time (I’m not sure it is that high), that redeems the times he is wrong. You are mischaracterizing what I’m saying. Again. > > Suppose McConnell gets the Senate rules changed so they don’t need to wait for the articles of impeachment to be delivered. Someone comes on the board and asks, “Is it really legal for them to do that??” That someone isn’t supporting McConnell. It isn’t even the right thing to do in terms, ethically, in my opinion. But it is legally a right the Senate has. > > Now, if someone comes in and asks if Trump can legally declare a national emergency and divert funds to a useless wall, they will be castigated and lambasted as a Trump supporter. At the very least accused of being a Trump supporter. And this is where I think this place has fallen down. Hard. > > Worse, the accusations will come from multiple posters who will each pat each other on the back for having outed another one. Baseless, useless accusations will prevent a good discussion on the legality of such an action. I don’t believe this is an accurate depiction. Specifically your example. Is there a particular thread where this discussion about wall funding happened? Can you provide a link and post numbers where we can see what you are referring to? I don’t think anyone has ever been chastised for simply asking if something is legal. I would need to see that for myself. I remember those threads and I never remember a simple question of fact responded to that way. On that topic or any other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-universe-can-we-get-some-better-trump-defenders-on-this-board/845663.md?page=23)