Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Public approval of Trump Transition at historic lows

http://www.gallup.com/poll/201833/approval-trump-transition-low-inauguration-nears.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

[Da Geezer]

Hack:

Re Booker, this is what you get. McConnell's been shitting on the ``club with norms'' approach to the Senate for quite a while now. If we're going to do away with civility, I support any effort to do so that has nothing to do with directly lining one's own pockets.

You Progs chastise Talent when he tries to add balance to this echo chamber.

The Dems created the verb "to Bork" in the most harmful subversion of the "advise and consent" power in my lifetime. That was the start of the Senate becoming irredeemably partisan.

Harry Reid did away with the filibuster in order allow appointees who were utterly out of the mainstream to be "confirmed" for Obama.

Hack, to speak as if McConnell, or any Republican, is initiating the partisan devolution of the Senate into a smaller House of Representatives is just not historically accurate. Democrats generally vote to eat. Republicans work to eat. That is why you Progs are in grief over the Trump election. You have a lot more at stake in controlling government than conservatives ever could.

As Hoss said, follow the money.

[entropy]

DSL... so you're saying Dem's are haters. =)

[Dr. Strangelove]

DSL... so you're saying Dem's are haters. =)

If you look at the breakdown his approval among Independents is at 33%

[Dr. Strangelove]

Michael Flynn talks to the Russian Ambassador quite frequently, including the same day that new sanctions were put on Russia.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-flynn-in-frequent-contact-with-russias-ambassador-to-u-s/

[iam416]

You Progs chastise Talent when he tries to add balance to this echo chamber.

I invite it sometimes. As I said, I need to work on a more innocuous presentation.

[iam416]

A NR entry about "breaking norms" -- http://www.nationalreview.com/corner...blicans-elites

Provided only because of the relatively current conversation and because I thought at least one point was interesting enough to mull over.

[entropy]

https://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2017/01/13/scientists-engineer-animals-with-ancient-genes-to-test-causes-of-evolution/

interesting study, if you're curious about evolution and genetics.

[Wild Hoss]

Escalation is ongoing. And has been. You could probably make a good case that the sea change was Bork and that the incremental/escalating trip to the bottom was inevitable therefrom. You could probably find evidence that something else led to Bork.

In any event, I'm not going to defend Rs and certainly not going to defend Trump. I don't, however, view the shenanigans in Washington as much more than incremental steps of awfulness.

I think you see it more pronounced outside the specific politics of DC. I'm sure you're familiar with the efforts in Wisconsin by Ds and a fairly awful abuse of subpoena power. I think you see it amongst AGs and their use of subpoena power re Exxon. I think you see it in general terms in "diversity/pc". I think there's a social orthodoxy on the left that is rigid and those who step outside it are in for trouble -- unless you're Trump, who managed to avoid it.

I think you see it in Rs in states in some ridiculous abortion laws. I think you see it in Rs in their own rigid social orthodoxy when it comes to things like patriotism. I think you see it in Trump with immigration and shit ton of other things. I think his scorched earth policy when it comes to the bearer of bad news is abominable.

My points -- rather, my opinion -- is that as limited to "the Swamp" we're incrementally getting worse and worse. One party does something, the other responds when they have power and off we go. In a broader context -- and this is one that concerns me -- the devolution of open-minded discussion and increase in hostility.

The latter is one that I will continue to work on personally as I'm flawed in that regard. I understand we probably disagree on the issue. I'm not trying to sway you, but rather giving my own opinion on the matter, as flawed as it may be.

Best I can manage today T. I'll give it another read over a stiff drink tonight.

[AlabamAlum]

I invite it sometimes. As I said, I need to work on a more innocuous presentation.

I can help you with that.

See my replies to prof tiger at the GoatPen.

[entropy]

talent is starting to sound like me when it comes to the parties and how Americans discuss topics.

I was correct. He is trainable.

[hack]

Hack:

You Progs chastise Talent when he tries to add balance to this echo chamber.

The Dems created the verb "to Bork" in the most harmful subversion of the "advise and consent" power in my lifetime. That was the start of the Senate becoming irredeemably partisan.

