USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!!

[Cliff Varnell]

I need to apologize to you Cliff.

BTW. Have you read Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine? She builds an amazing case for how the Dems became Republicans -- just a little to the left. That's why I bash them.

Thank you Lauren, that means a great deal to me.

Yes, Democrats turned into Republicans and Republicans turned into the John Birch Society.

So when we say that Dems and Repugs are the same we normalize right-wing extremism.

Democrats don't launch relentless investigations into GOP leaders.

Dems don't pass laws making it difficult for Republicans to vote.

The myth that Republicans are the "patriotic" party (hello Vladimir) and the party of "family values" (hello pedophile rapist Donnie) belongs in the dumpster of history.

[Magda Hassan]

[QUOTE][FONT=&amp]
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First of all, there were no rules against having a private server -- it was widespread practice in the State Dept. -- and Comey admitted under oath that any reasonable person would have made the same mistakes Clinton did.

It might be 'widespread practice' but having classified documentation on it is not and has never been acceptable. Looks like security around this private server was lax to say the least. No encryption used to protect these documents. Other people working for the government go to jail for these poor administrative practices.

[Cliff Varnell]

[QUOTE][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]
First of all, there were no rules against having a private server -- it was widespread practice in the State Dept. -- and Comey admitted under oath that any reasonable person would have made the same mistakes Clinton did.

It might be 'widespread practice' but having classified documentation on it is not and has never been acceptable. Looks like security around this private server was lax to say the least. No encryption used to protect these documents. Other people working for the government go to jail for these poor administrative practices.

There were no e-mails with a "classified" heading.

Out of tens of thousands of e-mails there were three with a little "c" embedded in the text.

2 of those little "c"s were put there by mistake.

So now we are going to selectively criminalize bureaucratic ineptitude?

Bill and Hill peddled access thru the Clinton Foundation and got paid like the rock stars they are.

Every US politician with the exception of Bernie Sanders peddles access.

Every corporate journalist trades lies-for-access.

They let the politician lie unchecked as long as they can maintain access.

So now we're going to selectively criminalize politics as usual?

With Benghazi they selectively criminalized the fog of war.

With Monica they selectively criminalized lyin' about two-timin'.

500,000 Iraqi children died because of Bill Clinton's sanctions policy but that sure didn't get criminalized!

[Cliff Varnell]

::
The Trump transition team has yet to call the Pentagon, the State Dept, or the Justice Dept.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-transi...live-blog/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/16/politics/d...index.html

Meanwhile, January 20 looms and the Trumpistas can't find many who will soil themselves being associated with his government.

[David Guyatt]

The fact that I live outside the USA [not by choice by the way - I had death threats from those who run the 'joint'] doesn't make me any less aware or concerned than anyone who does. I do return to visit and even flurted with a return in my last years - NOW out of the question - but likely was not to be anyway. I get the 'treatment' when back - so YOU don't understand as I do what 'vulnerable' sections of society fear and face.

Peace, brother.

I'm just saying you don't face the loss of your health care, or the loss of your home, due to Republican policies.

I do. If a Trump Supreme Court rules rent control unconstitutional -- I'm homeless.

Our circumstances are not the same.

I go with what Bernie says now when told he could have won -- "So what?"

Your circumstances most certainly are not the same, Cliff.

For clarification, I would advise you not to talk about future homelessness and loss of health care to someone who has already suffered both --- and worse.

Just sayin'...

[David Guyatt]

I just don't understand all the Dem-bashing when we're dealing with an overt fascist takeover by Republicans.

It's more a case of worse and worser rather than dumb and dumber. Had Hillary won WWIII was certainly on the cards. That appears to now have been averted - despite the rantings of John McCain.

Besides that, the US (and Europe for that matter) has been pushed increasingly to the right for almost 4 decades now. It has been based on a bedrock of utter selfishness and greed. The political establishment of the US (and Europe too) is no longer responsive to democratic input (until this year anyway) and simply adhered to oligarchical input.

From this mix of ingredients, fascism was always going to erupt in a lash back to deaf ears and political zealotry. It was inevitable.

[Peter Lemkin]

The fact that I live outside the USA [not by choice by the way - I had death threats from those who run the 'joint'] doesn't make me any less aware or concerned than anyone who does. I do return to visit and even flurted with a return in my last years - NOW out of the question - but likely was not to be anyway. I get the 'treatment' when back - so YOU don't understand as I do what 'vulnerable' sections of society fear and face.

Peace, brother.

I'm just saying you don't face the loss of your health care, or the loss of your home, due to Republican policies.

I do. If a Trump Supreme Court rules rent control unconstitutional -- I'm homeless.

Our circumstances are not the same.

I go with what Bernie says now when told he could have won -- "So what?"

Your circumstances most certainly are not the same, Cliff.

For clarification, I would advise you not to talk about future homelessness and loss of health care to someone who has already suffered both --- and worse.

Just sayin'...

I don't think it appropriate now and here to go trough again what I endured in the past. Let's just say it was rough and included many, many years of homelessness after being very secure in life. So, I've been where you fear to go. I feel for your fears and those of millions of others under the coming Administration - but many have suffered under all past Administrations too. I hate the ideas/values/goals of Trump [minus a very few I've mentioned before] as much or perhaps more than you do.

If I criticize the Democrats it is only because they deserve it for their wrongdoing and cozying up to the [and being controlled] by the hidden forces that 'control' the USA. We have IMO only one party in the USA - The American Corporate/Big-Finance/War/Intelligence/Military/Oligarchy Party. Yes, it has two wings and I readily admit one is much less cruel and insane than the other - mostly on some domestic issues. However, they both represent the same most important issues of the ruling elites - but also represent small splits in them. Neither is good for the health of the World nor the citizenry of the USA, IMO. We can do better and must - that means abandoning them and forming other parties and NOT relying on voting every two or four years...but 'voting' every day, every week, every month by active participation in private and group action and demonstrations - using democracy all the time. Use it or loose it is now going to be very apparent in coming years!

The Mayor of NYC has been very outspoken in recent days that he will do everything in his power to resist the Trump ideas and protect vulnerable persons in NYC. If other mayors and governors would do the same, it will help.

I would hope that this election if one can call it that will enlighten many more to the broken system and the need for a totally new one - bottom-up and multi-party; citizen activism and demonstrations; consensus building and new structures and ideals/goals not envisioned even by the 'lesser of evils' party. It can be done. In fact, I feel sure if it is not done, even getting rid of Trump in four years or less [impeachment or something like that] will not solve the basic problems, which are systemic and hurting the entire Planet, other countries and ourselves. We owe it to the future, if there is to be one!

[Cliff Varnell]

I'm blessed to live in San Francisco, one of the capitals of Free America.

This afternoon around 4 I stood on the corner of 18th and Valencia down in the Mission and a troop of 4th graders passed by. 20-25 kids, a couple of adults. When they were half-way across Valencia St. I yelled after them --"Remember kids, Donald Trump is not our President!"

The looked back and started cheering. I could hear their excited chatter as they made their way down 18th.

A few minutes later they were across Guerrero St. and started to chant in their little 4th grade voices -- "Fuck Donald Trump! Fuck Donald Trump!"

The GOP has won a term and lost the future.

[Peter Lemkin]

The few progressive cities and towns in the USA will unfortunately likely experience an internal refugee crisis shortly of those too afraid to endure a Trumped-up America where they live now. I know when I infrequently return to the U.S. I have certain places I feel safer than others and this will be more so now. However, the Federal Govt. has legal priority, as we all know, and has the power of the intelligence communities. We survived Nixon and the Bushes - which were unusually bad. That said, the less bad presidents since JFK [who at the time of his murder by the state was really moving in progressive directions - this being the reason for his murder, as well as not being under the control of the secret state any longer] were still objectively bad. We can and must do better, but this means no more business/politics as usual. Personally, I think Trump will even disappoint those who voted for him. At that point we have the opportunity to say throw all the bums out, as a Nation. Clearly more in the USA who voted did NOT want Trump and an even greater number who didn't like him or his 'ideas' didn't vote. Many were angry they couldn't vote for someone better than Clinton [such as Sanders] and others know that voting has always gotten them an 'evil' - be it lesser or greater - and have stopped voting, altogether. All should know that one must 'vote' every day with one's ideas, money, self - only then will be start to move toward democracy and away from the growing oligopoly. As a Nation we have yet to deal with the realities of the wars, secret government, secret control of money and power, assassinations, Dallas, 911 and the destruction of the environment, et al. We have IMHO little time left to make a 180 turn in our thinking and in our actions. A few are awake, but most are sleep-walking toward the abyss, led by figures behind the curtains, but blinded by their own failure to see what is happening before their own eyes and lives.

[Cliff Varnell]

I just don't understand all the Dem-bashing when we're dealing with an overt fascist takeover by Republicans.

It's more a case of worse and worser rather than dumb and dumber. Had Hillary won WWIII was certainly on the cards. That appears to now have been averted - despite the rantings of John McCain.

Besides that, the US (and Europe for that matter) has been pushed increasingly to the right for almost 4 decades now. It has been based on a bedrock of utter selfishness and greed. The political establishment of the US (and Europe too) is no longer responsive to democratic input (until this year anyway) and simply adhered to oligarchical input.

From this mix of ingredients, fascism was always going to erupt in a lash back to deaf ears and political zealotry. It was inevitable.

Had Hillary won WWIII was certainly on the cards.

David, with all due respect, I find this a fundamental mis-reading of American foreign policy.

The only pre-text for wider war is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the bad guys.

Why does America go to war?

For control of international oil and narcotics markets.With the low price of oil and the glut of pharm-smack why would Hillary start WW3?

China owns $3.2 trillion in US debt and the American consumer is a great engine of Chinese economic activity.

We're not going to war with China.

Or over Ukraine.

Or Syria.

But the new regime may want to go to war with Iran.

Hillary wasn't going to war over the Iran nuke deal -- that rationale had left town -- but the new guys want to tear it up and get after Tehran.

I fear your assessment that Trump brings "peace" may face future revisions.