Harry Reid did away with the filibuster in order allow appointees who were utterly out of the mainstream to be "confirmed" for Obama.

Hack, to speak as if McConnell, or any Republican, is initiating the partisan devolution of the Senate into a smaller House of Representatives is just not historically accurate. Democrats generally vote to eat. Republicans work to eat. That is why you Progs are in grief over the Trump election. You have a lot more at stake in controlling government than conservatives ever could.

As Hoss said, follow the money.

I don't have a complete scorecard of who killed what norms. Do we have one somewhere? That'd be interesting.

Since you asked: I'm very sad about the Trump win, no doubt about it, because of the increased pace of destruction of the republic and its institutions -- see the death-by-1000-cuts discussion from earlier this week -and because of the racism. Racism is extremely costly to our security, serenity and economy. That's why I'm a proud Canadian, because no country does it better or prospers more from its open arms. But ultimately Canada doesn't matter on a global scale and can't be a powerful example to the rest, like the US can. We were getting close there for a while, but this is very possibly a serious setback.

[Mainevent]

A NR entry about "breaking norms" -- http://www.nationalreview.com/corner...blicans-elites

Provided only because of the relatively current conversation and because I thought at least one point was interesting enough to mull over.

Trump breaks all the norms he wants but will hide behind any norms that suit him as soon as the anybody else (like the press) starts treating him differently than past presidents.

And quite frankly, the press should do away with any sort of standard treatment of this administration, but I know the concern is if they do they might get access cut off.

[hack]

Which as far as I'm concerned should be a badge of honor. The NYT measures itself in Pulitzers. A few come-at-me-bro stories aimed at Trump will both be accurate and newsworthy as well as fulfill the traditional obligation to check power, and you don't need ``access'' to press conferences to do that. They should dare him to abuse his power and start building that legal war chest.

That story is more talking about party discipline as norms, rather than how Washington gets along. The idea of a scorecard is a good one though. I recognize it's not one-sided. To an extent, questions of who started it and who has contributed most, however, are very important. Name and shame on behalf of the system. Let's start talking about it.

[Da Geezer]

I don't have a complete scorecard of who killed what norms. Do we have one somewhere? That'd be interesting.

Well, I gave historical examples of norms that were not only broken by the Dems, but shattered. How about you listing some norm shattering done by the Rs? I'd be interested in any list you might come up with.

I'd also like any example of Trump's alleged racism. I just haven't seen it. Just because it is repeated in alt-left news sources doesn't make it so. What has Trump said or done that is racist? Evidence please.

I'm very sad about the Trump win, no doubt about it, because of the increased pace of destruction of the republic and its institutions

If you want to destroy a constitutional republic, just have a chief executive who tells the enforcement arm of the government to allow totally unchecked immigration into our country (contrary to the express wording of the properly passed laws of the US). These undocumented Democrats would then cement Democrat control of the country permanently. This was a President who hated the constitution in most everything he did. He called the Constitution "negative rights".

This recent election was greatly similar to the Senate election in Massachusetts after Teddy Kennedy's death (2010). You might recall that Obamacare was going to be passed and the Dems had the 60 votes needed for cloture. Kennedy's death left them at 59, but a new senator was to be elected. MA voters elected Scott Brown, because even the most liberal state in the country knew that the ACA was socialism, and destructive of what America stands for. So Reid, against norms as usual, passed Obamacare under a budget resolution where he needed only a simple majority.

Obama"s executive action on immigration and Reid's "the rules be damned" attitude in passing the ACA are precisely what destroying a constitutional republic looks like in real life.

From Talent's, NR post:

It is this sense that the game is rigged — that norms are made for suckers by the connected — that fuels Trump. In this context, appealing to norms of civility (whether by Republicans who were reticent to discuss the downsides of Iraq or by elites of both parties who wanted comprehensive immigration reform without a lot of lip from the plebes) sounds like what Martin Gurri called “cries of anguish from a broken monopoly startled and unnerved by the success of a politician who had slipped the leash.”